‘It just appeared’

“Does Lil Bork have any catches?”
It was a message from the boss man I let hang in the air for 29 minutes because, well, Nate Boerkircher didn’t have any yet. 
Until he did.
The former Husky and Husker swung the door wide open into Texas A&M lore Saturday night, hauling in the game-winning touchdown pass to push the Aggies past Notre Dame in South Bend. 
It’s impossible not to jump through your living room couch for a kid who has worked so hard, done so much just to get to this point. 
Even having a small glimpse at what Bork has had to overcome to reach the heights he grabbed in the shadows of Touchdown Jesus makes it all the more memorable.
Now, we have Touchdown Bork. 
Sometimes, those lights are pretty bright. Sometimes, you’re the right guy in the right place.
“When the ball was in the air, I couldn’t even see it because of the lights. I was blinded by those lights. I saw it right before it got to my hands. Luckily, it was a great ball. It just appeared,” Boerkircher told the media following Saturday’s game. 
It had to be one of Bork’s favorite end zone moments since catching two touchdowns from now Boston Celtic Baylor Scheierman in the 2018 state football final. 
It’s just his second-ever collegiate touchdown, scoring just one in his time at Nebraska. However, Bork was never known as a receiving threat for the Big Red. Heck, that touchdown catch Saturday night was just the 22nd of his collegiate career of now five seasons. 
He’s the talented blocker up front, opening up running lanes that just so happens to have reliable hands up the seam if necessary. 
Which made it all the more improbable that Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed was looking for No. 87 with the game hanging in the balance -- a 4th and goal with less than 20 seconds left. 
Undoubtedly the catch of the year thus far in Aggieland. Into the hands of a guy that called Aurora, Nebraska home. 
It’s something every kid grows up trying to replicate in the backyard but a moment not very many of them actually get in a real game.
An opportunity to be the hero -- catch the game-winning touchdown. Bork got his moment. 
“I mean, that was so special for me. When I caught that and a little bit after the game, I was just thinking about my journey as a walk on and how special this all is,” Boerkircher shared with reporters postgame. “And it’s… I’m so thankful for everyone around me that’s helped me get to this point. I mean, it’s not me. It’s everyone who helped me.”
In recent memory, we as a community watched with pride as one of our own competed in college basketball’s prestigious postseason tournament more than once.
We just may see that again in a few months time -- only now in the new college football playoff. Catch or no catch, we see you, Lil Bork!
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.