Football · Bubble Watch · Class C2
Class C2 playoff bracket (Week 9 Final): GICC, Bergan Catholic and Cedar Catholic top field; Hershey claims #16 seed
Four 9-0 district champions — Grand Island Central Catholic, Bergan Catholic, Cedar Catholic and Boone Central — anchor the Class C2 bracket, while Hershey (5-4, 38.3333) takes the #16 wild card ahead of Plainview/Osmond (38.1111) with Brownell Talbot and Chase County ineligible.
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 C2: No. 1 Grand Island Central Catholic vs. No. 16 Hershey →
- Class C2: No. 8 Malcolm vs. No. 9 Bishop Neumann →
- Class C2: No. 5 Yutan vs. No. 12 Wilber-Clatonia →
- Class C2: No. 4 Ord vs. No. 13 Fillmore Central →
- Class C2: No. 3 Cedar Catholic vs. No. 14 Lincoln Lutheran →
- Class C2: No. 6 Boone Central vs. No. 11 Mitchell →
- Class C2: No. 7 Gothenburg vs. No. 10 Scotus Central Catholic →
- Class C2: No. 2 Bergan Catholic vs. No. 15 West Point-Beemer →
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 C2 16-team playoff bracket and seedings below are locked from the final NSAA Class C2 Wildcard Points snapshot (24 Oct 2026 6:29:23 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 C2 Postseason Eligibility Note: Omaha Brownell Talbot (4-5, 38.4444, C2 (not eligible) — OPT C2 (classification PDF)); Chase County (2-7, 35.7778, C2 (not eligible) — OPT C2 (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 C2 Cut Line Summary: Hershey (5-4, 38.3333) locks in the #16 seed (Last In) and will travel to #1 Grand Island Central Catholic (9-0, 45.8889) in Round 1 on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, while Plainview/Osmond (5-4, 38.1111) finishes as the First Team Out (#17) by 0.2222 points. 6 district champions (C2-1 through C2-6) earn automatic berths, joined by the top 10 remaining postseason-eligible teams on NSAA wildcard points.
Top seeds and Week 9 shakeup in Class C2
Four undefeated district champions give Class C2 a loaded top half entering Friday's Round 1 openers. Grand Island Central Catholic (9-0, 45.8889, C2-5 Champ) edged Ord 17–14 on Friday night to finish unbeaten and claim the No. 1 overall seed by 0.2222 points over C2-1 champion Bergan Catholic (9-0, 45.6667), which defeated Yutan 28–6 in a battle of 8-0 powers. C2-4 champion Cedar Catholic (9-0, 44.0000) rolled past Norfolk Catholic 35–0 to lock up the #3 seed, while Ord (7-2, 43.6667, WC) and Yutan (8-1, 43.4444, WC) stayed ahead of 9-0 C2-3 champion Boone Central (9-0, 43.0000, #6 seed) on wildcard point averages.
Gothenburg (7-2, 42.3333, WC) secured the #7 seed with a 35–13 win over Chase County and will host #10 Scotus Central Catholic (6-3, 41.5556, WC). C2-2 champion Malcolm (7-2, 42.2222) takes #8 after routing Raymond Central 49–8 and draws a heavyweight #8-vs-#9 showdown with wild card Bishop Neumann (7-2, 41.8889). C2-6 champion Mitchell (6-3, 40.7778) claims the #11 seed and travels to #6 Boone Central, while #12 Wilber-Clatonia (6-3, 40.1111, WC) visits #5 Yutan and #13 Fillmore Central (6-3, 39.8889, WC) heads to #4 Ord.
Class C2 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 Hershey (5-4, 38.3333, Wild Card) | #1 Grand Island Central Catholic (9-0, 45.8889, District C2-5 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #9 at #8 | #9 Bishop Neumann (7-2, 41.8889, Wild Card) | #8 Malcolm (7-2, 42.2222, District C2-2 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #12 at #5 | #12 Wilber-Clatonia (6-3, 40.1111, Wild Card) | #5 Yutan (8-1, 43.4444, Wild Card) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #13 at #4 | #13 Fillmore Central (6-3, 39.8889, Wild Card) | #4 Ord (7-2, 43.6667, Wild Card) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #14 at #3 | #14 Lincoln Lutheran (5-4, 39.5556, Wild Card) | #3 Cedar Catholic (9-0, 44.0000, District C2-4 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #11 at #6 | #11 Mitchell (6-3, 40.7778, District C2-6 Champ) | #6 Boone Central (9-0, 43.0000, District C2-3 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #10 at #7 | #10 Scotus Central Catholic (6-3, 41.5556, Wild Card) | #7 Gothenburg (7-2, 42.3333, Wild Card) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
| #15 at #2 | #15 West Point-Beemer (5-4, 39.4444, Wild Card) | #2 Bergan Catholic (9-0, 45.6667, District C2-1 Champ) | Fri., Oct. 30 |
Tiebreakers, bubble cut line and First Four Out
Eligibility filtering under the NSAA 2026–27 classification PDF directly shaped the bottom of the Class C2 bracket. Omaha Brownell Talbot (4-5, 38.4444) finished 16th on raw wildcard points after a 47–23 loss to Bishop Neumann, but because Brownell Talbot (with its Cornerstone Christian co-op) and Chase County (2-7, 35.7778) are both designated C2 (not eligible) after opting up, neither can take a postseason berth. That moves Lincoln Lutheran (5-4, 39.5556) to #14, West Point-Beemer (5-4, 39.4444) to #15, and elevates Hershey (5-4, 38.3333) — which beat Valentine 36–16 on Friday — into the #16 and final wild-card spot at #1 Grand Island Central Catholic. Plainview/Osmond (5-4, 38.1111) and Norfolk Catholic (3-6, 37.8889) finish as the first two eligible teams out.
| Elig # | Team | Record | Final Pts | Playoff Status | Week 9 Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 | Wilber-Clatonia | 6-3 | 40.1111 | In (#12, Wild Card) | W 35–12 at Doniphan-Trumbull |
| #13 | Fillmore Central | 6-3 | 39.8889 | In (#13, Wild Card) | L 7–43 at Malcolm |
| #14 | Lincoln Lutheran | 5-4 | 39.5556 | In (#14, Wild Card) | W 31–14 at H&H |
| #15 | West Point-Beemer | 5-4 | 39.4444 | In (#15, Wild Card) | L 14–42 at Boone Central |
| #16 | Hershey | 5-4 | 38.3333 | Last in (#16) | L 36–39 at Bridgeport |
| #17 | Plainview/Osmond | 5-4 | 38.1111 | First out (#17) | W 35–13 at Norfolk Catholic |
| #18 | Norfolk Catholic | 3-6 | 37.8889 | Out (#18 eligible) | L 13–35 vs. Plainview/Osmond |
| #19 | St. Paul | 4-5 | 37.5556 | Out (#19 eligible) | W 71–20 at Wood River |
| #20 | Bridgeport | 4-5 | 36.6667 | Out (#20 eligible) | W 39–36 vs. Hershey |
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 →