Two student-athletes and one Head Coach from the area were chosen on Sunday, Feb. 18 to participate in the 2024 NEN All Star Football Classic in Norfolk in Norfolk on Saturday, June 8.
Michael Dickens and Hunter Heikes of Tri County Northeast were selected as members of the Red Team for the 2024 NEN Football Classic. They will be under the command of Mike Hassler, Head Coach of the Wakefield Trojans, who was selected to be the Head Coach of this years’ Red team.
“I consider it a great honor to be asked to be the head coach of the Red Team in the 2024 NEN All-Star Football Classic,” Hassler said. “The opportunity to follow in the steps of all the other great coaches that have participated in this game is definitely humbling. I’m excited to get to work with a great coaching staff, and the chance to work with some of the top football talent in our state for an entire week is an opportunity of a lifetime."
The coaching staff, along with the players on both teams, are all from area teams in northeast Nebraska, ranging from six-man, eight-man, and 11-man teams. All players selected for the classic have completed their senior season.
The coaches for each team were selected by the President of the NEN All Star Football Classic Board of Directors Dave Stoddard. Once the coaches were selected, it was up to them to select the players to fill their teams. Dickens and Heikes were among the 36 chosen to compete by Hassler and his assistant coaches, among them Wakefields own Mike Clay and the head coach of the Wolfpack Evan Colfack.
Here is a further look at the Red Team’s coaching staff:
Mike Hassler graduated from Wayne State in 2003 and is a 1997 graduate of Emerson-Hubbard High School. Mike’s football coaching career started in 2004 as a volunteer assistant under head coach Rod Brummels at Clearwater High School. In 2005 he joined Justin Smith’s coaching staff as an assistant and was a part of the 2006 and 2007 Class C-2 undefeated State Championship teams. He took over as head coach in Wakefield in 2011 and has held that position ever since. Mike served as an assistant coach for the Red Team in the 2019 Northeast Nebraska All Star Classic and was an assistant for the East squad in the 2022 Sertoma 8-Man All-Star game in Hastings, Nebraska. Coach Hassler also serves as Wakefield’s head boys & girls track coach and has held that position since 2007. Mike is in his 19th year of teaching art at Wakefield Community Schools and resides in Wayne, with his wife Tara and their 7-year-old daughter Laura.
Mike Clay is a 1983 graduate of Wakefield high school, a 1987 graduate of Doane College where he participated in football and baseball. He is also a 1990 graduate of Wayne State College where he earned his degree in social science and 7-12 education. Mike’s first teaching job was in Clarkson where he taught social studies, was the guidance counselor and was involved in coaching football and boys basketball for 6 years. Mike’s next job was in his hometown of Wakefield where he has been the past 27 years. He has taught social studies and some elementary guidance for 10 years. He was a coach on the ‘06-07 Trojan State champion FB teams and head coach of the state runner up ‘05 boys basketball team. Mike and his wife Carla celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in March. They have 2 sons, Lane and Chad.
Evan Colfack graduated high school from Kingsley-Pierson, IA in 2012. He then went to the University of Northern Iowa, where he received his bachelor’s degree in physical education and was a thrower on the track and field team. In 2018, he received his first teaching and coaching job at Allen Consolidated Schools where he has been teaching and coaching since. The last two years, Evan has been the head football coach for Tri County Northeast and an assistant track and field coach for the past 6 years. During that time he has coached several other sports including junior high football, basketball, and track & field as well as the head girls basketball coach for two years. Evan received his Master’s degree in 7-12 administration from Wayne State College and recently accepted a new position for the 2024-2025 school year at Ponca Public Schools where he will be their new Assistant Principal and Activities Director. Evan is married to Kelsie Colfack who is the head athletic trainer for Briar Cliff University. Together, they have two children, Lincoln (3), and Karsyn (2).
Heikes and Dickens were members of the Tri County Northeast Wolfpack and helped lead their team to an NSAA State Football Playoff appearance in the 2023 season. The team finished their regular season with a record of 5-3 before falling in the playoffs. Dickens was the Quarterback for the squad, while Heikes made his contributions as a Tight End and Cornerback.
Hassler is the head coach for the Wakefield Trojans. While the Trojans had a rough 2023 season, Hassler has seen much success in his years of coaching. To begin his career, Hassler was an assistant for Clearwater High School. There he helped coach two undefeated Class C-2 State Championship teams. Hassler is currently the Head Coach for the Wakefield Trojans, where he’s been for the past 13 years. Hassler was the assistant coach for the Red Team in the 2019 NEN All Star Game and was an assistant coach for the East Squad in the 2022 Sertoma 8-man All Star Game in Hastings.
The 2024 NEN All Star Football Classic will be held on Saturday, June 8 at Veterans Memorial Field in Norfolk. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m.