Football · Preview · Class D2
Class D2 football playoff outlook: 9 teams are in, and Fullerton and South Loup are tied at the line
Who has clinched in Class D2, the D2-1, D2-2 and D2-4 title races, the teams that clinch with a Week 9 win and a projected first round.
Nine Class D2 teams have clinched playoff spots, and two more clinch with a Week 9 win, whatever else happens: Hemingford and BDS. Shelby-Rising City (8-0) takes the D2-1 title with a win at Aquinas Catholic. The last projected spot is a tie: Fullerton and South Loup are both 4-4 at 38.1250, they have not played, and that tie is unresolved.
Creighton has also clinched the D2-3 title, which NSAA's district standings page does not show. It is 4-0 in the district, the two 3-1 teams behind it play each other Friday, and Creighton beat both of them.
Data as of 9:04 a.m. CT Monday, Oct. 19, from NSAA wildcard points and schedule exports. Every Week 1-8 final is posted, and Week 9 games are Oct. 22-23. Everything here is a NEB Preps projection until NSAA seeds the field. Clinched and eliminated calls are NEB Preps' math, which runs every Week 9 result through NSAA's full point formula (football manual, p. 40).
If the season ended today
NEB Preps projection, using NSAA's bracket (manual, p. 57). District leaders are counted as champions. Teams with identical averages are listed in NSAA's page order, which is not a tiebreak result. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge and Lourdes Central Catholic are tied (42.5000), so the 13-4 and 5-12 games could swap opponents. Fullerton and South Loup are tied for No. 16, and that is unresolved.
- No. 1 Shelby-Rising City vs. No. 16 Fullerton, a rematch of SRC's 42-6 win on Aug. 28
- No. 9 Creighton vs. No. 8 Hemingford
- No. 5 Lourdes Central Catholic vs. No. 12 Hitchcock County
- No. 13 Neligh-Oakdale vs. No. 4 Laurel-Concord-Coleridge
- No. 3 Loomis vs. No. 14 Bertrand, a rematch of Loomis' 20-18 win on Oct. 1
- No. 11 Wilcox-Hildreth vs. No. 6 Howells-Dodge
- No. 7 East Butler vs. No. 10 Aquinas Catholic, a rematch of Aquinas' 42-14 win on Oct. 16
- No. 15 BDS vs. No. 2 North Platte St. Patrick's
How D2 qualifies
The six district champions qualify, plus the 10 highest averages among teams that did not win a district (NSAA football manual, p. 57). The 16th-best average is not automatically in.
Who's in
District champions: Creighton (D2-3), Loomis (D2-5) and North Platte St. Patrick's (D2-6). Creighton beat Neligh-Oakdale 60-44 and Bloomfield 20-6, and those two meet Friday, so only one can tie Creighton; the head-to-head step then favors Creighton (p. 57).
By math: Shelby-Rising City, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Lourdes Central Catholic, Howells-Dodge, East Butler and Aquinas Catholic. In every Week 9 outcome, each finishes with an average too few wild-card teams can reach. Thirteen teams are out in every outcome, including Perkins County and Niobrara-Verdigre.
The bubble
Ranks and points are NSAA's. Status is NEB Preps' projection math.
| Team | Pts (rank) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Hemingford | 41.3750 (8) | In with a win |
| Wilcox-Hildreth | 39.8750 (11) | Not yet determined |
| Hitchcock County | 39.7500 (12) | Not yet determined |
| Neligh-Oakdale | 39.3750 (13) | Not yet determined |
| Bertrand | 39.1250 (14) | Not yet determined |
| BDS | 38.8750 (15) | In with a win |
| Fullerton | 38.1250 (T-16) | Not yet determined |
| South Loup | 38.1250 (T-16) | Not yet determined |
| Bloomfield | 37.7500 (18) | Not yet determined |
| Tri County Northeast | 37.6250 (19) | Not yet determined |
| Superior | 36.8750 (21) | Not yet determined |
A loss alone does not eliminate any team from Hemingford to Bloomfield; for Tri County Northeast and Superior, status after a loss is not yet determined. Wilcox-Hildreth, Hitchcock County and Neligh-Oakdale each clinch with a win plus one other result, such as Shelby-Rising City beating Aquinas. Maywood-Hayes Center and Oakland-Craig are out with a loss.
Games that matter
South Loup at Wilcox-Hildreth, Thursday. Both are inside or on the line. A Wilcox-Hildreth win plus a Shelby-Rising City or Madison win clinches Wilcox-Hildreth. South Loup is tied with Fullerton for the last spot.
BDS at Superior, Friday. BDS (4-0 in D2-4) clinches the title and a spot with a win. A Superior win takes the title if Fullerton loses to Kenesaw. If Fullerton wins, BDS, Superior and Fullerton would all be 4-1 in D2-4 and 5-4 overall, with a win over one another, and the title is unresolved.
Shelby-Rising City at Aquinas Catholic, Friday. SRC (8-0) clinches D2-1 with a win, which also helps several bubble teams' math. An Aquinas win takes the title if Lourdes loses to East Butler. If Lourdes wins, the three tie at 4-1, each 1-1 against the others, and Shelby-Rising City (8-1) keeps the title on overall record (manual, p. 57).
Howells-Dodge at Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Friday. Both are 4-0 in D2-2 and 7-1, and already in. The winner takes the title.
Neligh-Oakdale at Bloomfield, Thursday. A Neligh-Oakdale win clinches it if Shelby-Rising City or Franklin also wins. Bloomfield, 18th, is alive but cannot clinch.
Possible quarterfinals
If every higher seed wins in the first round (a NEB Preps projection):
- No. 1 Shelby-Rising City vs. No. 8 Hemingford
- No. 4 Laurel-Concord-Coleridge vs. No. 5 Lourdes Central Catholic
- No. 3 Loomis vs. No. 6 Howells-Dodge
- No. 2 North Platte St. Patrick's vs. No. 7 East Butler
Still unknown
The Fullerton-South Loup tie, the D2-1, D2-2 and D2-4 titles, and every seed are not yet determined. NSAA's district standings page does not mark clinches; Creighton's rests on the head-to-head step (p. 57).
Every class: Wildcard Watch: Week 9.
Sources
Nebraska football scores and schedules → · Football playoff tracker →