Stars align as Wynot grabs first state championship

LINCOLN — On a cloudy November night, the stars shone bright. Kotner Koch was the brightest amongst them all.

Time after time, Koch was the driving force behind key plays for Wynot, including nabbing the interception that clinched the Blue Devils' first state championship.

“We knew what we had, and we got it done,” Koch said. “I made the pick and went down, and we knew it was ours.”

What Wynot had was a 71-60 effort to down St. Mary’s on in the Class D2 championship game on Monday at Memorial Stadium. The game featured nearly 1,000 yards of total offense between the two teams.

The Blue Devils’ first football championship comes on the heels of their volleyball team also winning their first state championship on Nov. 8.

“I can’t say enough about the community and how much they support us,” Wynot coach Steve Heimes said. “If there’s anything we needed, we asked and we got it. We needed new headsets this year, and two community members stepped up and just paid for it. I said, ‘This is amazing, this is awesome.’ …

“Our town of Wynot is just ecstatic about what’s going on. It’s a great time to be living in Wynot.”

The town of about 200 people showed up in full force for its football team, pumping noise into the stadium, something they’ve done from game one.

The first game of the season for the Blue Devils was a four overtime win over Crofton, a game that set the tone for what the season could entail for Wynot. That’s a game that gave Wynot experience it could lean on down the stretch of the state championship game.

“I really think that first game, that four overtime game, played that out, because this was very similar to that game — first one to 70 wins,” Heimes said. “It’s just crazy. I really think that helped us in this game.”

Wynot played in several close games throughout the season, including an overtime loss against Archangels Catholic in week three.

Not only did the experience in those close games help on the offense, but they became crucial on the defensive end, as well. In the second half, the Blue Devils gave up just 18 points.

“We told them that their line was getting tired,” Heimes said. “We switched Kotner on (Ben Barlow). I said, ‘Now you guys in the middle have to handle the run.’ And I thought they did a good job of that. We got a couple stops, and that’s what we needed to do.”

In an offensive explosion, it was the Wynot defense that stood stout, anchoring the win.

The Blue Devils held the Cardinals to just 67 rushing yards on 26 attempts. A big part of holding the Cardinals to that was the excellent play of the Wynot, but there is also the injury that St. Mary’s quarterback Gage Hedstrom sustained in the win against Howells-Dodge in the semifinal game.

“I could tell he wasn’t 100%,” St. Mary’s coach Tony Allen said. “I actually think that he felt better in the second half of the Howells-Dodge game after his injury. But you could tell he was just missing a half a step. And with a team that’s got so much speed all the way around, it was tough for him to really get going with the rushing game.

“(In the) passing game, we’ve got so many weapons. I wish his knee would have been a little bit better so he could have run a little bit more, because he is awfully fun to watch run.”

Hedstrom finished with just 59 yards on the ground, well below his average of 149.67 this season.

While Hedstrom may not have completely had his legs under him, his arm was just as hot as ever. He completed 17 of his 30 passes for 347 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions, both to Koch. He also added three touchdowns on the ground to bring his total to nine on the night.

Opposite of Hedstrom stood Wynot quarterback Devin Brummer, with the two battling each other throughout the game, constantly in a thrilling back-and-forth affair.

Brummer was automatic, going 23 of 26 passing for 394 yards and seven touchdowns, a performance that cemented him amongst the eight-man greats, right along Hedstrom.

“It’s amazing knowing that you can compete in this game and knowing that he’s one of the best quarterbacks,” Brummer said. “Playing against him and getting the job done and winning the state championship is amazing.”

Koch was on the receiving end of many of Brummer’s passes. He caught 13 of them for 265 yards and four touchdowns. He also added two more on the ground in his six carries for nine yards.

What Koch did on Monday was something straight out of a fairy tale. When Wynot needed a big moment, it seemed like he was there, including on a touchdown where he was sat completely down just as Brummer released the ball.

He caught it, pushing the Blue Devils’ lead to 71-60 with just more than two minutes remaining in the game.

