LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A gaggle of Nebraska fans was lined up behind a barricade near the tunnel leading to the visitors’ locker room, waiting for Houston Christian’s players to come through moments after they lost to the Cornhuskers by more than seven touchdowns.

“Chin up, chin up,” Braxton Adrian told the players as he slapped hands and patted shoulder pads. “Thanks for coming out. Good luck with the rest of your season.”

Win or lose, the 26-year-old welder from Lincoln is there to greet visiting players on their way off the field. An older cousin who took him to his first game in 2006 told him it was the right thing to do.

“Since then it’s been something I always do no matter what section of the stadium I’m in,” Adrian said. “I always make my way around and congratulate them.”

The tox

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