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Once again there aren't a lot of surprises in this week's Top 10 — especially at the top where Humphrey St. Francis and Howells-Dodge sit 1-2. The former Cornhusker Conference rivals battled many times over the years when Howells and Dodge played as separate entities, and there was always a lot on the line in terms of conference and state championship hardware.
Since the turn of the century, the trio of small school football powers played in 15 state championship finals and won 12 of them. This Top 10, however, dates back to just 2006 and takes into consideration Nebraska's Class D1, D2 and 6-Man MaxPreps Computer Rankings and the state title games that the Cornhusker State's smaller schools participated in from 2006 on.
Since many of Nebraska's smaller schools have consolidated over the years, we had to resort to using a little extra math in calculating a fair and accurate Top 10. All of the calculations made for this week were based on a school's 2018 name. For example, Howells and Dodge now go by Howells-Dodge, so that's how they are listed in this Top 10. However, from 2006-2011 both schools competed separately before joining forces in 2012.
MaxPreps has developed its own system in determining which football programs compete at the highest level over an extended period of time. Here is how points are accumulated:
1. 20 points for a state title
2. 10 points for finishing as a state runner-up
3. Other points are based on a team's Top 25 standing in the final MaxPreps Nebraska Computer Rankings. For instance, if a school claimed the top spot, it received 25 points, while a No. 25 ranking was good for one point.
Calculations were pretty straightforward for the programs that have always competed on their own like St. Francis, Falls City Sacred Heart and Giltner. But, when it comes to the consolidations, some points had to be shaved.
For example, in 2011 Howells and Dodge each played on their own merit and both were ranked in our Top 25 computer rankings at season's end. Instead of giving the Jaguars 36 points for Howells second place finish and Dodge's No. 14 ranking, we gave Mike Speirs' program the 24 points earned by Howells that year, since they were the higher ranked of the two teams.
Points were also shaved when two schools of the same consolidation participated in state championship games in the same year. In 2007, Elgin lost to Chambers 28-24 in the Class D2 state championship game. But, in that same year, Pope John upended Clarkson 39-30 in the D1 title game. Had 2007 been included in this week's Top 10, Elgin/Pope John wouldn't have earned 30 points for a state championship and runner-up finish that year; Randy Eisenhauer's Wolfpack would have netted the 20 points earned by Pope John since they earned the higher amount of points.
Had both programs won state titles in 2007, Elgin/Pope John would have been given just the 20 points. Any consolidations that earned all of their points as the consolidation were, of course, awarded all of their points.
Nebraska's dominant 8-Man football programs of the past decade1. St. Francis (Humphrey) — 243 pointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2008 (2), 2009 (2), 2010 (3), 2011 (7), 2012 (3), 2013 (19), 2014 (4), 2015 (1), 2016 (13), 2017 (23).
2. Howells-Dodge (Howells) — 223 pointsState titles: 3
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2008 (5), 2009 (1), 2010 (1), 2011 (2), 2012 (10), 2013 (6), 2014 (18), 2017 (12).
3. Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (Bruning) — 181 pointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2008 (23), 2011 (21), 2012 (8), 2013 (14), 2014 (5), 2015 (2), 2016 (3), 2017 (1).
4. Sacred Heart (Falls City) — 162 pointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2012 (4), 2013 (1), 2014 (6), 2015 (11), 2016 (1), 2017 (11).
5. Twin Loup (Sargent) — 149 pointsState titles: 1
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (15), 2010 (4), 2011 (1), 2013 (10), 2016 (8), 2017 (9).
6. (tie) Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) — 145 pointsState titles: 1
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2010 (5), 2011 (11), 2012 (20), 2013 (17), 2014 (8), 2015 (7), 2016 (9).
6. (tie) Giltner — 145 pointsState titles: 1
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2008 (12), 2009 (5), 2010 (6), 2011 (6), 2012 (1), 2013 (16), 2014 (21).
8. Exeter-Milligan (Exeter) — 144 pointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (21), 2011 (12), 2012 (5), 2013 (2), 2014 (2), 2015 (20).
9. Arthur County (Arthur) — 143 pointsState titles: 3
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2008 (11), 2009 (3), 2010 (2), 2011 (5).
10. Creighton — 139 pointsState titles: 0
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2010 (8), 2011 (18), 2012 (22), 2013 (3), 2014 (13), 2015 (4), 2016 (7), 2017 (4).
