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Dynamic Duo strikes again
 Media Credit: Leslie Andres Wide receiver Ben Nelson, left, and quarterback Keith Heckendorf are just two of the reasons why the Husky football team is 2-0 so far this season. Nelson racked up four touchdown receptions Saturday against the Northern State University Wolves, bringing his two-game total to six.
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Offensive captains keep each other grounded.
When it comes to football, Huskies’ junior quarterback
Keith Heckendorf and senior wideout Ben Nelson are very modest. When it comes to golf, they aren’t. Ask them a question about their knack for finding each other on the football field and you get a list of teammates’ names that they see trying to improve every week.
If you ask them who wins in a skins match, you’ll get little more than trash talk. This kind of friendly ribbing is the result of a friendship that was born over the last two seasons of Husky football, one that has been mutually beneficial for the SCSU offensive captains.
Last season, Nelson broke the school record for receiving touchdowns with 16, including 13 from Heckendorf. This season, Nelson has caught six of Heckendorf’s eight touchdown passes in the first two nonconference games.
Over the summer, the two finally became friends on the putting green.
“This was the first summer I ever stayed up here,” Nelson said. “I didn’t work a whole lot this summer, so we’d work out at 10 in the morning and then we had all day to do whatever.”
The pair got a membership at one of Central Minnesota’s fine municipal courses and forged a camaraderie that has allowed them to terrorize opposing defenses so far.
Case in point: through two games last season, the Huskies had scored 48 points, with Nelson catching three TD’s from Heckendorf.
This season, SCSU has put up 92 points, with the aforementioned six TD’s from the pair. Head coach Randy Hedberg has watched this relationship develop with delight.
“We have a real go-to guy in Ben,” Hedberg said. “I think Keith and Ben have a good chemistry between them because Keith is counting on Ben being there and vice versa. That’s built up over time, its something they’ve developed.”
Nelson didn’t develop into SCSU’s most prolific touchdown maker until Heckendorf had a season under his belt.
Hedberg says that the work ethic Heckendorf honed in his first year as a starter is not only paying off for Nelson, but for the whole team.
“Keith prepares so well for games,” Hedberg said. “You can’t see it from 3 to 5 (practice time), but it’s just what he does, watching tape and sitting down with Coach Rudolph going through game scenarios and all, that’s the key. Young players take something out of that and will have success like Keith and Ben are having.”
The two have done so well so far this season that it would be difficult to argue against looking Nelson’s way almost every down, but anybody who knows football knows that is not realistic.
“You’ve got guys you can always rely on, and Ben’s one of those guys,” Heckendorf said. “When you’re in a tight situation and you need a big play, you look to him to make it.”
“Obviously, we’re a little younger at receiver, so Ben’s taken on the role of the go-to guy. As the year progresses, we’ll need younger guys to step up so we can go to them in the clutch.”
But if Nelson could have it his way for now, he would handle the ball on every play.
“I just want to help the team, and by scoring touchdowns, I help the team out,” Nelson said.
“I want the ball as much as I can because I feel I can make plays. If you want to call me greedy, its because I want to help the team out.”
How much does he realistically feel he can contribute? The answer might amaze some football fans.
“Last year, I set a personal goal of two touchdowns a game. This season, I made the personal goal of three,” Nelson said. “I mean, there will be three plays I can make, at least. If I’m not getting three a game, I’m not doing my job. If it happens, it happens, as long as we win.”
So far, Nelson is on pace to achieve his goal, but it’s an awfully big mark to set against such determined and talented opposition.
Heckendorf will enjoy trying to help Nelson reach his mark, but as the team leader, he has the performance of his whole offense in mind.
He knows that to win in the NCC, a team has to be more than a one-man show.
“As an offense, we haven’t played a complete game yet,” Heckendorf said. “We haven’t put together four solid quarters of football, and you have to do that to win against some of the teams in the NCC.”
Nelson, who was a three-year letterwinner in basketball at Anoka High School, has a strong vertical leap in his step, giving him an advantage over most of the defensive backs he faces.
As they headed for the showers, the ribbing started back up. Asked how tall Nelson looked when he was in full leap, Heckendorf responded with a couple of quick barbs.
“He looks pretty skinny to me,” Heckendorf said. “But you always know where he is on the field. As far as looking big, he’s not that big compared to me.”
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