NEBHSFB.com Top 10: Week 4
Week 4 Top Performers

Class A (Rank/School/Record/PRV/Week 5 Opponent)

  1. Millard South | 3-1 | 1 – vs. Lincoln Southeast (Thurs.)
  2. Omaha Westside | 4-0 | 2 – vs. No. 6 Omaha Central
  3. Elkhorn South | 4-0 | 4 – vs. Omaha South (Thurs.)
  4. Creighton Prep | 4-0 | 7– at. No. 10 Papillion-La Vista
  5. Omaha North | 2-2 | 3 – at Lincoln Northeast (Thurs.)
  6. Omaha Central | 3-1 | 5 – at No. 2 Omaha Westside
  7. Kearney | 3-1 | 10 – at Lincoln East
  8. Papillion-La Vista South | 3-1 | 8 – vs. Norfolk
  9. Bellevue West | 1-3 | 6 – at Omaha Buena Vista
  10. Papillion-La Vista | 3-1 | OLI – vs. No. 4 Creighton Prep

Dropped Out:
Lincoln Southeast | 2-2 | 9 – at No. 1 Millard South

OLI:
Columbus | 3-1 | NR – at North Platte
Lincoln East | 3-1 | OLI – vs. No. 7 Kearney
Norfolk | 3-1 | NR – at No. 8 Papillion-La Vista South
Also 4-0: Lincoln Northeast

Comments: Nothing you could do at this point would make a lot of sense in the middle of the pack in Class A. Elkhorn South is comfortably in the No. 3 spot behind Millard South and Omaha Westside. Omaha North drops two spots to No. 5 and can credit its Week 3 win over No. 6 Omaha Central for remaining the top five despite its 14-13 loss to No. 7 Kearney in Week 4. Papillion-La Vista South has it rolling and sits at No. 8. Its only blemish of the season came to No. 5 Omaha North in Week 2, 27-21. Bellevue West, with losses to No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6 and playing all of them within eight points, drops to No. 9. Nine of the teams in the Top 10 come from the metro. We’ll see if the new scheduling rules will benefit the Lincoln and outstate programs.

Class B

  1. Elkhorn North | 4-0 | 1 – at Blair
  2. Waverly | 4-0 | 2 – vs. Lincoln Standing Bear
  3. Norris | 4-0 | 4 –vs. Lincoln Pius X
  4. Bennington | 3-1 | 5 – at No. 9 Gretna
  5. Gretna East | 3-1 | 6 – at Plattsmouth
  6. Skutt Catholic | 3-1 | 8 – at Elkhorn
  7. Seward | 2-2 | 9 – at Lincoln Northwest
  8. Scottsbluff | 3-1 | 3 – vs. Lexington
  9. Gretna | 2-2 | 7 – vs. No. 4 Bennington
  10. McCook | 3-1 | 10 – vs. Gering

OLI:
Gering | 4-0 | OLI – at No. 10 McCook
Northwest (Grand Island) | 2-2 | OLI – vs. Aurora
Plattsmouth | 3-1 | OLI – vs. No. 5 Gretna East

Comments: After the top three, No. 4 Bennington is legit and has won three straight games. The Badgers have a 53-3 record dating back to 2021. Full credit to No. 7 Seward for handling a tough situation heading into the season and getting a win over previous No. 3 Scottsbluff, 14-6. The Bluejays hung tough with No. 5 Gretna East and No .2 Waverly in an 0-2 start this season. Three of the four remaining unbeaten teams occupy the top three spots, with Gering remaining on the outside looking in. The Bulldogs do not have a win over Class B competition as of yet and gets a shot at No. 10 McCook in Week 5. Hastings junior kicker Ticen Johnson booted a 59-yard field goal in Week 4 to tie the state 11-man and Class B records.

