Tuesday Morning Sports – Husker Family Mourns Passing of Ekwall, Lorenz, and Mark Pelini, Mickey Joseph Monday Comments, Hartzog Earns Conference Freshman of the Week, Another Night Kickoff for Nebraska, Monday Sports Results, Tuesday Sports Schedule

HUSKER BASKETBALL MOURNS PASSING OF EKWALL AND LORENZ:

The Nebraska basketball family lost two valued members over the weekend with the passings of Rex Ekwall and Tom Lorenz

Ekwall was a star player in the 1950s under Jerry Bush, as he totaled nearly 900 points and 700 rebounds in his three-year career between 1955 and 1957. The Holmesville, Neb., product led NU in scoring as both a junior and senior and topped the Huskers in rebounding all three seasons in the program.  Nearly seven decades after his final season at NU, Ekwall holds two of the top five single-season rebound marks in program history, including his 11.5 rebounds per game in 1954-55 which ranks second all time.

Lorenz served as general manager of Pinnacle Bank Arena since it opened in 2013 and was an integral part of the Lincoln community since 1996. Lorenz was instrumental in the creation of Pinnacle Bank Arena from its early stages, and it was his dedication to the project which made the facility one of the best college basketball and concert facilities in the country.

FORMER HUSKER LINEMAN MARK PELINI PASSES AWAY AT 31:

Former Nebraska Cornhuskers offensive lineman Mark Pelini has passed away at the age of 31, according to a report in Indiana. He died in a car wreck on the Indiana Toll Road on Sunday along with the passenger in his vehicle, 31-year-old Jillian Marian.

Mark Pelini is the son of Diane and Vince Pelini and the nephew of former Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini and former FAU head coach Carl Pelini.

Pelini started his career in Lincoln as a walk-on in 2010 and left as the team’s starting center in 2014.

HUSKER FOOTBALL PRACTICE COMMENTS – MICKEY JOSEPH:

JOSEPH – MOVING FORWARD FROM INDIANA WIN:

Interim Head Coach Mickey Joseph addressed the media Monday and stated the Huskers are ready to move on from their Saturday night victory at Memorial Stadium…

Nebraska heads into New Jersey looking for their first back-to-back win since 2021 when the Big Red beat Fordham and Buffalo in consecutive weeks. 

JOSEPH – PRACTICE SCHEDULE IS ACCELERATED THIS WEEK:

Mickey Joseph spoke to the media Monday and said due to the Friday night contest at Rutgers, some changes will be made to this week’s practice schedule…

Joseph continued in saying that the Huskers will still have their work cut out for them to move on from the Indiana win.

JOSEPH – OFFENSIVE LINE IS PLAYING WELL, STILL SOME IMPROVEMENT:

Interim Head Coach Mickey Joseph addressed the media on Monday and was asked his thoughts on his offensive line after Saturday night’s performance against Indiana…

Nebraska’s offensive line has had several injuries over the past two contests but looks to get set in their starting lineup heading to Rutgers Friday night.

JOSEPH – THOMPSON IS TOUGH:

Mickey Joseph, Nebraska’s interim head coach, spoke to the media on Monday and was asked how tough his No. 1 quarterback is after Casey Thompson had to be evaluated for a shoulder injury during the Indiana contest…

Thompson returned to action only after missing one play. The Texas transfer threw for 270 total yards and two touchdowns against the Hoosiers Saturday night. 

JOSEPH – BIG TEN IS THE WILD WEST:

Mickey Joseph spoke on the debacle in the Big Ten West standings currently, where six teams are tied for first place at 1-1 overall…

Nebraska sits at 1-1 after their season opening loss to Northwestern and a conference victory over Indiana last Saturday night. 

JOSEPH – EMOTIONAL WIN FOR TEAM:

Mickey Joseph earned his first career victory as a head coach on Saturday night over Indiana, and a celebration broke out in the Huskers’ locker room as the team chanted their interim coaches’ name. Joseph continued the sentiment in his Monday press conference…

Joseph aims for win No. 2 on his career Friday night at Rutgers. 

