Football · Bubble Watch · Class A
Class A playoff bracket (Week 9 Final): No. 1 Omaha Westside hosts No. 16 Columbus; Lincoln North Star first out
With all 18 Week 9 Class A games final on NSAA, undefeated Omaha Westside (9-0, 46.3333) locks up the No. 1 seed ahead of Millard South, Millard North and Bennington, while Columbus (5-4, 39.1111) claims the #16 berth over Lincoln North Star (38.7778).
Official bracket update: NSAA seeds and point averages were checked Oct. 24. The reporting below retains its original source snapshot; use the current bracket for the latest field and points.
Current playoff bracket → · Playoff scores →
Round 1 game centers mentioned in this story (8)
- Class A: No. 1 Omaha Westside vs. No. 16 Columbus →
- Class A: No. 8 Papillion-La Vista vs. No. 9 Lincoln Northeast →
- Class A: No. 5 Elkhorn South vs. No. 12 Elkhorn North →
- Class A: No. 4 Bennington vs. No. 13 Lincoln Southwest →
- Class A: No. 3 Millard North vs. No. 14 Creighton Preparatory School →
- Class A: No. 6 Omaha North vs. No. 11 Kearney →
- Class A: No. 7 Papillion-La Vista South vs. No. 10 Millard West →
- Class A: No. 2 Millard South vs. No. 15 Lincoln Standing Bear →
Official Week 9 Final Bracket Notice: All 139 Week 9 Nebraska high school football games across all eight classes are officially final in the NSAA schedule export. The Class A 16-team playoff bracket and seedings below are locked from the final NSAA Class A Wildcard Points snapshot (24 Oct 2026 6:29:20 am CDT), NSAA District Standings, the NSAA Football Manual tiebreaker steps, and the 2026–27 NSAA Classification Eligibility PDF. With all regular-season games and NSAA wildcard points final, these are the final 16-team Round 1 pairings.
Class A Cut Line Summary: Columbus (5-4, 39.1111) locks in the #16 seed (Last In) and will travel to #1 Omaha Westside (9-0, 46.3333) in Round 1 on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, while Lincoln North Star (5-4, 38.7778) finishes as the First Team Out (#17) by 0.3333 points. Top 16 on NSAA wildcard points (no automatic district-champion berths in Class A).
Top seeds and Week 9 shakeup in Class A
With all 18 Week 9 games in Class A officially final in the NSAA schedule export, undefeated Omaha Westside (9-0, 46.3333 points) stands alone atop the projected 16-team bracket after pulling away from No. 2 Millard South (8-1, 45.4444) for a 41–17 victory at Buell Stadium on Friday night. Millard North (8-1, 45.1111) vaulted into the No. 3 seed by shutting out previously unbeaten Bennington (8-1, 44.7778) 35–0, keeping all four nine-win and eight-win contenders on the top line of their respective quarterfinal quadrants.
Behind the top four, Elkhorn South (6-3, 42.6667) locked down the No. 5 seed with a 27–17 win over rival Elkhorn North, setting up an immediate first-round rematch with the #12 Wolves (6-3, 40.6667) on Friday, Oct. 30. Omaha North (8-1, 42.4444) rolled past Omaha Central 49–20 to secure the #6 seed and a home date against #11 Kearney (6-3, 40.6667), which topped Grand Island 45–3. Papillion-La Vista South (6-3, 42.3333) takes #7 and hosts #10 Millard West (5-4, 41.1111) after the Titans edged the Wildcats 24–20 on Friday, while #8 Papillion-La Vista (7-2, 41.8889) draws #9 Lincoln Northeast (8-1, 41.7778) after the Rockets blanked Omaha Bryan 48–0.
