O’Neill High School Football and Girls Basketball Cook Up Something Special In Nebraska

Always a straight shooter, Head Coach Brock Eichelberger talks Eagles football, hoops, BBQ, and what keeps him hungry for more.

Nine years after leading the O'Neill Eagles to the Class C State Championship, Coach Brock Eichelberger looks ahead to another season of pulling double-duty on the sidelines once again. / O'Neill Junior Senior High School

Sitting at a hightop table in the back right corner of Stringer’s Bar and Grill in Yankton, the signature smile across Brock Eichelberger’s face came fast and in a hurry.  

It had been well over twenty years since the former two-time 1,000 yard rusher at Beemer High School turned two-time high school football state champ and fiery girls basketball coach in O’Neill, Nebraska took a little time to break bread and shoot the bull about sports, specifically his coaching career within it.  

“Man, what’s been going on in your life?”

The question hung in the air unanswered. 

A couple of regulars bellied up to the bar tucked away off of highway 52. The cute waitress with black hair left menus and drinks on the table. Even for a first-timer the place felt rather familiar; kind of hopping for a light mid-afternoon lunch in South Dakota. The realities of another season hit home suddenly and become a lot heavier when right sitting before you. Joined by girls hoops assistant coach, Chuck Price, Coach Eichelberger unsuccessfully tried to pull a fast one by getting the first question in. 

Who was interviewing who after all? 

When first approached about the idea of a mini reunion and working on a story for High School on SI, Coach Eichelberger replied in typical modesty. Some things really never change. Not one did he sit idly by in-season let alone the so called offseason, he’d made the hour-and-a-half drive north from O’Neill to Yankton to touch-up his RV he’d been renting out during the summer. 

“I’m just a PE teacher that coaches girls basketball and football in small-time America. I have five kids and I am a grandpa now to a two month old boy. My wife Bethany is a Nursing Supervisor with Avera Health and does it all for our family,” said Coach Eichelberger.

“I got into coaching because of the kids. That’s what keeps me here and coming back each year. This community is pretty special. I can remember last year at the end of the football season, the coaches and I were on the bus ride home and we were already talking about what we were going to do for next season. That’s how it goes. It sticks with you and becomes a part of you.” 

Head coach Brock Eichelberger displays the game ball following O'Neill's title run and victory over the Bishop Neumann Cavliers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. / Brock Eichelberger

Friday Night Lights Still Shine Bright

Drive past the high school football field at East Haynes Avenue in O’Neill on a hot summer night and you’ll still be able to hear echoes of the 2016 season. That’s when the 13-0 Eagles and Coach Eichelberger made magic and history with the school’s first state finals appearance since 1982 and a 39-22 victory over Bishop Neumann to win the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) Class C1 Championship. The Eagles' #ITISUS mantra and hashtag took on a following and meaning of its own by the end of the season. The occasion marked Coach Eichelberger’s second state championship after leading Ewing High School to a banner year in 2008. 

“Making the move from coaching 8-man football to 11-man football, I wasn’t sure about it. Growing up watching and playing 8-man football, I felt that I wasn’t ready enough to take that step up as a coach but I’ve learned to surround myself with good coaches who I trust since that first season here in 2010. After 2016, I didn’t think about repeating as state champs. It was a new season for me. I didn’t know if there was a target on our back, but I knew people would respect us because we are consistent. If I was scouting my team, I wouldn’t know what to prepare for,” explained Eichelberger, who also counts coaching on staff at the Northeast Nebraska Football Classic and the Nebraska Shrine Bowl as part of his high school football coaching resume. 

“There’s nothing like a high school football game on Friday nights.”

Go Bobcats: The '93 team included a future professional guitar player, executives, finance leaders, farmers, general contractors, military experts, volunteer firemen, a journeyman sportswriter (#21) and an aspiring coach. (#25). / Wendell Maxey

The Kid Watching From The End Zone

There’s not much left of the old high school in Beemer these days after consolidating with nearby West Point in 2005. The remains of a football field sitting behind the three-story brick building once home to the Bobcats now has housing units built upon it. Purple Pride was replaced by fabricated units up to the old 20 yard line (8-man football fields run 80 yards). The teams of the 70s and 80s; people talked about them in reverent tones in the bleachers, in the church pews, on the farm, and in the bars all week long. They were stacked up against the kids from the 90s. Compared. Contrasted. Analyzed until kick-off of the next game.   

