We have 53 days until our first game of the 2026-2027 football season against the Ohio Bobcats on 9/5/2026.
Yesterday we looked at Hall County, Nebraska.
https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/54-days-until-gameday-–-day-40-hall-county-nebraska.8893501/
Hamilton County, Nebraska
Former Huskers and Spotlights (years are letterman years)
According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln records, there have been 12 letterman football players from Hamilton County, NE.
Logan Rath – DL 2016, Giltner, NE.
Austin Allen – TE 2018-2021, Aurora, NE.
Ian Boerkircher – OL 2021-2022, Aurora, NE.
Nate Boerkircher – TE 2022-2024, Aurora, NE.
Joe Broekemeier – WR 2010, Aurora, NE.
Tyson Broekemeier – P/QB 2015, Aurora, NE.
Yesterday we looked at Hall County, Nebraska.
https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/54-days-until-gameday-–-day-40-hall-county-nebraska.8893501/
Hamilton County, Nebraska
- Established in 1867 and named after founding father Alexander Hamilton.
- License plate prefix #28.
- The population is ~9,700 (2025).
The population has declined overall since 1890 when there were just over 14,000 residents in the county, but the population has been growing since 1960 when it reached a low of 8,700 residents. - The county is approximately 547 square miles.
- Aurora is the county seat and only city in the county. It is not the only community in the county, as there are 6 villages in the county as well. The original county seat was located in Orville City, which is now a ghost town with no remnants.
- Hamilton County is included in the Grand Island metropolitan area.
- The Platte River flows through the county.
- Phillips, NE was built by the railroad and became an important shipping point for grain and livestock.
- Hampton is home to the first ranch in the United States to ship cattle to England.
- Giltner was originally named Huntington in 1886, but changed to Bromfield in 1887 because Huntington was “too close in name” to Hartington. In 1895, Bromfield was changed to Giltner because Bromfield was “too close in name” to Bloomfield. Both changes came at the request of the post office.
- In 1903, Giltner was the home for the Central Nebraska League, an independent minor league baseball. It hosted 5 teams and only lasted the single season.
- The Deepwell Ranch was established in 1865 with a barn capable of holding 165 head of horses, a sod house, and a hand-dug 65’ well.
- Aurora is home to the largest hailstone found. In 2003, it measured at 18.75 inches in circumference.
- Hamilton County is considered the Deepwell Irrigation Center of the Nation due to the thousands of deep wells used to irrigate the farmlands.
- It is one of the only rural communities in the country to provide fiber optic internet to its residents.
- The Hamilton County Courthouse was built to look similar to the Capitol building in Washington D.C.
- The Plainsman Museum in Aurora features over 60,000 artifacts to model how the pioneers lived in the region.
Former Huskers and Spotlights (years are letterman years)
According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln records, there have been 12 letterman football players from Hamilton County, NE.
Logan Rath – DL 2016, Giltner, NE.
- 6’4” 280lb defensive tackle wearing #97
- 2x All-State player out of Giltner HS.
- Transferred to Nebraska from South Dakota State.
- Played at Nebraska from 2013-2016, lettering in 2016.
- 2016 Academic All-Big Ten
- Provided depth along the defensive line and was a shield blocker in the punt unit.
- Played in 10 games in his career and made 5 tackles.
Austin Allen – TE 2018-2021, Aurora, NE.
- 6’9” 255lb tight end wearing #11.
- All-State player out of Aurora HS and the #1 recruit in Nebraska.
- Played at Nebraska from 2017-2021, lettering from 2018-2021.
- 2021 Team Captain
- 2021 Big Ten Tight End of the Year
- 2021 All-Big Ten
- He owns 4 position records at Nebraska
- TE single game receiving record – 143 yards
- TE season receptions record – 38
- TE season receiving yards record – 602
- TE 100-yd games in a season - 2
- Played in 43 games while starting 24. Finishing with 65 catches for 975 yards and 3 TDs.
Ian Boerkircher – OL 2021-2022, Aurora, NE.
- 6’6” 285lb offensive lineman wearing #58.
- Walk-on transfer from Nebraska-Kearney out of Aurora HS.
- Played at Nebraska from 2019-2022, lettering in 2021-2022.
- Played in 18 games in his career, primarily on special teams.
Nate Boerkircher – TE 2022-2024, Aurora, NE.
- 6’5” 250lb tight end wearing #49 and #87
- All-State walk-on out of Aurora HS.
- Played at Nebraska from 2020-2024, lettering in 2022-2024 before transferring to Texas A&M.
- Played in 39 games at Nebraska, starting 17. Finished with 19 receptions for 219 yards and 1 TD.
Joe Broekemeier – WR 2010, Aurora, NE.
- 6’4” 210lb wide receiver wearing #9.
- All-State player out of Aurora HS where he set the school scoring record in basketball and was the #1 high school prospect in Nebraska for the 2006 MLB Draft.
- Also pitched for the Husker baseball team.
- Battled injuries throughout his career at Nebraska in football and baseball.
Tyson Broekemeier – P/QB 2015, Aurora, NE.
- 6’1” 200lb quarterback and punter wearing #9.
- All-State quarterback out of Aurora HS and the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year.
- Played at Nebraska from 2011-2015, lettering in 2015.
- Ran the scout team as a depth QB and switched to punter his senior year.
- Punted in 2 games during 2015 when Sam Foltz was out with an injury.
I can only upload 10 images in a post so I have to spread these out. And then wait the time threshold between posts too. Until you see the massive Go Big Red, my post isn’t complete.
