Nebraska HS Football: NSAA State Football Playoff Predictions
– All games played on November 1
– Selections in BOLD
– The Top 10 Ratings

Week 9: 91-20 (.820)
Season: 990-207 (.827)

Class A

First Round: Omaha Westside over Omaha Westview; Omaha Central over Papillion-La Vista; Elkhorn South over Creighton Prep; Omaha North over Lincoln East; Millard South over Papio South; Millard North over Lincoln Southeast; Millard West over Kearney; Bellevue West over Lincoln North Star

Quarterfinals: Omaha Westside over Omaha Central; Elkhorn South over Omaha North; Millard South over Millard North; Bellevue West over Millard West

Semifinals: Omaha Westside over Elkhorn South; Millard South over Bellevue West

Final: Omaha Westside over Millard South
Darkhorse: Kearney

  • You cannot stop Millard South — you can only hope to contain it. If there is one team who may have the horses to potentially slow down the Patriots on offense, it is going to be two-time defending champion Omaha Westside and National Top 250 linebacker Christian Jones. Westside, who recently broke the Class A state record with 29 straight victories, is likely one of the teams who could keep pace on offense with Millard South in the event of a high-scoring affair. When it is time to make a pick, the team who is 68-5 over the past six seasons with five appearances in the state final in a row, it is very difficult to pick against Omaha Westside despite how impressive Millard South has been. If you really break down the rosters head-to-head, you see evidence of Westside having a receiving corps on nearly the same level as Millard South. What a game it will potentially be.

Class B

First Round: Bennington over Grand Island Northwest; Hastings over McCook; Scottsbluff over Gretna; Elkhorn North over Elkhorn; Seward over Lincoln Pius X; Gretna East over Gering; Omaha Skutt over York; Waverly over Norris

Quarterfinals: Bennington over Hastings; Elkhorn North over Scottsbluff; Seward over Gretna East; Omaha Skutt over Waverly

Semifinals: Bennington over Elkhorn North; Omaha Skutt over Seward

Final: Bennington over Omaha Skutt
Darkhorse: Elkhorn

  • Yes, Bennington’s 46-game winning streak was snapped by five-time state champion Omaha Skutt in Week 8, but a few other results stand out in District B-1 this season. Elkhorn’s win over Elkhorn North, Bennington’s win over Elkhorn North, and Elkhorn North’s win over Omaha Skutt are also notable. Omaha Skutt now likes to put the ball in the air more often that usual. Meanwhile, Seward has gone through the season rather comfortably with an unbeaten regular season. Scottsbluff is 8-1 while leading Class B in points per game on defense and fewest points allowed on defense. Don’t be surprised if after the dust settles, Bennington is hoisting the Class B hardware after winning its fourth straight state championship at Memorial Stadium.

Class C-1

First Round: Sidney over Omaha Roncalli; Lincoln Christian over Chadron; Columbus Lakeview over Columbus Scotus; Central City over Fort Calhoun; Ashland-Greenwood over Milford; Auburn over O’Neill; Wahoo over Douglas County West; Boys Town over Cozad

Second Round: Sidney over Lincoln Christian; Columbus Lakeview over Central City; Ashland-Greenwood over Auburn; Wahoo over Boys Town

Semifinals: Sidney over Columbus Lakeview; Wahoo over Ashland-Greenwood

Final: Wahoo over Sidney
Darkhorse: Columbus Scotus

  • There will be a new state champion in Class C-1 no matter what happens as defending champion Boone Central is now in Class C-2. Wahoo has been a machine while winning 21 of its last 22 games and finishing as Class C-1 runner-up last season. Out west, Sidney has been quite dominant in an unbeaten season. Columbus Lakeview is also unbeaten and must turn away a very dangerous Columbus Scotus team for the second time this season. Lincoln Christian will be a tough out due to the extra preparation for its old-school offense. As for Chadron, expect a heavy dose of Quinn Bailey. Wahoo has too many weapons and depth that is not usually available for Class C-1 schools, which makes it the favorite to win its second title in school history and first since 2019.

Class C-2

First Round: Norfolk Catholic over Ord; Boone Central over Raymond Central; Valentine over Kearney Catholic; Wood RIver over Doniphan-Trumbull; Wahoo Neumann over Lincoln Lutheran; Cedar Catholic over Oakland-Craig; Battle Creek over David City Aquinas; Malcolm over Mitchell

Quarterfinals: Norfolk Catholic over Boone Central; Wood RIver over Valentine; Wahoo Neumann over Cedar Catholic; Battle Creek over Malcolm

Semifinals: Norfolk Catholic over Wood River; Wahoo Neumann over Battle Creek

Final: Norfolk Catholic over Wahoo Neumann
Darkhorse: Oakland-Craig

  • Norfolk Catholic holds the state record with 12 state championships since the inception of the state playoffs in 1975 and winners of the last two. Currently riding a 35-game winning streak, the Knights are battle-tested. No. 1 Norfolk Catholic has won games this season over No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 in the Class C-2 ratings. If you are looking for a team who maybe could make a second shot at the Knights count, look no further than Wahoo Neumann and Nebraska running back commit Conor Booth or any of the usual suspects in northeast Nebraska such as Battle Creek, Cedar Catholic, and even potentially Oakland-Craig at 6-3.

