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Some Nebraska high school football teams have taken it to heart: "You've got to beat the best to be the best." And while some programs have met that theory with plenty of success, most have not.
As we dove into our 11-Man and 6-Man/8-Man Nebraska high school football computer rankings and sifted through our strength of schedule data, we discovered that some of the Cornhusker State's premier football programs play schedules that match their level of play.
Class B second-ranked Omaha Skutt Catholic has easily played the top 11-Man schedule to this point in the season and the SkyHawks have put together a 5-2 record in the process. Top-ranked Elkhorn South and third-ranked Elkhorn are the only Skutt Catholic opponents to get the better of them.
The SkyHawks, whose opponents have produced a 32-17 record, have reeled off three straight wins since dropping a 31-15 decision to Elkhorn to fall to 2-2 in mid-September.
The Storm and Antlers also found spots in this week's Top 10, while at the same time bullying their opposition. Elkhorn (6-1) claimed the No. 4 11-Man spot and the Storm sit sixth. Together, the two Elkhorn, Neb. rivals opponents' are a cool 52-46. Class C1 powers Norfolk Catholic and Columbus Scotus have each produced 4-3 records while taking on a schedule of opposition that put together a 57-40 mark collectively.
In the 6-Man and 8-Man ranks, Nebraska Christian stands 3-4 on the season while facing the small school classification's healthiest schedule. Giltner and Amherst stake a claim to the second and third strongest schedules, respectively, while North Central and Elgin Public/Elgin Pope John round out the Top 5 of Nebraska's sturdiest small school slates.
Top 10 No. 10 Dundy County-Stratton is the only program in the small school portion of this post to produce a winning record against its tenacious slate. In terms of opponent's winning percentages, David City is competing against the top slate among our 11-Man Top 10s, while Ravenna holds down the same honor in the 6-Man/8-Man ranks.
Check out our Top 10 Nebraska schools that own the toughest schedules in both 11-Man and 6-Man/8-Man football. We have listed the school, (school's record through last weekend), opponent's combined record and MaxPreps' strength of schedule rating.
Nebraska's Top 10 toughest 11-Man football schedules
1.
Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (5-2), 32-17, 25.3
2.
Pierce (1-6), 35-14, 24.7
3.
Plattsmouth (1-6), 30-19, 24.0
4.
Elkhorn (6-1), 27-22, 23.9
5.
Crete (2-5), 29-20, 22.9
6.
Elkhorn South (7-0), 25-24, 19.8
7.
Norfolk Catholic (Norfolk) (4-3), 30-18, 19.3
8.
Grand Island Central Catholic (1-6), 31-18, 17.8
9.
David City (0-7), 35-13, 17.7
10.
Waverly (2-5), 29-20, 17.6
10.
Scotus (Columbus) (4-3), 27-22, 17.6
Nebraska's Top 10 toughest 6-Man/8-Man football schedules
1.
Nebraska Christian (Central City) (3-4), 32-11, 36.3
2.
Giltner (2-4), 30-10, 33.6
3.
Amherst (1-5), 25-11, 30.8
4.
North Central (Bassett) (2-4), 25-12, 30.5
5.
Elgin/Pope John (Elgin) (0-7), 25-17, 29.5
6.
Elkhorn Valley (Tilden) (0-6), 24-12, 28.2
7.
High Plains (Polk) (3-3), 21-18, 26.7
8.
East Butler (Brainard) (2-4), 24-14, 26.4
9.
Ravenna (0-6), 29-8, 26.3
10.
Dundy County-Stratton (Benkelman) (4-2), 23-14, 25.8