Class C-1

  1. Wahoo | 4-0 | 1 – vs. Douglas County West
  2. Central City | 4-0 | 2 – vs. Adams Central
  3. Ashland-Greenwood | 3-1 | 3 – at Louisville
  4. Columbus Lakeview | 4-0 | 4 – at Schuyler
  5. Sidney | 4-0 | 5 – vs. Gothenburg
  6. O’Neill | 4-0 | 6 – vs. Wayne
  7. Fort Calhoun | 4-0 | 9 – at No. 8 Mount Michael
  8. Mount Michael | 3-1 | 7 – vs. No. 7 Fort Calhoun
  9. Pierce | 3-1 | 8 – at Scotus Central Catholic
  10. Syracuse | 4-0 | OLI – Fairbury

Dropped Out:
Scotus Central Catholic | 1-3 | 10 – vs. No. 9 Pierce

OLI:
Aurora | 1-3 | NR – at Northwest (GI)
Gothenburg | 4-0 | OLI – at No. 5 Sidney
Milford | 3-1 | NR – vs. Lincoln Christian
Also 4-0: Omaha Concordia

Comments: Top-ranked Wahoo, winners of 17 straight, has allowed seven total points in four comfortable wins so far this season as defending state champions. No. 5 Sidney will face unbeaten Gothenburg in what could be an interesting Week 5 battle. Fort Calhoun jumps to No. 7 this week after an impressive Week 4 win over Pierce, who falls to No. 9. For the second straight week Fort Calhoun will face a ranked opponent in No. 8 Mount Michael. Welcome to the Top 10 Syracuse, who has rammed its way into the Top 10 with a 4-0 record. Syracuse is not going anywhere with a favorable schedule from here on out.

Class C-2

  1. Bishop Neumann | 4-0 | 1 – at Palmyra
  2. Norfolk Catholic | 3-1 | 2 – at Ponca
  3. Cedar Catholic | 4-0 | 3– vs. No. 10 West Point-Beemer
  4. Kearney Catholic | 4-0 | 4 –at Amherst
  5. Grand Island Central Catholic | 4-0 | 5 – vs. Centura
  6. Boone Central | 2-2 | 6 – vs. Cross County
  7. Archbishop Bergan | 3-1 | 10 – at Yutan
  8. Ord | 1-3 | 9 – vs. St. Paul
  9. Doniphan-Trumbull | 3-1 | 8 – vs. Gibbon
  10. West Point-Beemer | 3-1 | OLI – at No. 3 Cedar Catholic

Dropped Out:
Lincoln Lutheran | 3-1 | OLI – vs. Raymond Central

OLI:
Malcolm | 2-2 | NR | vs. Conestoga
Raymond Central | 3-1 | OLI – at Lincoln Lutheran
Yutan | 3-1 | OLI – vs. No. 7 Archbishop Bergan

Comments: So wide open and a lot more wide open than many realize. According to the scores this season, there is not a lot of difference between No. 1 and No. 10. When parity reigns, either the best program in the class (Norfolk Catholic) or a darkhorse will rise in the playoffs to throw things into a chaos. West Point-Beemer comes in to the fold this week at No. 10. Its only loss of the season came to No. 1 Bishop Neumann by one point. Raymond Central and Yutan both dangerous on the Outside Looking In.

Class D-1

  1. Shelby-Rising City | 4-0 | 2 – vs. East Butler
  2. Dundy County-Stratton | 4-0 | 1 – vs. Arapahoe
  3. Sandy Creek | 3-1 | 3 – at No. 5 Thayer Central
  4. Hartington/Newcastle | 4-0 | 4 – at No. 7 Crofton
  5. Thayer Central | 4-0 | 5 – vs. No. 3 Sandy Creek
  6. Bloomfield | 4-0 | 6 – at Wausa/Osmond
  7. Crofton | 2-2 | 7 – vs. No. 4 Hartington/Newcastle
  8. Plainview | 3-1 | 9 – at Summerland
  9. Sutton | 3-1 | 8 – at EMF
  10. Lourdes Central Catholic | 3-1 | 10 – at Omaha Christian