All-Nations Conference

Class 9A

Semifinals: Winnebago over Little Wound (SD); Pine Ridge (SD) over Mahpiya Luta (SD)
Final: Winnebago over Pine Ridge (SD)

  • Winnebago will attempt to reach the All-Nations 9A championship game at the DakotaDome in Vermillion for the second straight season. In 2023, Winnebago fell 28-13 in the final to Todd County (SD).

Class 9B

Semifinals: Lower Brule (SD) over Crazy Horse (SD); Omaha Nation over White RIver (SD)
FInal: Lower Brule (SD) over Omaha Nation

  • Omaha Nation finished 6-2 during the regular season to earn a first-round bye in the 9B All-Nations Conference playoffs. Last season, Omaha Nation crashed out in the semifinals. Losses this season came at the hands of Winnebago and Lower Brule by the score of 52-12.

Class D-1

Second Round: Sandy Creek over Sandhills Valley; Shelby-Rising City over Arapahoe; Dundy County-Stratton over Nebraska City Lourdes; West Point GACC over Plainview; Thayer Central over Crofton; Summerland over South Loup; North Platte St. Patrick’s over Bridgeport; Stanton over EMF

Quarterfinals: Sandy Creek over Shelby-Rising City; Dundy County-Stratton over West Point GACC; Summerland over Thayer Central; Stanton over North Platte St. Patrick’s

Semifinals: Sandy Creek over Dundy County-Stratton; Stanton over Summerland

Final: Stanton over Sandy Creek
Darkhorse: Arapahoe

  • Loaded Stanton is considered the favorite to win its second straight state title in Class D-1 rolling with a 22-game winning streak. Sandy Creek and West Point GACC are two other teams who enter the postseason with an unbeaten record at 9-0. When it comes to the large number of one-loss teams, literally anything can happen in what should be an exciting bracket. Arapahoe is a team who would get on a roll and surprise a lot of people.

Class D-2

Second Round: Humphrey Archangels over Twin Loup; Howells-Dodge over Bancroft-Rosalie; Wynot over Hitchcock County; Central Valley over O’Neill St. Mary’s; Sandhills/Thedford over Axtell; Riverside over Creighton; Overton over High Plains; BDS over Kenesaw

Quarterfinals: Humphrey Archangels over Howells-Dodge; Central Valley over Wynot; Sandhills/Thedford over Riverside; BDS over Overton

Semifinals: Central Valley over Humphrey Archangels; Sandhills/Thedford over BDS

Final: Sandhills/Thedford over Central Valley
Darkhorse: High Plains

  • Sandhills/Thedford and quarterback Kyle Cox are the defending state champions in D-2 and have won 18 consecutive games. Central Valley’s only loss this season came to Class D-1 No. 1 Stanton, 42-28. Humphrey Archangels and BDS come into second round with unblemished marks. If Sandhills/Thedford allows Cox to cook like last season’s playoffs, do not be surprised if a repeat is on the horizon.

Class D-6

First Round: S-E-M over Wauneta-Palisade; Leyton over Diller-Odell; Garden County over Southwest; Red Cloud over Potter-Dix; Hay Springs over Sioux County; Silver Lake over Ansley-Litchfield; Stuart over Hampton; Arthur County over Wallace

Quarterfinals: S-E-M over Leyton; Red Cloud over Garden County; Hay Springs over Silver Lake; Stuart over Arthur County

Semifinals: S-E-M over Red Cloud; Hay Springs over Stuart

Final: S-E-M over Hay Springs
Darkhorse: Garden County

  • S-E-M has won 20 straight games and are the defending D-6 state champions. Last season’s runner-up Hay Springs and Garden County also enter the playoffs with unbeaten records. Stuart gave No. 1 S-E-M all it could handle in Week 2 before falling 36-33. Everything is set up for a state final rematch at Cope Stadium in Kearney between S-E-M and Hay Springs.

Future Dates
NSAA Quarterfinals: Friday, November 8
NSAA Semifinals: Friday, November 15

State Championship Games
Class D-6: Friday, November 22 – 7:00 pm (at UNK Cope Stadium)
Class D-2: Monday, November 25 – 10:15 am (at Memorial Stadium – Lincoln)
Class D-1: Monday, November 25 – 2:45 pm (at Memorial Stadium – Lincoln)
Class A: Monday, November 25 – 7:15 pm (at Memorial Stadium – Lincoln)
Class C-2: Tuesday, November 26 – 10:15 am (at Memorial Stadium – Lincoln)
Class C-1: Tuesday, November 26 – 2:45 pm (at Memorial Stadium – Lincoln)
Class B: Tuesday, November 26 – 7:15 pm (at Memorial Stadium – Lincoln)