Class D2 football: Week 9 games that shape the playoff race

Week 9 is the last week of the regular season on NSAA's D2 schedule. The 6 district champions and the 10 teams with the highest regular-season point average that did not finish as district champions = 16. Ranks and records here are from NSAA's wildcard page as of Oct. 16 at 11:07 a.m. CT, which counted Thursday's games and NSAA's 1-0 results but not Friday's games, so they will move. They are projections, not seeds. Shelby-Rising City (7-0) led D2 at that update, 1st of 36 by average (45.8571).

Games to watch

Day	Away	Home
Fri.	T-4 East Butler (6-1)	T-4 Lourdes Central Catholic (5-2)
Fri.	No. 1 Shelby-Rising City (7-0)	No. 12 Aquinas Catholic (5-2)
Fri.	No. 7 Howells-Dodge (6-1)	No. 6 Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (6-1)
Thu.	No. 18 Arapahoe (4-4)	No. 3 Loomis (7-0)
Fri.	No. 21 Maywood-Hayes Center (3-4)	T-9 Hitchcock County (5-2)
Thu.	No. 16 South Loup (4-3)	No. 14 Wilcox-Hildreth (4-3)

The matchups

East Butler at Lourdes Central Catholic, Friday. East Butler's 42.7143 average was 4.2857 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286); Lourdes Central Catholic's 42.7143 average was 4.2857 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286). East Butler has outscored opponents 366-152 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 40-22 loss to Shelby-Rising City on Oct. 9, 2026. Lourdes Central Catholic has outscored opponents 273-155 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 63-0 win over Omaha Christian on Oct. 9, 2026. NSAA records since 2020 show no earlier regular-season meeting.

Shelby-Rising City at Aquinas Catholic, Friday. Shelby-Rising City's 45.8571 average was 7.4285 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286); Aquinas Catholic's 40.0000 average was 1.5714 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286). Shelby-Rising City has outscored opponents 354-135 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 40-22 win over East Butler on Oct. 9, 2026. Aquinas Catholic has outscored opponents 238-148 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 42-12 win over Humphrey-Lindsay on Oct. 9, 2026. NSAA records since 2020 show no earlier regular-season meeting.

Howells-Dodge at Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Friday. Howells-Dodge's 41.5714 average was 3.1428 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286); Laurel-Concord-Coleridge's 42.2857 average was 3.8571 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286). Howells-Dodge has outscored opponents 298-102 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 50-16 win over Tri County Northeast (TCNE) on Oct. 9, 2026. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge has outscored opponents 377-144 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 68-28 win over Oakland-Craig on Oct. 9, 2026. NSAA records since 2020 show no earlier regular-season meeting.

Arapahoe at Loomis, Thursday. Arapahoe's 37.3750 average was 1.0536 points below the No. 16 average (38.4286); Loomis' 43.1429 average was 4.7143 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286). Arapahoe has outscored opponents 196-178 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 1-0 win over Franklin on Oct. 16, 2026. Loomis has outscored opponents 382-94 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 62-8 win over Franklin on Oct. 9, 2026. Loomis is 0-2 against Arapahoe in NSAA regular-season meetings since 2020.

Maywood-Hayes Center at Hitchcock County, Friday. Maywood-Hayes Center's 36.4286 average was 2.0000 points below the No. 16 average (38.4286); Hitchcock County's 40.7143 average was 2.2857 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286). Maywood-Hayes Center has been outscored 180-108 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 52-12 loss to Hemingford on Oct. 9, 2026. Hitchcock County has outscored opponents 356-279 in eight scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 42-30 loss to Hemingford on Oct. 16, 2026. Hitchcock County is 4-0 against Maywood-Hayes Center in NSAA regular-season meetings since 2020.

South Loup at Wilcox-Hildreth, Thursday. South Loup was right on the No. 16 average (38.4286); Wilcox-Hildreth's 38.8571 average was 0.4285 points above the No. 16 average (38.4286). South Loup has been outscored 201-194 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 53-6 loss to Bertrand on Oct. 9, 2026. Wilcox-Hildreth has outscored opponents 236-171 in seven scored games, and its latest NSAA result was a 48-0 win over Arapahoe on Oct. 9, 2026. NSAA records since 2020 show no earlier regular-season meeting.

Week 8 results are in our recaps and the class roundup. Sources: NSAA D2 wildcard; NSAA D2 schedule.

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Result note: a 1–0 entry is shown as listed by NSAA. It is not treated as evidence of an on-field score or a confirmed forfeit.