Football · Bubble Watch · Class B
Class B playoff bracket (Week 9 Final): Unbeaten Gretna earns No. 1 seed; Lincoln Pius X grabs #16 wild card
Final Week 9 NSAA points give undefeated Gretna (9-0, 45.0000) the No. 1 seed and Gretna East (8-1, 43.4444) No. 2, while Scottsbluff edges Aurora head-to-head for No. 3 and Lincoln Pius X (2-7, 35.1111) takes the final wild card ahead of Seward.
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 B: No. 1 Gretna vs. No. 16 Lincoln Pius X →
- Class B: No. 8 Northwest vs. No. 9 Norris →
- Class B: No. 5 Omaha Skutt Catholic vs. No. 12 Ralston →
- Class B: No. 4 Aurora vs. No. 13 York →
- Class B: No. 3 Scottsbluff vs. No. 14 Omaha Gross Catholic →
- Class B: No. 6 Blair vs. No. 11 McCook →
- Class B: No. 7 Waverly vs. No. 10 Elkhorn →
- Class B: No. 2 Gretna East vs. No. 15 Hastings →
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 B 16-team playoff bracket and seedings below are locked from the final NSAA Class B Wildcard Points snapshot (24 Oct 2026 6:29:21 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 B Postseason Eligibility Note: Platteview (6-3, 38.8889, District B-4 #2) and Crete (4-5, 37.7778, District B-4 #3) — non-champions in District B-4 (Emerging) are ineligible for wild-card berths per NSAA Football Manual p. 48. Regular-season games played against these schools still count toward opponents' wildcard point averages, but ineligible schools cannot occupy a postseason berth.
Class B Cut Line Summary: Lincoln Pius X (2-7, 35.1111) locks in the #16 seed (Last In) and will travel to #1 Gretna (9-0, 45.0000) in Round 1 on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, while Seward (1-8, 34.5556) finishes as the First Team Out (#17) by 0.5555 points. Top 3 teams by points in Districts B-1, B-2 and B-3 (9 automatic qualifiers), the District B-4 (Emerging) champion (1 automatic qualifier), and the next 6 highest-pointed eligible teams from B-1, B-2 and B-3 as wild cards. Non-champions in District B-4 are ineligible for wild-card berths per NSAA Football Manual p. 48.
Top seeds and Week 9 shakeup in Class B
Gretna (9-0, 45.0000) completed an undefeated regular season with a 42–29 road win at Norris on Friday night to claim the District B-2 title and the No. 1 overall seed in Class B. Cross-town rival Gretna East (8-1, 43.4444) locked up the District B-1 crown and the #2 seed by routing Ralston 56–19. In District B-3, Aurora (8-1, 42.4444) defeated McCook 34–7 and Scottsbluff (8-1, 42.4444) beat Hastings 42–7 to finish deadlocked at 42.4444 wildcard points; while Aurora won the B-3 district championship on the 3-way district tiebreaker, Scottsbluff takes the #3 overall playoff seed over #4 Aurora at Step 1 of the statewide seeding tiebreaker thanks to Scottsbluff's 28–25 head-to-head victory over the Huskies on Oct. 2.
Defending contender Omaha Skutt Catholic (7-2, 42.2222, B-1 #2) takes the #5 seed after a 49–6 win at Elkhorn and will host #12 Ralston (4-5, 37.4444, WC). Blair (8-1, 42.1111) captured the District B-4 (Emerging) automatic berth with a 47–14 victory over Crete to earn the #6 seed and a first-round home game against #11 McCook (4-5, 37.5556, WC). #7 Waverly (7-2, 41.8889, B-2 #2) hosts #10 Elkhorn (4-5, 38.2222, B-1 #3), and #8 Northwest (7-2, 41.5556, B-3 #3) welcomes #9 Norris (4-5, 38.8889, B-2 #3).
Class B 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 Lincoln Pius X (2-7, 35.1111, Wild Card) | #1 Gretna (9-0, 45.0000, District B-2 #1) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #9 at #8 | #9 Norris (4-5, 38.8889, District B-2 #3) | #8 Northwest (7-2, 41.5556, District B-3 #3) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #12 at #5 | #12 Ralston (4-5, 37.4444, Wild Card) | #5 Omaha Skutt Catholic (7-2, 42.2222, District B-1 #2) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #13 at #4 | #13 York (4-5, 36.8889, Wild Card) | #4 Aurora (8-1, 42.4444, District B-3 #1) (Step 1 H2H loss to Scottsbluff) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #14 at #3 | #14 Omaha Gross Catholic (2-7, 35.7778, Wild Card) | #3 Scottsbluff (8-1, 42.4444, District B-3 #2) (Step 1 H2H over Aurora) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #11 at #6 | #11 McCook (4-5, 37.5556, Wild Card) | #6 Blair (8-1, 42.1111, District B-4 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #10 at #7 | #10 Elkhorn (4-5, 38.2222, District B-1 #3) | #7 Waverly (7-2, 41.8889, District B-2 #2) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #15 at #2 | #15 Hastings (2-7, 35.4444, Wild Card) | #2 Gretna East (8-1, 43.4444, District B-1 #1) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
Tiebreakers, bubble cut line and First Four Out
Class B's unique qualification rule plays a decisive role at the bottom of the bracket. Under the NSAA Football Manual (p. 48), the top three teams by points in Districts B-1, B-2 and B-3 (9 teams) plus the District B-4 Emerging champion (Blair) qualify automatically, while non-champions in District B-4 are ineligible for wild-card berths. That rule excludes B-4 runner-up Platteview (6-3, 38.8889, #10 on raw points) and third-place Crete (4-5, 37.7778, #12 on raw points) from the six wild-card spots. As a result, #13 York (4-5, 36.8889), #14 Omaha Gross Catholic (2-7, 35.7778), #15 Hastings (2-7, 35.4444) and #16 Lincoln Pius X (2-7, 35.1111) capture the final four wild-card berths, while Seward (1-8, 34.5556) and Gering (1-8, 34.2222) are the first two eligible teams out.
| Elig # | Team | Record | Final Pts | Playoff Status | Week 9 Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 | Ralston | 4-5 | 37.4444 | In (#12, Wild Card) | L 14–21 at Omaha Gross Catholic |
| #13 | York | 4-5 | 36.8889 | In (#13, Wild Card) | L 6–20 vs. Norris |
| #14 | Omaha Gross Catholic | 2-7 | 35.7778 | In (#14, Wild Card) | W 21–14 vs. Ralston |
| #15 | Hastings | 2-7 | 35.4444 | In (#15, Wild Card) | W 44–7 at Gering |
| #16 | Lincoln Pius X | 2-7 | 35.1111 | Last in (#16) | L 7–42 at Gretna |
| #17 | Seward | 1-8 | 34.5556 | First out (#17) | L 12–49 at Waverly |
| #18 | Gering | 1-8 | 34.2222 | Out (#18 eligible) | L 7–44 vs. Hastings |
| #19 | Plattsmouth | 1-8 | 33.8889 | Out (#19 eligible) | L 0–48 vs. Elkhorn |
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 →