There are many reasons to honor the great accomplishments of the 1983 football team that brought home the Class C-2 State Championship 40 years ago. Members and coaches of the team who came for the event were introduced and recognized during halftime at Heartland’s Friday night game against Sandy Creek. Prior to the game, there was a meet and greet social for the team downtown from 5 -6 p.m. at the Hatchery.
Here is the letter written by the team’s Head Coach, Galen Kronhofman, outlining the team’s history and successes.
1983 Henderson Huskies Class C-1 State Champions
This group of young men were 22-1 the previous two years. The only loss was in the State semi-finals in 1982. The 1983 team was very determined to bring home another State Championship after the disappointing loss in the State semi-finals the year before. They worked hard in the weight room and at summer football camps to get ready to reach their goals. They knew they had to work hard to get ready with the tough Southern Nebraska Conference teams on their schedule. They always had tough games with Geneva, Sandy Creek, Sutton, and Hebron.
Offensively the team ran the wishbone most of the time and even broke out the old Single Wing offense vs. Grant in the state semi-final game. The team featured an outstanding offensive line that opened holes for an excellent group of talented, skilled athletes. Offensively the team averaged 44 points per game.
The defensive team ran the Split 4 defense, which featured 2 tough defensive linemen and 2 hard-nosed anchors at defensive ends. The 4 linebackers and 3 defensive backs all had good speed, reaction to attack the ball and were good tacklers.
Out of the 13 games, the Defense had 5 shutouts, including the State Championship game and 3 games of 7 or less. Defensively the team gave up an average of 9 points per game. The closest game this team had was the win over Grant in the State semi-final game with a score of 48-20.
This team featured a great special teams unit to complement the offense and defense.
These young men reached their goal of winning another State Championship with a 28-0 win over Hastings St. Cecilia. In the years 1981, 1982, and 1983 this group had a 35-1 record with 2 State Championships.
The Coaching staff included Galen Kronhofman, Larry Vancura, and Don Wall. It was a pleasure to coach this great group of athletes. They all had a great work ethic in the classroom, in the weight room, and on the practice field. They had an outstanding team chemistry and worked well with coaches and teammates.
The Nebraska High School Hall of Fame founders recognized the team concept should not be overlooked in the Hall plans, understanding that being a part of a team is one of the great benefits of high school athletics.
In 2008 the 1983 undefeated Henderson Football team was inducted into the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame as a Silver Anniversary team.
The fan support the 1983 team had from the students, pep band, and community of Henderson was tremendous and very much appreciated by the team and coaches. The fans showed up at both home and away games.
The 1983 Henderson Huskie football team and coaches would like to thank everyone for their support for the team in 1983 and for the recognition of this team and coaches tonight.
Coach Galen Kronhofman
If you were in attendance at this championship game in 1983, you would never forget the fearful silence in the stadium as the fans and teams waited for an injured Huskie, Jerry Ediger, to get up and walk off the field. Tragically he didn’t, but the game went on without anyone knowing the extent of Ediger’s injury.
Read this article from the McCook Gazette by Bobby Mills that gives a great overview of the game and how the Henderson team responded after Ediger’s injury by beating beat Hastings St. Cecilia 28-0.
This 28-0 Class C-2 championship victory by Henderson will forever be clouded by the crippling injury to Huskie starter Jerry Ediger that occurred on the opening kickoff. Ediger attempted to meet powerful St. Cecilia 1000-yard rusher Chris Bartunek head-on during the play but suffered, ending up breaking his C4 and C5 vertebrae.
The injury left Ediger paralyzed from the neck down for life, although he does have enough hand movement to eat, write, and “drive recklessly,” as he puts it.
It was a somber damper on a terrific victory for Coach Galen Kronhofman, star player John Kroeker, and the talented cast of Henderson players surrounding him. Although the Huskie football team did not realize the severity of Ediger’s injury, it took a monumental effort on their part to turn back a very tough St. Cecilia football team coached then by Bob DeSimone.
John Kroeker was never better on this night, establishing a playoff record with his 197 yards on 37 carries and TD runs covering 4, 3, and 4 yards. Meanwhile, the Henderson defense was limiting the hard-running Bartunek to just 45 yards on 10 totes.
Henderson outyarded the Bluehawks 383 to 208 for the game. 327 of those yards for Henderson came on the ground.
Members of the 1983 Football Team:
Seniors: Keith Bergen, Brad Buller, Jim Clark, Sean Clark, Jerry Ediger, Billy Friesen, Bob Friesen, Dewight Goertzen, Jerry Huebert, John Kroeker, Randy Ott, Todd Pankratz, Brian Peters, Darrin Preheim, David Rollins, Alan Schaldecker, Bryan Seibel
Juniors: Mike Friesen
Sophomores: Bob Drews, Rick Dyer, Mike Epp, Kim Friesen, Bryan Kliewer, Don Lieberman, John Pankratz, Joel Regier, Luis Vega
Freshmen: Denton Buller, Lonnie Buller, John Duerksen, Shawn Friesen, Rich Geiser, Jon Pauls, Bruce Peters, Eric Siebert
Head Coach – Galen Kronhofman, Assistant Coaches – Larry Vancura and Don Wall, Athletic Director – Dale Buller
