St. Mary's at Wausa preview: what's at stake in Week 8

St. Mary's (4-3) travels to No. 6 Wausa (6-1) on Friday in a Week 8 D3 Nebraska high school football game with a ranked Wausa team trying to protect its spot in the Hurrdat Sports coaches poll and wildcard points that count toward NSAA playoff qualifying and seeding on the line. Records are from NSAA's wildcard standings, pulled Oct. 12 at 10:42 p.m. This one matters because St. Mary's gets a shot at a ranked opponent.

St. Mary's is 4-3 in NSAA results. In its last three games with a final in our synced scores, newest first, St. Mary's beat Boyd County 42-14, beat Randolph 50-14 and lost to Wynot 22-6. Across its 7 games with verified finals, St. Mary's averages 33.7 points and allows 22.1.

Wausa sits No. 6 in D3 in the latest Hurrdat Sports coaches poll (2026-10-11). Wausa is 6-1 in NSAA results. Wausa has won four straight in our synced finals. Most recently, it beat Randolph 59-22, beat Wynot 33-22 and beat North Central 57-0. Across its 7 games with verified finals, Wausa averages 45.3 points and allows 18.

What's at stake

St. Mary's carries a 39.8571 NSAA wildcard points average, tied at No. 17 of 41 teams in D3 by average; its path to the playoffs is a district title or an at-large spot (projection, not official). Wausa carries a 41.4286 NSAA wildcard points average, 13th of 41 teams in D3 by average; its path to the playoffs is a district title or an at-large spot (projection, not official). In D3, the 7 district champions qualify automatically, and the 9 best averages among non-champions fill the rest of the 16-team field. Wildcard points decide who qualifies and how the field is seeded; see the Nebraska high school football wildcard standings and the playoff format.

Matchup to watch

The matchup to watch is Wausa's defense, which has allowed 18 points per game, against a St. Mary's offense that scores 33.7. Both have played Randolph: St. Mary's beat Randolph 50-14, and Wausa beat Randolph 59-22. Both have played Wynot: St. Mary's lost to Wynot 22-6, and Wausa beat Wynot 33-22.

Our pick

Our NEB Preps Power Index favors Wausa, giving it a 80% chance to win (81.5 to 61.7 on the index, with a small home-field edge for Wausa). This is NEB Preps' own computer pick from verified finals, not a poll or a betting line.