PATH from page 9
on and off his whole life, had a dif
ferent description.
“It Is a small town full of discon
tent, selfish people,” James said.
In addition, drugs have started to
take over inside the community.
That’s why the Buckhalters prefer
Lilly Valley.
Ruth called Lilly Valley a “quiet
little community” and said the peo
ple are hard-working.
“You ain’t find nobody home dur
ing the day except the elderly because
everyone is working,” she said.
‘Mr. Collins High School’
Correll’s strong work ethic car
ried over into football and every
thing else he did at Collins High
School.
He was an honor student, star
running back on the football team,
point guard on the basketball and he
also ran track.
These activities earned Correll
the respect of his fellow classmates.
“He was elected Mr. Collins
High School,” Foster said. “That’s
the highest honor a student can
achieve. He was a tremendous
young man. He was the kind of
man you want your son to grow up
to be.”
On the football field, Correll
was the go-to player. During his
senior season, he carried the ball
235 times for 1,722 yards and 12
touchdowns.
In one game Correll was the
entire offense - at least for a half.
“I said, ‘Look, we are going to
have some fun,’” Foster said. “‘We
are going to give (the ball) to Correll
every time in the first half.’”
Correll ended up running 47
times for 387 yards in the game.
It was numbers like these and
Correll’s style of running that had
people in Mississippi comparing him
to another great back, Walter Payton.
“I’ve been coaching for 25 years
and seen Emmitt Smith and Walter
Payton in high school,” Foster said.
“You mention Correll Buckhalter in
the same category coming out of
high school.”
Such high praise drew interest
from Arkansas, Southern
Mississippi, Baylor and Nebraska.
Correll said he felt a lot of local
pressure to choose Southern Miss
because the campus was 25 miles
away and it was where his brother
had been a football star.
But he chose Nebraska—primar
ily for the education and because he
wanted to be his own person.
“I didn’t want to follow in
(Chris’) footsteps,” Correll said. “I
wanted to make my own path. I
wanted to be one of die first players
from Mississippi to leave the state
and play for a top program.”
Not following in Chris’ footsteps
turned out to be one of the best
things Correll ever did.
Brotherly love
During the recruiting process,
Chris helped Correll evaluate schools,
H
I didn V want to follow in
(Chris’s) footsteps. I wanted to make
*
my own path.”
CORRELL BUCKHALTER
NUI-back
but let him make the decision.
Chris was there to help Correll,
like he had been since their mother’s
death.
“I looked up to my father and
brother,” Correll said. “They were
my role models.”
Even when his brother went off
to play with the Philadelphia Eagles
as a scout player, Correll kept in
touch with him.
One day, Chris vanished.
For six months, Chris Buckhalter
was one of Mississippi’s 10 most
wanted criminals - on the run for
allegedly murdering 22-year-old
Jason Langley on April 24, 1997, in
Jackson, Miss.
Correll was a senior in high
school when his brother fled.
“It was frustrating because I
didn’t know where he was,”
Correll said. “I just prayed God
would keep him safe and bring him
back safely.”
Correll’s prayers were answered
Jan. 25, 1998, when Chris turned
himself in to the Holmes County
Sheriff Department.
The man Chris is accused of
murdering was found with his throat
slashed. Chris has been held in the
Hinds County Corrections Center
since the preliminary hearing held
on Feb. 2,1998.
Chris can’t receive calls in the
center, so the only information
Correll receives about his brother is
from his father.
Correll maintains his brother is
innocent and he was just in the
wrong place at the wrong time.
“He is not capable of doing that,”
Correll said.
Foster said the whole ordeal has
been hard on the Buckhalters.
“They are so proud of Correll
and so heartbroken over Chris,”
Foster said. “Correll saw what hap
pened to (Chris) and Correll went
the good way.”