Class A Round 1 Playoff Bracket (Fri., Oct. 30)
| Bracket Slot | Away Team (Seed, Rec, Pts, Bid) | Home Team (Seed, Rec, Pts, Bid) | Round 1 Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| #16 at #1 | #16 Columbus (5-4, 39.1111, Top 16 Points) | #1 Omaha Westside (9-0, 46.3333, Top 16 Points) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #9 at #8 | #9 Lincoln Northeast (8-1, 41.7778, Top 16 Points) | #8 Papillion-La Vista (7-2, 41.8889, Top 16 Points) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #12 at #5 | #12 Elkhorn North (6-3, 40.6667, Top 16 Points) (Step 5 (Div 1 games played: 2)) | #5 Elkhorn South (6-3, 42.6667, Top 16 Points) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #13 at #4 | #13 Lincoln Southwest (6-3, 40.6667, Top 16 Points) | #4 Bennington (8-1, 44.7778, Top 16 Points) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #14 at #3 | #14 Creighton Prep (5-4, 40.4444, Top 16 Points) | #3 Millard North (8-1, 45.1111, Top 16 Points) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #11 at #6 | #11 Kearney (6-3, 40.6667, Top 16 Points) (Step 4 (Div 1+2 wins: 3)) | #6 Omaha North (8-1, 42.4444, Top 16 Points) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #10 at #7 | #10 Millard West (5-4, 41.1111, Top 16 Points) | #7 Papillion-La Vista South (6-3, 42.3333, Top 16 Points) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #15 at #2 | #15 Lincoln Standing Bear (5-4, 39.4444, Top 16 Points) | #2 Millard South (8-1, 45.4444, Top 16 Points) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
Tiebreakers, bubble cut line and First Four Out
A three-way tie at 40.6667 points between Kearney, Elkhorn North and Lincoln Southwest (all 6-3) required the NSAA Football Manual Point System Tiebreaker. Kearney claimed #11 at Step 4 with three wins over Division 1 and Division 2 opponents, and Elkhorn North took #12 over Lincoln Southwest at Step 5 by playing two Division 1 opponents to Southwest's one, sending #13 Lincoln Southwest to #4 Bennington. On the cut line, Columbus (5-4, 39.1111) punched the #16 ticket with a 35–16 road win at North Platte, finishing 0.3333 points ahead of #17 Lincoln North Star (5-4, 38.7778), whose 28–21 Thursday loss to Lincoln Southwest left the Navigators as the first team out.
| Elig # | Team | Record | Final Pts | Playoff Status | Week 9 Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 | Elkhorn North | 6-3 | 40.6667 | In (#12, Top 16 Points) | L 17–27 at Elkhorn South |
| #13 | Lincoln Southwest | 6-3 | 40.6667 | In (#13, Top 16 Points) | W 28–21 vs. Lincoln North Star |
| #14 | Creighton Prep | 5-4 | 40.4444 | In (#14, Top 16 Points) | W 17–6 at Bellevue West |
| #15 | Lincoln Standing Bear | 5-4 | 39.4444 | In (#15, Top 16 Points) | W 38–7 at Bellevue East |
| #16 | Columbus | 5-4 | 39.1111 | Last in (#16) | W 50–20 at North Platte |
| #17 | Lincoln North Star | 5-4 | 38.7778 | First out (#17) | L 21–28 at Lincoln Southwest |
| #18 | North Platte | 5-4 | 38.1111 | Out (#18 eligible) | L 20–50 vs. Columbus |
| #19 | Bellevue West | 4-5 | 37.8889 | Out (#19 eligible) | L 6–17 vs. Creighton Prep |
| #20 | Omaha Westview | 3-6 | 37.6667 | Out (#20 eligible) | L 14–41 vs. Omaha North |
How the NSAA seeding and tiebreaker rules work
Under the NSAA Football Manual, teams earn 50, 47, 44 or 41 points for wins over Division 1, 2, 3 or 4 opponents, and 36, 33, 30 or 27 points for losses, averaged across all counted regular-season games (with +2, +3 or +4 bonus points for playing up in classification when applicable). When two or more teams finish tied in final wildcard point average, seeding and wild-card ties are broken sequentially by: (1) head-to-head result if all tied teams played one another, (2) district championship status where applicable, (3) most wins against Division 1 opponents, (4) most combined wins against Division 1 and Division 2 opponents, (5) most games played against Division 1 opponents, and (6) highest combined winning percentage of all opponents played.
Sources
Full 8-Class Playoff Bracket Tracker (/playoffs) → · Statewide All-Class Week 9 Final Playoff Brackets → · Week 9 Final Scoreboard →