“I had no clue (he was sitting down),” Brummer said. “I was scrambling around and didn’t really see anyone, so I just chucked it up and luckily he was there.”

Brummer and Koch put up the type of performances that will forever cement them in Wynot football history, especially with the team winning its first state championship.

Their finals appearance was the Blue Devils’ second in three years, with their previous appearance coming in 2023. Wynot lost that game 50-12 to Sandhills/Thedford, an experience it was able to use.

“(We learned) nothing's too big, we’ve got to just play like it's a normal Friday,” Koch said.

That proved to be the winning formula for the Blue Devils, who have put up points all season long.

Monday’s 71 points was the third time they’ve reached that total this season. From the jump, it seemed the game was destined to reach that point with Wynot recovering their opening kickoff and scoring the first touchdown of the game, which set the tone for them early.

“We talked about special teams, thinking it would make a difference,” Heimes said. “We were going to try some onsides — that wasn’t supposed to be an onside, so it happened to be a little luck on our side. That was a great thing for us but, yeah, that helped us get the energy going forward in the game.”

That play proved to be a pivotal moment in a game that bounced from one end zone to the other constantly. St. Mary’s answered Wynot’s first touchdown when Hedstrom found Lane Bybee on a 44-yard bomb.

The Blue Devils came back, scoring two touchdowns. The first came from Koch on a 2-yard rush, with the second to Braylon Hans on a 60-yard pass from Brummer.

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St. Mary’s matched that with Hedstrom finding Drake Berg and Ben Barlow to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 22-20.

That was just the first 13 minutes in a game that promised a barn burner from the get-go.

“Those were two good teams offensively,” Allen said. “And they just made more plays than we did at the end. I mean, that’s really all it was, because neither defense could stop the other (team).”

The teams continued to battle, with the lead changing three more times before Wynot started to pull away.

The Blue Devils scored the first consecutive touchdowns of the second half with Koch rushing in from 1 yard out, and Brummer finding him wide open down the sideline for a 58-yard score.

Koch scored twice more, capping off his MVP-worthy performance.

“Awesome player, awesome leader,” said Heimes about Koch. “I cannot say enough about that kid. Just a great player, heck of an athlete. Goes and makes plays when you need him to.”

Wynot 20 14 16 21 — 71

St. Mary’s 16 26 6 12 — 60

Scoring summary

FIRST QUARTER

WY: Lane Heimes 13 run (Killian Steinhaus pass from Devin Brummer), 10:00

SM: Lane Bybee 44 pass from Gage Hedstrom (Ben Barlow pass from Hedstrom), 8:40

WY: Kotner Koch 2 run (PAT failed), 4:20

WY: Braylon Hans 60 pass from Brummer (PAT failed), 1:46

SM: Drake Berg 27 pass from Hedstrom (Hedstrom run), 0:36

SECOND

SM: Barlow 37 pass from Hedstrom (PAT failed), 10:44

WY: Killian Steinhaus 10 pass from Brummer (Steinhaus pass from Brummer), 8:08

SM: Logan Brabec 9 pass from Hedstrom (PAT failed), 5:22

SM: Barlow 28 pass from Hedstrom (Hedstrom run), 4:14

WY: Koch 5 pass from Brummer (PAT failed), 1:37

SM: Hedstrom 1 run (PAT failed), 0:37

THIRD QUARTER

WY: Heimes 22 pass from Brummer (Hans pass from Brummer), 8:21

SM: Hedstrom 5 run (PAT failed), 4:57

WY: Koch 58 pass from Brummer (Heimes run), 3:35

FOURTH QUARTER

WY: Koch 1 rush (Brummer kick), 11:01

SM: James Eby 17 pass from Hedstrom (PAT failed), 7:42

WY: Koch 57 pass from Brummer (Hans pass from Brummer), 6:42

SM: Hedstrom 1 run (PAT failed), 5:55

WY: Koch 12 pass from Brummer (PAT failed), 2:04