High school football: Nebraska's Top 10 toughest 6/8-man districts

With Nebraska's high school football playoffs set to begin in a couple of weeks, we have decided to take a look at which 6/8-man football districts, through their collective toughness, best prepared their members for the grind of the postseason.

Using the MaxPreps Nebraska Football Rankings, we calculated the average power rating for each district, and that calculation is the basis for this week's Top 10.

It does make sense that any district featuring a top-ranked team would have the upper hand at weighing in as a Top 10 district. But that's not the case this season. Stanton, the No. 1 team in Class D1, Class D2's top-ranked Howells-Dodge and Class D6's No. 1 club Sumner-Eddyville-Miller and their respective districts did not make the Top 10 cut this week.

Three of Class D2's Top 15 football teams have been battling it out for supremacy in the D2-1 district where fourth-ranked Bruning-Davenport/Shickley reigns supreme so far this fall. Ranked sixth in Class D2, Johnson-Brock is sitting at 5-1 on the year while Falls City Sacred Heart (13th, D2), Lourdes Central Catholic (25th, D2), Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer (30th, D2) and Diller-Odell (43rd, D2) fill out the rest of the Cornhusker State's toughest 6/8-man district.

The D1-2 district claims three Top 20 teams and sits in the No. 2 spot this week. Third-ranked Thayer Central is in prime position to claim the district crown while No. 4 Palmyra has put together a 5-1 record so far this season. Exeter-Milligan/Friend (17th, D1), Freeman (24th, D1), Johnson County Central (37th, D1) and Southern (45th, D1) round out the Cornhusker State's second-best 8-Man district. The D2-7, D2-8 and D2-9 districts round out the Top 5 in the Nos. 3-4-5 spots, respectively.

The D6-3, 6-man's toughest district, features Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (1st, D6), Red Cloud (5th, D6), Shelton (7th, D6), Wilcox-Hildreth (16th, D6), Franklin (18th, D6) and Harvard (24th, D6) and best prepared its members for the 6-man playoffs. Combined, the D1-10 district produced the top won-loss record of 21-10 for the districts represented in this week's Top 10.

Below, listed on the top line, is the district that is being ranked, its average MaxPreps power rating and the district's collective won-loss record. Listed on the second line and beyond is the MaxPreps classification ranking for each team competing in that district as well as the name of the school and that school's current won-loss record in parenthesis.

Nebraska's Top 10 toughest 6/8-man football districts

1. D2-1 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (29.23) | Collective Record (22-14)
No. 4 Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (Bruning) (6-0), No. 6 Johnson-Brock (Johnson) (5-1), No. 13 Sacred Heart (Falls City) (4-2), No. 25 Lourdes Central Catholic (Nebraska City) (2-4), No. 30 Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer (Humboldt) (3-3), No. 43 Diller-Odell (2-4).

2. D1-2 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (27.80) | Collective Record (21-15)
No. 3 Thayer Central (Hebron) (6-0), No. 4 Palmyra (5-1), No. 17 Exeter-Milligan/Friend (Exeter) (3-3), No. 24 Freeman (Adams) (4-2), No. 37 Johnson County Central (Tecumseh) (2-4), No. 45 Southern (Wymore) (1-5).

3. D2-7 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (25.67) | Collective Record (20-16)
No. 7 Elm Creek (6-0), No. 10 Central Valley (Greeley) (5-1), No. 16 Twin Loup (Sargent) (5-1), No. 24 Burwell (2-4), No. 36 Ansley/Litchfield (Ansley) (1-5), No. 37 Overton (1-5).

4. D2-8 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (25.25) | Collective Record (18-18)
No. 2 Hitchcock County (Trenton) (6-0), No. 3 Dundy County-Stratton (Benkelman)(6-0), No. 22 Bertrand (2-4), No. 32 Loomis (1-5), No. 35 Maywood/Hayes Center (Maywood) (3-3), No. 52 Medicine Valley (Curtis) (0-6).

5. D2-9 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (23.08) | Collective Record (20-16)
No. 5 Sandhills/Thedford (Dunning) (5-1), No. 12 South Loup (Arnold) (3-3), No. 18 Mullen (4-2), No. 31 Anselmo-Merna (Merna) (2-4), No. 39 Hyannis (3-3), No. 41 Leyton (Dalton) (3-3).

6. D1-7 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (20.98) | Collective Record (16-14)
No. 8 Riverside (Cedar Rapids) (5-1), No. 12 Nebraska Christian (Central City) (4-2), No. 14 Ravenna (5-1), No. 39 Arcadia/Loup City (Arcadia) (2-4), No. 53 Pleasanton (0-6).

7. D1-10 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (20.26) | Collective Record (21-10)
No. 2 St. Patrick's (North Platte) (7-0), No. 16 Sandhills Valley (Stapleton) (5-1), No. 22 Perkins County (Grant) (4-2), No. 47 Maxwell (3-3), No. 52 Sutherland (2-4).

8. D1-9 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (16.46) | Collective Record (15-15)
No. 18 Hi-Line [Eustis-Farnam/Elwood] (Eustis) (5-1), No. 20 Alma (4-2), No. 29 Arapahoe (3-3), No. 32 Cambridge (3-3), No. 54 Southern Valley (Oxford) (0-6).

9. D1-5 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (15.87) | Collective Record (19-17)
No. 9 Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (Laurel) (6-0), No. 19 Crofton (3-3), No. 30 Wakefield (3-3), No. 36 Hartington-Newcastle (Hartington) (2-4), No. 38 Homer (4-2), No. 50 Tri County Northeast (Emerson) (1-5).

10. D2-3 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (15.85) | Collective Record (21-15)
No. 9 Wynot (5-1), No. 11 Bloomfield (6-0), No. 26 Wausa (4-2), No. 33 Osmond (3-3), No. 40 Creighton (2-4), No. 48 Randolph (Randolph) (1-5).