O’Neill High School Football and Girls Basketball Cook Up Something Special In Nebraska

Sitting at a hightop table in the back right corner of Stringers Bar and Grill in Yankton, the signature smile across Brock Eichelbergers face came fast and in a hurry.

It had been well over twenty years since the former two-time 1,000 yard rusher at Beemer High School turned two-time high school football state champ and fiery girls basketball coach in ONeill, Nebraska took a little time to break bread and shoot the bull about sports, specifically his coaching career within it.

Man, whats been going on in your life? The question hung in the air unanswered.

A couple of regulars bellied up to the bar tucked away off of highway 52.

The cute waitress with black hair left menus and drinks on the table.

Even for a first-timer the place felt rather familiar; kind of hopping for a light mid-afternoon lunch in South Dakota.

The realities of another season hit home suddenly and become a lot heavier when right sitting before you.

Joined by girls hoops assistant coach, Chuck Price, Coach Eichelberger unsuccessfully tried to pull a fast one by getting the first question in.

Who was interviewing who after all? When first approached about the idea of a mini reunion and working on a story for High School on SI , Coach Eichelberger replied in typical modesty.

Some things really never change.

Not one did he sit idly by in-season let alone the so called offseason, hed made the hour-and-a-half drive north from ONeill to Yankton to touch-up his RV hed been renting out during the summer.

Im just a PE teacher that coaches girls basketball and football in small-time America.

I have five kids and I am a grandpa now to a two year old boy.

My wife Bethany is a Nursing Supervisor with Avera Health and does it all for our family, said Coach Eichelberger.

I got into coaching because of the kids.

Thats what keeps me here and coming back each year.

This community is pretty special.

I can remember last year at the end of the football season, the coaches and I were on the bus ride home and we were already talking about what we were going to do for next season.

Thats how it goes.

It sticks with you and becomes a part of you.

Friday Night Lights Still Shine Bright Drive past the high school football field at East Haynes Avenue in ONeill on a hot summer night and youll still be able to hear echoes of the 2016 season.

Thats when the 13-0 Eagles and Coach Eichelberger made magic and history with the schools first state finals appearance since 1982 and a 39-22 victory over Bishop Neumann to win the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) Class C1 Championship .

The Eagles' #ITISUS mantra and hashtag took on a following and meaning of its own by the end of the season.

The occasion marked Coach Eichelbergers second state championship after leading Ewing High School to a banner year in 2008.

Making the move from coaching 8-man football to 11-man football, I wasnt sure about it.

Growing up watching and playing 8-man football, I felt that I wasnt ready enough to take that step up as a coach but Ive learned to surround myself with good coaches who I trust since that first season here in 2010.

After 2016, I didnt think about repeating as state champs.

It was a new season for me.

I didnt know if there was a target on our back, but I knew people would respect us because we are consistent.

If I was scouting my team, I wouldnt know what to prepare for, explained Eichelberger, who also counts coaching on staff at the Northeast Nebraska Football Classic and the Nebraska Shrine Bowl as part of his high school football coaching resume.

Theres nothing like a high school football game on Friday nights.

The Kid Watching From The End Zone Theres not much left of the old high school in Beemer these days after consolidating with nearby West Point in 2005.

The remains of a football field sitting behind the three-story brick building once home to the Bobcats now has housing units built upon it.

Purple Pride was replaced by fabricated units up to the old 20 yard line (8-man football fields run 80 yards).

The teams of the 70s and 80s; people talked about them in reverent tones in the bleachers, in the church pews, on the farm, and in the bars all week long.

They were stacked up against the kids from the 90s.

Compared.

Contrasted.

Analyzed until kick-off of the next game.

I can remember sitting between cars that were parked in the end zones and watching football games as a kid.

I was probably in junior high school when I thought about one day being a coach...I can probably still score a touchdown on one end of the field, but not the other end with those houses there, Eichelberger said with a laugh.

By the time Brock was a junior in high school, he was the one people in town were talking about.

Placing our lunch order (Coach Eichelberger and myself opted for the boneless wings while Coach Price enjoyed a basket of chicken strips), we flashed back to Brocks back-to-back seasons rushing for 1,000 yards in 1992 and 1993 and what that meant to him before going on to play college football at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska.

In customary form, he downplayed those days and instead credited the guys who helped get him there.

Brock was definitely the toughest player I ever coached, said former Beemer Bobcats head coach, Tim Christensen.

Despite having a knee injury and a shoulder injury I dont remember him missing more than half of a game.

He was a hard worker and extremely competitive.

I remember him getting upset if he made a mistake.

He was always too hard on himself.

He gave 150% on every play.

Brock was a leader, mostly by example, but vocally when necessary.

Respectively known forever as Coach or Mr.

C to those who took his social studies classes in the small town in northeast Nebraska with a population of 734 at the time (647 people call Beemer now), today Christensen serves as Dean of Secondary Partnerships at Iowa Community College I didnt know Brock was going to be a coach.

However, I am sure all of the qualities he displayed as a player in high school are the same things he expects from his players.

These expectations have led to the successes he and his players have achieved on the football field and the basketball court.

It is enjoyable to reflect on my first five years of teaching and coaching in Beemer.

There have been times that I miss coaching football.

I don't know if Brock has ever had aspirations to be a school administrator or not; I applaud the fact that he has continued teaching and coaching.

Coming Back Hungry For More Halfway through lunch, Coach Eichelberger is dropping some serious knowledge about his grilling skills on the BBQ despite barely making it through his own basket of wings.

He describes the rich flavor from his Oklahoma Joe smoker, his 30 gallon bit barrel and offset smoker like hes breaking down offensive and defensive schemes on game day.

Its no wonder Brock won third place at the ONeill Rib Fest as the peoples choice and has aspirations to make grilling his new profession following his coaching days.

Until then, Coach Eichelberger hopes to cook up a little something special this coming season in both football and girls basketball.

Our front line in football is going to be really fun to watch, Coach Eichelberger began before applauding the offseason efforts of a standout student athlete (excluding his sons Brady who graduated in 2025 and Braxen, a Junior running back and wide receiver).

This basketball season, keep an eye on Hannah Hilker.

Shes a Junior point guard who has an incredible work ethic and can shoot the ball.

Shes been in the gym on the portable shooting machine this summer and even texted me one day to let me know that she'd made over 70 free throws in row.

As a coach you want those habits to keep growing and carry over into the season.

I'll be disappointed if we don't go to state." If another title happens to be on the menu, it would be his second girls basketball championship after leading the Ewing Tigers to a 23-4 record and a Class D2 state championship in his first season as head coach in 2007.

Prior to that moment, the Tigers hadn't qualified for the state tournament for 22 years.

Brock certainly has a way of making history.

Before the Eagles and before the Tigers, Eichelberger was the head boys basketball coach at Beemer where he led the Bobcats to a state berth in the school's last year.

Oddly enough, that was the first time a boys team from Beemer High School had qualified for state since 1991.

Coach Eichelberger slowly looks around the bar and notices some friendly faces he recognizes from his days growing up in Beemer.

He excuses himself with a smile and a gripping touch on the shoulder.

Hearty laughter and hugs quickly fill the space one table over; a savory taste of home even many miles away and in another state.

Hes still that kid the people talk about.

Man, whats been going on in his life.

Theres no one Id rather coach with than him, said Coach Price, watching on from across the room.

No one..

This article has been shared from the original article on si, here is the link to the original article.