Football · Bubble Watch · Class C1
Class C1 playoff bracket (Week 9 Final): Sidney and Boys Town lead unbeaten top seeds; Central City edges Mount Michael for #16
Unbeaten district champions Sidney (9-0, 44.5556), Boys Town (9-0, 44.3333) and Pierce (9-0, 43.3333) headline the Class C1 field alongside 8-1 wild card Chadron (#3), while Central City (4-5, 38.5556) holds off Mount Michael Benedictine (38.4444) by 0.1112 points for #16.
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 C1: No. 1 Sidney vs. No. 16 Central City →
- Class C1: No. 8 Wahoo vs. No. 9 Adams Central →
- Class C1: No. 5 Syracuse vs. No. 12 ONeill →
- Class C1: No. 4 Pierce vs. No. 13 Cozad →
- Class C1: No. 3 Chadron vs. No. 14 Auburn →
- Class C1: No. 6 Ashland-Greenwood vs. No. 11 Omaha Roncalli Catholic →
- Class C1: No. 7 Lincoln Christian vs. No. 10 Minden →
- Class C1: No. 2 Boys Town vs. No. 15 Alliance →
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 C1 16-team playoff bracket and seedings below are locked from the final NSAA Class C1 Wildcard Points snapshot (24 Oct 2026 6:29:22 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 C1 Postseason Eligibility Note: Nebraska City (0-9, 32.8889, C1 (not eligible) — Opt C1 (classification PDF)). Regular-season games played against these schools still count toward opponents' wildcard point averages, but ineligible schools cannot occupy a postseason berth.
Class C1 Cut Line Summary: Central City (4-5, 38.5556) locks in the #16 seed (Last In) and will travel to #1 Sidney (9-0, 44.5556) in Round 1 on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, while Mount Michael Benedictine (4-5, 38.4444) finishes as the First Team Out (#17) by 0.1112 points. 6 district champions (C1-1 through C1-6) earn automatic berths, joined by the top 10 remaining postseason-eligible teams on NSAA wildcard points.
Top seeds and Week 9 shakeup in Class C1
Three undefeated district champions and an 8-1 Panhandle wild card lead the Class C1 bracket after Friday night's Week 9 finales. Sidney (9-0, 44.5556, C1-6 Champ) locked up the No. 1 overall seed by holding off Chadron 16–8 in a showdown of unbeatens, while Boys Town (9-0, 44.3333, C1-1 Champ) blanked Louisville 64–0 to secure the #2 seed. Despite its lone loss at Sidney, Chadron (8-1, 43.7778) boasts the third-highest wildcard point average in Class C1 to claim the #3 overall seed ahead of unbeaten C1-4 champion Pierce (9-0, 43.3333), which outscored O'Neill 48–36 on Friday.
C1-3 champion Syracuse (7-2, 42.8889) takes the #5 seed after a 26–6 win over Auburn and draws #12 O'Neill (6-3, 40.3333, WC) in Round 1. Ashland-Greenwood (7-2, 42.5556, WC) holds the #6 seed despite a 33–29 upset loss at Columbus Lakeview and will host #11 Omaha Roncalli Catholic (7-2, 40.8889, WC). A three-way tie at 42.1111 points between Lincoln Christian (7-2, WC), Wahoo (7-2, C1-2 Champ) and Adams Central (8-1, C1-5 Champ) was broken by the NSAA Manual tiebreaker: Lincoln Christian earned #7 at Step 4 (two Division 1+2 wins), raising an intriguing #10 Minden (8-1, 42.0000) at #7 Lincoln Christian matchup, while Wahoo edged Adams Central at Step 5 (three Division 1 games played to two) to host the #9 Patriots in an #8-vs-#9 clash.
Class C1 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 Central City (4-5, 38.5556, Wild Card) | #1 Sidney (9-0, 44.5556, District C1-6 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #9 at #8 | #9 Adams Central (8-1, 42.1111, District C1-5 Champ) | #8 Wahoo (7-2, 42.1111, District C1-2 Champ) (Step 5 (Div 1 games played: 3)) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #12 at #5 | #12 O'Neill (6-3, 40.3333, Wild Card) | #5 Syracuse (7-2, 42.8889, District C1-3 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #13 at #4 | #13 Cozad (4-5, 39.2222, Wild Card) | #4 Pierce (9-0, 43.3333, District C1-4 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #14 at #3 | #14 Auburn (5-4, 39.1111, Wild Card) | #3 Chadron (8-1, 43.7778, Wild Card) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #11 at #6 | #11 Omaha Roncalli Catholic (7-2, 40.8889, Wild Card) | #6 Ashland-Greenwood (7-2, 42.5556, Wild Card) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #10 at #7 | #10 Minden (8-1, 42.0000, Wild Card) | #7 Lincoln Christian (7-2, 42.1111, Wild Card) (Step 4 (Div 1+2 wins: 2)) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #15 at #2 | #15 Alliance (5-4, 39.0000, Wild Card) | #2 Boys Town (9-0, 44.3333, District C1-1 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
Tiebreakers, bubble cut line and First Four Out
The Class C1 bubble produced one of the tightest cuts in the state. Cozad (4-5, 39.2222) took #13 with a 48–13 win over Broken Bow, Auburn (5-4, 39.1111) landed at #14, and CEC-eligible Alliance (5-4, 39.0000) vaulted into #15 with a 27–13 road win at Mitchell. That left Central City (4-5, 38.5556) clinging to the #16 and final wild-card berth by just 0.1112 points (one division step on a single game) over #17 Mount Michael Benedictine (4-5, 38.4444). Columbus Lakeview's thrilling 33–29 win over Ashland-Greenwood lifted the Vikings to 4-5 and 37.8889 points, leaving them #18 (second out). Nebraska City (0-9, 32.8889) is C1 (not eligible) per the NSAA classification PDF.
| Elig # | Team | Record | Final Pts | Playoff Status | Week 9 Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 | O'Neill | 6-3 | 40.3333 | In (#12, Wild Card) | W 48–24 vs. Wayne |
| #13 | Cozad | 4-5 | 39.2222 | In (#13, Wild Card) | L 19–35 at Sidney |
| #14 | Auburn | 5-4 | 39.1111 | In (#14, Wild Card) | W 54–10 vs. Nebraska City |
| #15 | Alliance | 5-4 | 39.0000 | In (#15, Wild Card) | W 27–13 at Mitchell |
| #16 | Central City | 4-5 | 38.5556 | Last in (#16) | L 0–35 vs. Pierce |
| #17 | Mount Michael Benedictine | 4-5 | 38.4444 | First out (#17) | W 44–0 vs. Concordia Omaha |
| #18 | Columbus Lakeview | 4-5 | 37.8889 | Out (#18 eligible) | W 33–29 vs. Ashland-Greenwood |
| #19 | Arlington | 3-6 | 37.0000 | Out (#19 eligible) | W 14–6 vs. Douglas County West |
| #20 | Broken Bow | 3-6 | 36.6667 | Out (#20 eligible) | W 17–15 at Holdrege |
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 →