OLI:
Bridgeport | 3-1 | OLI – vs. Kimball
Hemingford | 4-0 | NR – vs. Morrill
Johnson-Brock | 3-1 | OLI – at Elmwood-Murdock
McCool Junction | 3-1 | NR – at Mead
North Platte St. Patrick’s | 3-1 | OLI – at Hi-Line
Pender | 3–1 | NR – vs. Homer –
Ravenna | 4-0 | OLI – vs. Sandhills Valley
Wausa/Osmond | 4-0 | OLI – vs. No. 6 Bloomfield
Also 4-0: Arcadia-Loup City

Comments: Two huge games are slated for Week 5 when defending state champions Sandy Creek take on No. 5 Thayer Central and No. 4 Hartington/Newcastle faces off with No. 7 Crofton. Crofton’s schedule has been particularly difficult with wins over Summerland and No. 8 Plainview and its losses coming to D-2 No. 3 Wynot 78-76 in four overtimes and No. 6 Bloomfield in Week 4. There are a lot of good teams in Eight Man-1, hence amount of teams listed on the Outside Looking In.

Class D-2

  1. Archangels Catholic | 4-0 | 1 – vs. Nebraska Christian
  2. Howells-Dodge | 4-0 | 2 – vs. Fullerton
  3. Wynot | 3-1 | 3 – at Lyons-Decatur Northeast
  4. St. Mary’s | 4-0 | 4 – at Ainsworth
  5. Central Valley | 4-0 | 5 – vs. Burwell
  6. Lawrence-Nelson | 3-1 | 6 – at Deshler
  7. Hitchcock County | 4-0 | 7 – at Bertrand
  8. Mullen | 4-0 | 8 – vs. Hyannis
  9. Cambridge | 4-0 | OLI – at Loomis
  10. Anselmo-Merna | 3-1 | 9 – vs. Chambers/Wheeler Central

Dropped Out:
Loomis | 3-1 | 10 – vs. No. 9 Cambridge

OLI:
Burwell | 3-1 | NR – at No .5 Central Valley
Deshler | 4-0 | NR – vs. No, 6 Lawrence-Nelson
Elmwood-Murdock | 3-1 | OLI –vs. Johnson-Brock
Neligh-Oakdale | 4-0 | NR – at North Central
Overton | 2-2 | OLI – vs. Maywood/Hayes Center
Twin Loup | 3-1 | NR – at Palmer

Comments: Nine unbeaten teams remain heading into the halfway point of the regular season. Cambridge bursts in at No. 9 after rolling to four wins while averaging 65 points per game. Loomis drops out despite a huge run to keep Anselmo-Merna in the Top 10 due to a head-to-head win, albeit a close one. While there are no games between ranked teams in Week 5, there are a few prove-it games for teams on the Outside Looking In. Unbeaten Deshler gets a shot at No 6 Lawrence-Nelson, while Burwell gets a chance to knock off defending state champion Central Valley. Speaking of Deshler, sophomore Quincy Orme tied a Class D-2 and Eight Man state record with a 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Class D-6

  1. Garden County | 4-0 | 2 – vs. South Platte (Thurs.)
  2. Stuart | 3-1 | 1 – at Santee
  3. Red Cloud | 3-0 | 4 – at Meridian
  4. S-E-M | 2-1 | 3 – at Medicine Valley (Thurs.)
  5. Silver Lake | 2-1 | 5 – vs. Sterling
  6. Leyton | 2-0 | 7 – at Potter-Dix
  7. Southwest | 3-0 | 8 – vs. No. 8 Wallace
  8. Wallace | 3-0 | 9 – at No. 7 Southwest
  9. Hampton | 3-0 | 10 – Forfeit win over Grand Island Lutheran
  10. Pawnee City | 2-1 | 6 – vs. Parkview Christian

OLI:
Potter-Dix | 3-1 | NR – vs. No. 6 Leyton
Wauneta-Palisade | 3-0 | OLI – vs. Paxton

Comments: Give Garden County and defending state champion Stuart credit for scheduling a game outside the original schedule. Garden County defeated former No. 1 Stuart 28-14 in Elm Creek and moves into the top spot. Red Cloud jumps over S-E-M into No. 3 after averaging 67.7 points per game over its first three games and winning all of them by at least 46 points or more.