Since 2004, MaxPreps has been ranking high school football teams in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., both locally and nationally. In that time, Norfolk Catholic has been flexing its gridiron muscle in northeast Nebraska, during postseason play and in state title contests at the University of Nebraska's Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Although the Knights had their streak of 23 straight playoff berths snapped in 2019, Norfolk Catholic blew by the rest of the field and was once again named Nebraska's most dominant 11-Man football program after qualifying for postseason play in 2020 and 2021.
Just look at this resume. The Knights have made 37 playoff appearances, earned a berth in postseason play 23 straight years beginning in 1996, lead the Cornhusker State with 10 state football titles, won three straight state championships from 2010-2012 and have played for a state title 18 times.
For the purposes of this week's Top 10, however, we are focusing on which programs have been the most dominant since 2004. And the results are, of course, similar.
The Class C2 Knights were Nebraska's top-ranked team, regardless of class, in 2004, 2005 and again in 2017. Norfolk Catholic finished the year in the top 5 six times in 18 seasons and played its way into the top 10 12 times. The Knights competed in 10 state title games over the 18-year period and won state championships six times to outscore Class B power Omaha Skutt Catholic 452-377 this week.
The Skyhawks played in eight state title contests and have claimed five football championships since 2004. Omaha Skutt finished in the Nebraska top 10 11 times and in the top 5 six times over the past 18 seasons. Pierce grabbed the No. 3 spot in this week's top 10 with 308 points and three state titles in six tries since 2004. David City Aquinas and Aurora round out the top 5 with 284 and 257 points, respectively.
All four Nebraska 11-Man Classes are represented in this week's Top 10 with Classes A and C1 landing three members each in the top 10 to lead the way. Meanwhile, Classes B and C2 played their way into two spots apiece. Millard South just missed the top 10 after garnering 187 points. Bellevue West and Elkhorn South scored 175 points each to tie for the No. 12 spot.
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 is good for one point.
Skutt Catholic is No. 2 on the most dominant football teams in Nebraska since 2004.
Photo: Samuel Mfinanga
1. Norfolk Catholic (Norfolk) — 452 PointsState titles: 6
Runner-ups: 4
Top 25 state rankings: 2004 (1st), 2005 (1st), 2006 (8th), 2007 (7th), 2008 (9th), 2009 (9th), 2010 (3rd), 2011 (7th), 2012 (2nd), 2013 (17th), 2014 (9th), 2015 (5th), 2016 (20th), 2017 (1st), 2018 (12th), 2021 (13th).
2. Skutt Catholic (Omaha) — 377 PointsState titles: 5
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2005 (2nd), 2006 (9th), 2007 (17th), 2009 (6th), 2012 (7th), 2013 (1st), 2014 (3rd), 2015 (7th), 2016 (5th), 2017 (6th), 2018 (2nd), 2019 (3rd), 2021 (23rd).
3. Pierce — 308 PointsState titles: 3
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2004 (12th), 2005 (21st), 2006 (13th), 2007 (1st), 2008 (2nd), 2010 (8th), 2011 (15th), 2012 (8th), 2017 (15th), 2018 (11th), 2019 (4th), 2020 (2nd), 2021 (8th).
4. Aquinas (David City) — 284 PointsState titles: 4
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2004 (5th), 2005 (6th), 2009 (20th), 2010 (14th), 2011 (5th), 2012 (4th), 2013 (14th), 2014 (4th), 2015 (3rd), 2016 (10th), 2017 (10th), 2020 (25th), 2021 (24th).
5. Aurora — 257 PointsState titles: 3
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2004 (13th), 2005 (15th), 2008 (5th), 2009 (2nd), 2010 (6th), 2011 (25th), 2012 (23rd), 2013 (15th), 2015 (6th), 2016 (24th), 2018 (1st), 2019 (21st), 2020 (24th), 2021 (17th).
6. Elkhorn — 249 PointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2004 (21st), 2005 (23rd), 2006 (2nd), 2007 (8th), 2008 (18th), 2009 (4th), 2010 (9th), 2011 (3rd), 2012 (18th), 2014 (7th), 2016 (21st), 2017 (24th), 2020 (8th), 2021 (19th).
7. Millard North (Omaha) — 240 PointsState titles: 4
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2005 (10th), 2007 (9th), 2010 (2nd), 2011 (12th), 2012 (1st), 2013 (19th), 2014 (18th), 2015 (4th), 2016 (19th).
8. McCook — 227 PointsState titles: 0
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2004 (4th), 2005 (4th), 2006 (5th), 2007 (4th), 2008 (7th), 2011 (21st), 2013 (11th), 2014 (12th), 2015 (12th), 2016 (9th), 2017 (11th), 2018 (15th).
9. Omaha North (Omaha) — 221 PointsState titles: 3
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2008 (4th), 2009 (23rd), 2012 (5th), 2013 (3rd), 2014 (1st), 2016 (7th), 2017 (4th), 2018 (20th).
10. Millard West (Omaha) — 212 PointsState titles: 1
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (10th), 2008 (1st), 2009 (5th), 2010 (15th), 2012 (22nd), 2013 (9th), 2014 (25th), 2015 (8th), 2016 (14th), 2017 (20th), 2018 (6th), 2019 (5th).
