Currently sitting at 2-5, the Eagles are working to recover from last season’s disappointing 1-9 football record. Along with a revamped coaching staff, and reshaped squad, Central has a powerhouse tight end/defensive end junior duo: Ike Ackerman and Alijah Wayne.  

 In his varsity career, Wayne has 97 receiving yards, 6.1 yards per game, 74 total tackles, 4.6 tackles per game, 5 tackles for loss, and 18 total points. Ackerman has 111 receiving yards, 7.9 yards per game, 17 total tackles, and 1.2 tackles per game. Together they are leading the team in sacks with 3 total sacks each.  

 Together, Ackerman and Wayne are getting recruited by an impressive list of Division I schools. Wayne is getting recruited by Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Ackerman is getting recruited by Iowa State, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Wyoming.  

 Although they are equally talented, the two had very different introductions to the sport. 

 “My dad introduced me to football. He played at Doane,” Ackerman said. “But I didn’t play tackle football until seventh grade [because] my parents didn’t let me. So, I played flag football on a team with a lot of kids from my grade school, St. Gerald’s. It was only flag football, but I really started to like it then.”  

 Wayne’s start to football came from his participation in other sports.   

 “I started off as a basketball player, but people would always come up to me and ask if I played football. It got to a point where I thought, Maybe I should play,” Wayne said.  

 Football may only be a fall sport, but the two are constantly working toward their Division I goals.  

 Wayne is a starting power forward on the Central boy’s basketball team and plays summer basketball. Outside of team sports, he trains at the Papillion-La Vista South football field with a personal trainer.  

 Ackerman is also on the varsity basketball team and has an impressive back-to-back national title in the shot put event of track and field.  

 Their impressive athletic talent on and off the football field has not only made the recruitment process fun for the two but will also help them gain scholarships to the schools of their dreams.  

 While Wayne would like to steer away from home and become a Tiger at Mizzou, Ackerman has always wanted to stay true to what he knows as a Husker. They both plan to do whatever it takes to play collegiately.  

 Everyone around them can recognize their talent but, more importantly, they can see it in each other.   

 “We are both equally talented in our own ways, and having someone to talk [to] about this stuff, like recruitment, is nice,” Wayne said. 

 “Alijah didn’t like me the first time I met him because I was [his] competition, but ever since then, he’s been my best friend through high school. I love him. He’s always been someone to compete against. I mean, we are like the same person. [He’s] just as fast; we do just as much lifting [and we lift] the exact same measurement in every category,” Ackerman said. “I just like seeing him win.”