Favorites flex in first round
STATE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
LUKE MULLIN
It's time to say goodbye to 64 high school football teams for the year, including four of the five postseason qualifiers from Lincoln.
Southwest, Northeast, Standing Bear, Pius X and Lincoln Lutheran are done for the season after losing their opening round playoff games on Friday.
Only Lincoln Christian is still practicing this week in the Capital City as it readies for a C-1 quarterfinal matchup with Boys Town.
The Crusaders' victory over Minden was part of an exciting start to this year's high school football playoffs.
Many games began in the early afternoon to avoid thunderstorms that thankfully stayed away, while doubleheaders at several stadiums kept the action going late into the night.
And while upsets are impactful because of their rarity, the overall dominance of the top-seeded teams across every class stood out. Of the 64 opening-round matchups, teams that had earned the right to host a game as the higher seed accounted for 56 wins and just eight losses.
There were no upsets — at least along the seeding lines — in Classes A, B, C-2 and D-1.
That was the expectation in a top heavy Class A football landscape where Omaha Westside and Millard South have stood atop the pack all year.
But with a late comeback required for Papillion-La Vista South to move on as the Titans converted a game-winning two-point try, the quarterfinals are sure to produce even more drama.
Class B's postseason favorites mostly had a comfortable first round as Gretna, Omaha Skutt, Waverly and Gretna East won their games by 27 points or more.
Tense moments occurred elsewhere, particularly in Grand Island Northwest's 23-22 win over Norris, where the Vikings had to go backward before going forward.
Trailing late in the fourth quarter, Northwest dialed up a play where quarterback Blake Wissing threw a backward pass at the line of scrimmage.
Junior Bryson Walker, who had attempted one pass all season, threw a perfect ball to Gavin Burt for the game-winning passing touchdown and a play they'll never forget.
Blair narrowly edged out McCook in another close Class B game, and No. 3 seed Scottsbluff was pushed slightly in a 35-21 victory over Omaha Gross.
Scottsbluff is playing without Class B's leading rusher, Mason Schmer, who is done for the year after suffering a serious knee injury.
Some of the best postseason action — and the week's biggest upset — came in Class C-1.
No. 13-seed Cozad, which made the playoffs with a 4-5 record against a difficult schedule and several close losses, defeated No. 4-seed Pierce 33-19, leading throughout.
Credit the Cozad offensive line for giving senior quarterback Ethan Atchison time to throw and room to run as he scored five touchdowns, three rushing and two passing.
Pierce was a potential state title contender thanks to its strong run game and defense, but it's the Haymakers that are moving on to play Syracuse in the quarterfinals.
Ashland-Greenwood managed to shake off two recent losses to beat Omaha Roncalli with a beat-up roster.
Already having lost its starting quarterback six games into the year, Ashland-Greenwood is playing without star running back Grayson Nolan. A threeman committee of Jack Johnson, Lisle Spears and Zane Taylor has picked up the slack.
Top-seeded Sidney nearly shut out Central City in its opening-round win, and a great defensive battle awaits with its quarterfinal matchup against Adams Central.
The Patriots scored a last-minute touchdown on a quarterback keeper from Riley Propp to defeat Wahoo 14-7, eliminating the team that had lifted the C-1 state championship trophy two years in a row.
As a result, Class C-1 is now moving closer toward a firsttime state champion.
Seven of the eight remaining teams — Sidney, Adams Central, Syracuse, Chadron, Ashland-Greenwood, Lincoln Christian and Boys Town — have never won a football state title.
Cozad is the outlier as a twotime state champion, most recently in 2013.
There weren't many surprises in Class C-2's opening round, but the good news is that it's set up an appetizing quarterfinal slate; Malcolm at Grand Island CC, Yutan at Ord, Boone Central at Hartington CC and Gothenburg at Archbishop Bergan are the matchups.
Hartington-Newcastle earned a thrilling 62-57 win over Centura to open the D-1 postseason as Austin Sudbeck scored six touchdowns. All eight of the top seeds in D-1 are still playing.
It was another close game for top-seeded Shelby-Rising City in Class D-2 with a 22-20 victory over No. 16 seed Fullerton; are they on upset watch this Friday?
Howells-Dodge and North Platte St. Pat's both won to set up an eight-man quarterfinal that's as good as it gets.
In the six-man ranks, Southwest's victory over Arthur County and Leyton's win over Riverside had plenty of offensive fireworks.
Vote online for Athlete of the Week
The nominees for Liberty First athlete of the Week are here. Check out what each accomplished in the past week, and then cast your vote online at .
Note: poll closes at noon Thursday, Nov. 5.
Jayla Green, Lincoln Lutheran volleyball
The sophomore hitter was a consistent option in Lutheran's five-set win against Ogallala in the C1-8 district final Saturday, racking up 17 kills to lead the team back into the state tournament. Green leads the team with 285 kills.
Millie Andreasen, Lincoln Pius X volleyball
When Pius X needed a kill in a thrilling five-set win against York in a Class b district final Saturday, the bolts went to the senior Andreasen, who produced 31 kills to hoist the team back to the state tournament.
Jack Johnson, Ashland-Greenwood football
Johnson stepped up in the absence of injured star running back Grayson Nolan, rushing for 108 yards and a touchdown to help the Bluejays past Minden in a Class C-1 first-round playoff game.
Nolan Duzik, Malcolm football
The senior wide receiver was a big-play threat in Malcolm's Firstround win, reeling in four catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-25 win in the C-2 playoffs against bishop Neumann. That's an average of 41.3 yards per catch!
