A special moment for the Boerkirchers

I had this nagging feeling watching the Nebraska game on Saturday that I was in the wrong place. 
With too much going on around here, I decided against going to the game as a media member and instead watched from home. 
It should come as no surprise that as I watched the game with a favorite beverage in hand, Aurora’s own Nate Boerkircher had a career day. 
The Aurora grad was thrust into a starter role after captain Travis Vokolek’s injury from the Ireland game hung around this week. Boerkircher made the most of his opportunity, grabbing his first career touchdown reception. 
In a game that was frustrating for a variety of reasons, the play design on Boerkircher’s touchdown was all the more intriguing. 
In fact, Boerkircher told a group of reporters following the game that the design worked that way all week in practice and unfolded exactly the same during the game. 
“It was wide open in practice all week and I honestly didn’t expect it to be so open,” Boerkircher said. “I credit that to the coaches. It was a great play.”
Just inside the red zone, Nebraska flipped the formation, taking Boerkircher from being an ineligible receiver to an eligible one. 
The pre-snap switch allowed Boerkircher to find a hole in the middle of the UND defense and basically walk into the end zone. 
Well, it wasn’t quite as easy as I make it sound. Sometimes, when you’re THAT wide open, it becomes a challenge. 
Just ask Nate. 
“I stumbled running into the end zone,” Boerkircher said. “I got called a klutz when I came off.”
How cool is it for the Huskers to go from one Aurora Husky tight end to another. Austin Allen did a lot of great things wearing a Nebraska jersey and is now getting an opportunity to show his talents at the professional level. 
Before he left, though, he made a huge impact on Boerkircher, who through high school and since, has always looked up to Oz. 
“When it comes to Austin, I give him a lot of credit for a lot of stuff I have here,” Boerkircher said. “He’s a great leader and he helped me out a lot in the first three years I was here.”
Listen, Boerkircher isn’t as sure-handed catching the football as Oz was. And quite frankly, I don’t think it’s fair to expect him to be. 
Why? There aren’t many out there who are as sure-handed as Oz was and is. 
But, Boerkircher has his own unique strengths. He understands the playbook and his assignments, is a pretty good run-blocker and, as you saw on that 19-yard touchdown, has the ability to get open and snag the ball in space. 
I know many of you saw the photo that made the rounds Saturday night taken by the Nebraska football staff of Nate, sharing a bit of the celebration following his touchdown, with his brother Ian. 
Ian was out on the field in his own right, playing some special teams on field goals and PATs, similar to last season. 
What a cool moment for the Boerkircher brothers, getting to share a unique trip to Ireland followed by a milestone moment in Nate’s football career. 
Don’t forget now, Boerkircher is no stranger to scoring touchdowns in Memorial Stadium. The former Husky had two scores in its C1 state championship game over Ord in 2018. 
Those moments, nearly four years apart, will mean quite a bit for Nate. You could see it on his face through the television cameras after he scored. What a moment for him.
Boerkircher went into the North Dakota game knowing that he would be one of those guys having to contribute, in light of Vokolek’s injury. Boerkircher had his fair share of snaps in Ireland, but hadn’t yet been in this type of situation. 
“It’s unfortunate that Travis went down. He’s a great player,” Boerkircher said. “Beck (tight ends coach Sean Beckton) said there was about four of us that needed to take a big role this week and I thought we did pretty good.”
But, we haven’t addressed the ugly elephant in the room. That beast includes the sour taste Nebraska football has left behind in two games, despite pulling away for the victory against North Dakota. 
The first half against UND looked especially awful, leaving the Big Red vulnerable to be America’s punching bag of laughter for another week. 
Sure, a win is a win and the prospect of being 1-1 should be encouraging. Yet, there’s more to be desired. 
I found Nate’s comment about the halftime vibes especially interesting. 
“Halftime was good. We were excited and confident,” Boerkircher said. “I think that showed.”
I will buy stock in the confident part. The Huskers came out in the third quarter and immediately went for a shot play to Trey Palmer, which was caught on the far sideline. 
That was quickly followed by Nate’s touchdown grab. Less than two minutes into the second half, the Huskers had a score. 
With so many negative things swirling around this program, its first win in 336 days shouldn’t go uncelebrated, or unnoticed. 
Maybe all this team needed was to feel what it’s like to win. 
“It feels good,” Boerkircher said. “I think we should have had one week one but for now we just have to focus on getting better and the next game.”
One game at a time. I don’t think I can take any more than that. 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.