MCCOOK, Neb.—Every boy growing up in Nebraska probably dreams of playing football for the Huskers, of someday running onto the turf at Memorial Stadium to the roar of the home-state crowd.
Josh Cherry realized that dream recently, although from the sideline opposite the Big Red.
Cherry is a junior at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. The former McCook High School multisport star is the starting place-kicker for the KSU football team.
Cherry trotted into Memorial Stadium dressed in purple and white when his Wildcats faced the Huskers.
Cherry hit a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter—the only points K-State could muster as Nebraska claimed a 17-3 victory. In the closing seconds of the first half, Cherry missed a 51-yard field goal that came up just short. Cherry also missed wide right on a 32-yard attempt in the third quarter.
Despite the loss, Cherry said he enjoyed his experience in Lincoln.
“Just playing in your home state, in front of everybody, that does mean a lot to me,” Cherry said. “I had a lot of family and friends here. After the game, I looked at my phone. I think I had about 42 text messages from people.
“Win or lose, I’m going to take away a good memory from this, just because I always wanted to play here when I was a little kid. … I might not be in red, but I’m still here playing. It was a lot of fun.”
The 2007 McCook High School graduate was a standout in football, basketball and track and field for the Bison.
Cherry was an all-state football player who starred at quarterback, defensive back and kicked for the Bison.
Former Kansas State head coach Ron Prince persuaded Cherry to commit to KSU during his junior year. But he still almost became a Husker.
“I committed to K-State my junior year, and then Nebraska came in a little bit before signing day (his senior year),” Cherry said. “But I was already set, and I told them that I loved it down here and that I was going to go to K-State.”
Cherry struggled early this season in his first year as the KSU starting kicker. But he rallied later in the season, hitting 11 of 12 field goals at one point, including a 4-for-4 performance Nov. 14 against Missouri that earned Cherry the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week award.
Cherry said he enjoyed playing the atmosphere in Lincoln, even though the roaring Husker crowd was not cheering for him.
“Down in Manhattan we only have about 50,000 people (at home games),” Cherry said. “When you come up here, it was pretty amazing, once they really got going. I know when we played down in Oklahoma, they had a lot of people there, too, but I don’t think they got nearly as loud as Nebraska did.”
Cherry said he didn’t hear any heckling from the Husker faithful, no insults directed at the Nebraska native dressed in KSU purple. Instead, he saw several familiar and friendly faces.
“I had some people come up to me and tell me, ‘Hey, I played against you in high school,’ a lot of people I knew,” he said. “Other than that, I really didn’t try to pay too much attention to the crowd, because, quite frankly, they can’t come on the field during the game.”
———
Information from: McCook Daily Gazette,
