The 65th Nebraska Shrine Bowl will be televised on News Channel Nebraska TV. Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. central time on Saturday.

KEARNEY, Neb. — The Nebraska Shrine Bowl is a crash course in football.

Each team is made up of 45 players and 12 coaches from across the state. They have one week to get ready for the high-profile game. After six practices in 2.5 days, quarterback Jared Kuhl of Platteview says the South Team feels confident.

“These coaches are the best of the best so it gets you there pretty quick," Kuhl said. "After a few days, you start to really get the hang of things and, before you know it, you’re firing on all cylinders.”

 It helps when the players have this level of talent.

“Oh it’s really high," Kuhl said. "This is unlike anything I’ve ever played with or against and I’m sure most of the guys would agree.”

You can count running back Easton Weber of BDS among those who noticed the talent on the other side of the line of scrimmage. 

“Some of them guys are scary, I’m not going to lie," Weber said. "They’re pretty big but it’s really fun.”

“I played eight-man, so it’s a crazy difference, honestly," Weber said. "It’s cool to see all the talent out there and I’m learning a lot even just from the running back group.”

The weeklong cram session is exacerbated for all-state quarterback Carson Kudlacek of Hastings St. Cecilia, who is playing defensive back for the South. He’s seeing a different side of the game and a different side of his new teammates.

“You’ve got guys that you’ve never seen before, but you’ve got guys that you used to compete against," Kudlacek said. "Some guys that you hated playing against in the past, well now you realize they aren’t that bad anyway, I can be friends with them.”

Just don’t put Kudlacek and Hayden Frank of Malcolm back on the basketball court together.

Kuhl is seeing a different side of his head coach Mark McLaughlin, who’s at the helm of the South.

“Oh, (he’s) a little more fired up. But I like it, though. I think a lot of the guys are reacting to it really well," Kuhl said. "Everyone’s fired up, everyone’s having a good time in practice and it’s really pushing each other.”

The final test for the squad comes Saturday at 6:00.