Faith in God
Wrapping up Correll’s story is
almost as hard as beginning it
But the logical choice would be
with his left arm. It tells the story of
how Correll’s religious faith has
enabled him to overcome the
numerous personal and family
struggles.
A tattoo of Jesus dying on the
cross adorns his left bicep.
“He died for our sins,” Correll
said. “I give all thanks and glory to
God because I wouldn’t be where I
am today without him. He’s blessed
me with the ability to play foot
ball”
Religion has played a major role
in Correll’s life since he was living
next door to Lilly Valley Baptist
Church, Ruth said.
“He’s always been talking about
Jesus and putting the Lord first,” she
said.
Correll attended church each
Sunday and was an usher, member of
the choir and captain of the drill
team.
Through these experiences, he
has developed a solid relationship
with God.
Correll said he holds no ill feel
ing toward God for taking his moth
er away from him.
“I don’t question God,” he said.
“God always does what is right.”
I UWto face tough NU crowd
By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
Memorial Stadium is the home of
the Nebraska football team and 76,000
Nebraskans six Saturdays per year.
It seems that during every national
ly televised game played in Lincoln,
some sportscaster mentions that
Memorial Stadium is the third largest
city in Nebraska on game days.
Although true, it isn’t the quantity,
but the quality of Big Red fans that
makes the stadium intimidating. The
sea of red that cascades down the seats
to Tom Osborne Field most likely has
some effect on the quality of play by the
Comhuskers and the opposing team.
This is true of other stadiums as
well. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, talk
of playing Miami in Miami had the
same effect on a team as talk of the
plague to someone from medieval
times.
A more recent example happened
this past weekend, when the Tennessee
faithful goaded Florida into mistake
after mistake before their team upset the
then No. 2 Gators.
To say the Comhuskers have fared
well at home recently is an understate
ment In the last 11 years, the team is 65
2 at home. The two losses were to even
tual national champions Colorado in
’90 and Washington in ’91. Nebraska
has won its last 44 games at home, good
for the longest current streak and fifth
all-time.
Coach Frank Solich is pleased with
the support the fans offer to the team.
He doesn’t believe the fans need
encouragement for big games, includ
ing this weekend against Washington.
Ironically, Washington is the last
team to defeat Nebraska at home when
the team whipped the Huskers 36-21 in
the 1991 contest Last season, seventh
ranked Nebraska blew by the No. 2
Huskies 27-14 in Seattle.
As the Huskies look to repay the
favor, senior tight end Sheldon Jackson
said he feels the support and encourage
ment of die fans will help the Huskers.
“It’s inspiring to run out into to the
stadium, hearing 76,000-plus calling
your name, supporting every move you
make, cheering for us,” he said.
Senior Rush End Mike Rucker
thinks the fans will step up this weekend
and play a role in die game’s outcome.
“When the time comes to be loud,
the fans will be our 12th man on the
field,” he said.
NU beats Iowa State
By Sam McKewon
Sports editor
It wasn’t exactly the kind of win
NU Coach John Walker envisioned,
but he’ll take it
The Nebraska women’s soccer
team jumped out to a 3-0 lead on
Iowa State, then held on for a 4-2
victory Wednesday afternoon in
Ames.
Senior forward Kim Engesser
scored three goals, including two on
penalty kicks, to propel the
Cornhuskers (4-2) to their fourth
straight victory against the
Cyclones.
Walker said he was glad to come
away with a win, but he wasn’t
Soccer Q
Nebraska 4
Iowa St 2
pleased with the effort of his team.
“We played well in spurts but we
didn’t sustain the quality soccer for
90 minutes,” Walker said. “I wasn’t
overly happy with the way we
played.”
Walker said that besides
Engesser, Meghan Anderson and
Sharolta Nonen stood out with
strong performances.
“Meghan was dangerous all
night,” Walker said. “She did a lot of
good things for us all over the field ”
NU next plays Friday against
Loyola-Chicago in a 7 p.m. match at
the Abbott Sports Complex.
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