“I can remember sitting between cars that were parked in the end zones and watching football games as a kid. I was probably in junior high school when I thought about one day being a coach…I can probably still score a touchdown on one end of the field, but not the other end with those houses there,” Eichelberger said with a laugh. 

By the time Brock was a junior in high school, he was the one people in town were talking about. 

Placing our lunch order (Coach Eichelberger and myself opted for the boneless wings while Coach Price enjoyed a basket of chicken strips), we flashed back to Brock’s back-to-back seasons rushing for 1,000 yards in 1992 and 1993 and what that meant to him before going on to play college football at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska.  In customary form, he downplayed those days and instead credited the guys who helped get him there. 

“Brock was definitely the toughest player I ever coached,” said former Beemer Bobcats head coach, Tim Christensen. 

“Despite having a knee injury and a shoulder injury I don’t remember him missing more than half of a game. He was a hard worker and extremely competitive. I remember him getting upset if he made a mistake. He was always too hard on himself. He gave 150% on every play. Brock was a leader, mostly by example, but vocally when necessary.”

Respectively known forever as “Coach” or “Mr. C” to those who took his social studies classes in the small town in northeast Nebraska with a population of 734 at the time (647 people call Beemer now), today Christensen serves as Dean of Secondary Partnerships at Iowa Community College 

“I didn’t know Brock was going to be a coach. However, I am sure all of the qualities he displayed as a player in high school are the same things he expects from his players. These expectations have led to the successes he and his players have achieved on the football field and the basketball court. It is enjoyable to reflect on my first five years of teaching and coaching in Beemer. There have been times that I miss coaching football. I don't know if Brock has ever had aspirations to be a school administrator or not; I applaud the fact that he has continued teaching and coaching.”

Coach Eichelberger and Eagles girls basketball have lofty expectations for the 2025-26 season following a 16-8 finish last year at O'Neill Junior Senior High School. / O'Neill Junior Senior High School

Coming Back Hungry For More

Halfway through lunch, Coach Eichelberger is dropping some serious knowledge about his grilling skills on the BBQ despite barely making it through his own basket of wings. He describes the rich flavor from his Oklahoma Joe smoker, his 30 gallon bit barrel and offset smoker like he’s breaking down offensive and defensive schemes on game day. It’s no wonder Brock won third place at the O’Neill Rib Fest as the “people’s choice” and has aspirations to make grilling his new profession following his coaching days.

Until then, Coach Eichelberger hopes to cook up a little something special this coming season in both football and girls basketball.

“Our front line in football is going to be really fun to watch,” Coach Eichelberger began before applauding the offseason efforts of a standout student athlete (excluding his sons Brady who graduated in 2025 and Braxen, a Junior running back and wide receiver). 

“This basketball season, keep an eye on Hannah Hilker. She’s a Junior point guard who has an incredible work ethic and can shoot the ball. She’s been in the gym on the portable shooting machine this summer and even texted me one day to let me know that she'd made over 70 free throws in row. As a coach you want those habits to keep growing and carry over into the season. I'll be disappointed if we don't go to state." 

If another title happens to be on the menu, it would be his fourth girls basketball championship. He led the Ewing Tigers to a 23-4 record and a Class D2 state championship in his first season as head coach in 2006-07. That title turned into a three-peat as the Tigers won again in both 2007-08 and 2008-09. Prior to that moment, the Tigers hadn't qualified for the state tournament for 22 years. Brock certainly has a way of making history. Before the Eagles and before the Tigers, Eichelberger was the head boys basketball coach at Beemer where he led the Bobcats to a state berth in the school's last year. Oddly enough, that was the first time a boys team from Beemer High School had qualified for state since 1991.

Coach Eichelberger slowly looks around the bar and notices some friendly faces he recognizes from his days growing up in Beemer. He excuses himself with a smile and a gripping touch on the shoulder. Hearty laughter and hugs quickly fill the space one table over; a savory taste of home even many miles away and in another state. He’s still that kid the people talk about. 

Man, what’s been going on in his life. 

“There’s no one I’d rather coach with than him,” said Coach Price, watching on from across the room. 

“No one.”