HUSKERS’ HARTZOG NAMED FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:

Malcolm Hartzog was recognized for his performance in the Huskers’ 35-21 win over Indiana on Monday, as he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Hartzog, a 5-9, 170-pound cornerback from Silver Creek, Miss., made his first college start against the Hoosiers and helped NU hold Indiana to 223 passing yards on 44 attempts. Hartzog, who had a pass breakup from his defensive back spot, also scored his first career touchdown, going 30 yards for a score after Chris Kolarevic blocked a Hoosier punt.

Hartzog is the first NU player to earn the conference’s weekly freshman of the week honor since Wan’Dale Robinson in 2019 and the first Husker defender to win the honor since 2017.

NEBRASKA/PURDUE SET FOR NIGHT KICKOFF:

The Big Ten Conference and BTN announced on Monday that Nebraska’s Oct. 15 game at Purdue will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT (7:30 p.m. local) at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. The game will be carried by BTN.

It will mark Nebraska’s third consecutive prime-time game following last week’s win over Indiana and this Friday’s contest at Rutgers (6 p.m., CT, FS1).

STORM’S CONNELLY ANNOUNCES COMMITMENT TO PROVIDENCE:

Tri-City Storm forward Trevor Connelly has announced a commitment to play collegiate hockey in the future at Providence College. Connelly joined the Storm organization on March 14th, 2022, by signing a tender agreement with the team for the 2022-2023 regular season. 

He made his USHL debut for Tri-City on September 22nd, 2022, in the Storm’s opening game at the 2022 DICK’S Sporting Goods USHL Fall Classic in the team’s 4-1 victory over the Madison Capitols.

NFL SCORES/SCHEDULES:

MONDAY:

San Francisco 49ers 24 – 9 Los Angeles Rams

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

MONDAY:

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Softball: Sub-Districts v. McCook @ Holdrege
    • McCOOK 10-2

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Boys Tennis: Dual @ Norfolk – 4 PM
  • Volleyball: v. Norfolk – 6:30 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 6:15 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Boys Tennis: v. Lexington – 4 PM
  • Cross Country: @ Centennial Conference – 4 PM
  • Volleyball: v. Amherst – 5 PM
• UNK:
  • Women’s Golf: @ Golfweek D2 Invite @ Destin, FL
  • Volleyball: v. Washburn @ Health & Sports Center – 6 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 6:30 PM)
  • Kearney High Volleyball v. Norfolk (6:30 PM – 8:30 PM)

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Softball: A-3 Districts @ Elkhorn South 
    • #4 Kearney v. #5 Omaha Buena Vista
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Softball: Districts – TBA
  • Cross Country: HAC Championships @ Kearney Country Club
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Volleyball: Centennial Conference Tournament
• UNK:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Volleyball @ Michigan State (6:30 PM – 9:45 PM)

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Boys Tennis: @ HAC Championships @ Wood Tennis Center, Lincoln
  • Football: @ Omaha Westside – 7 PM
    • Pregame on Y102 at 6:30 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Football: v. Ord – 7 PM
• UNK:
  • Volleyball: @ Pittsburg State – 6 PM
  • Women’s Soccer: v. Rogers State @ Foster Field – 7 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Football @ Rutgers (2 PM – 1 AM) – KGFW
  • Nebraska Football @ Rutgers (5:15 PM – 11:15 PM) – KQKY/HITS 106
  • Kearney High Football @ Omaha Westside (6 PM – 10 PM) – KRNY/Y102

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Volleyball: Varsity Quad @ North Platte – 10 AM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Volleyball: Centennial Conference Tournament
  • Boys Tennis: v. KCHS Invite (East/West Shootout)
• UNK:
  • Women’s Golf: v. Augustana Fall Regional Preview
  • Women’s Swimming: Blue/White Scrimmage – 8 AM
  • Football: @ Missouri Western State – 4 PM
  • Volleyball: @ Missouri Southern State – 7 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Volleyball @ Michigan (5:30 PM – 8:45 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Women’s Golf; v. Augustana Fall Regional Preview
  • Women’s Soccer: v. Northeastern State – 1 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • N/a