With Nebraska's high school football playoffs beginning last night in Classes D1 and D2, 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, and that's somewhat the case again this season. Class D6's Cody-Kilgore is the only top-ranked 6/8-man football team to miss the cut this week, along with the D6-7 District that the Cowboys reside in this fall.
Three of Class D1's Top 10 football teams have been battling it out for supremacy in the D1-8 district where top-ranked Burwell reigned supreme this fall. Ranked fourth in Class D1, Anselmo-Merna finished the regular season at 7-1 while Arcadia-Loup City (7th, D1), Amherst (32nd, D1) and Ravenna (38th, D1) fill out the rest of the Cornhusker State's Top 6/8-man district.
The D1-5 District claims three Top 11 teams and sits in the No. 2 spot this week. Second-ranked Howells-Dodge battled its way to the district crown while No. 9 Stanton finished as the runner-up with a 7-1 record. Clarkson/Leigh (11th, D1), Wisner-Pilger (21st, D1), Guardian Angels Central Catholic (26th, D1) and Madison (46th, D1) round out the Cornhusker State's second-best 8-Man district. The D1-10, D2-5 and D1-4 Districts round out the Top 5 in the Nos. 3-4-5 spots, respectively.
Both 8-man classifications are represented in this week's Top 10. But that does not mean that Class D6, Nebraska's lone 6-man classification, did not prepare its teams for postseason play.
The D6-4, 6-man's toughest district, featured Red Cloud (3rd, D6), Franklin (7th, D6), Silver Lake (12th, D6), Wilcox-Hildreth (17th, D6) and Harvard (30th, D6) and best prepared its members for the 6-man playoffs, which begin next Friday. Combined, the D1-8 District also produced the top won-loss record of 23-12 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 toughest 6/8-man high school football districts
1. D1-8 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (44.62) | Collective Record (25-15)No. 1 Burwell (8-0), No. 4 Anselmo-Merna (7-1), No. 7 Arcadia-Loup City (6-2), No. 32 Amherst (3-5), No. 38 Ravenna (1-7).
2. D1-5 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (36.9) | Collective Record (27-21)No. 2 Howells-Dodge (8-0), No. 9 Stanton (7-1), No. 11 Clarkson/Leigh (5-3), No. 21 Wisner-Pilger (4-4), No. 26 Guardian Angels Central Catholic (2-6), No. 46 Madison (1-7).
3. D1-!0 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (33.4) | Collective Record (24-16)No. 6 Hitchcock County (7-1), No. 8 Dundy County Stratton (7-1), No. 17 Hi-Line (5-3), No. 27 Cambridge (4-4), No. 44 Maxwell (1-7).
4. D2-5 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (31.36) | Collective Record (24-15)No. 3 Humphrey St. Francis (8-0), No. 4 Riverside (7-1), No. 12 Elgin Public/Pope John (5-3), No. 23 Central Valley (3-4), No. 26 Chambers/Wheeler Central (1-7).
5. D1-4 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (30.98) | Collective Record (19-21)No. 3 Cross County (7-1), No. 16 Nebraska Christian (5-3), No. 18 Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (5-3), No. 35 Shelby-Rising City (2-6), No. 47 East Butler (0-8).
6. D1-7 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (26.34) | Collective Record (21-19)No. 10 Neligh-Oakdale (7-1), No. 24 Summerland (5-3), No. 25 North Central (4-4), No. 33 West Holt (4-4), No. 41 Ainsworth (1-7).
7. D2-9 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (21.97) | Collective Record (25-23)No. 1 Sandhills/Thedford (8-0), No. 13 Ansley-Litchfield (6-2), No. 18 Pleasanton (6-2), No. 27 South Loup (1-7), No. 31 Sandhills Valley (3-5), No. 34 Twin Loup (1-7).
8. D1-3 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (20.34) | Collective Record (23-17)No. 15 Exeter-Milligan-Friend (7-1), No. 19 Heartland (6-2), No. 28 Thayer Central (4-4), No. 30 Tri County (5-3), No. 54 Southern (1-7).
9. D2-7 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (20.3) | Collective Record (21-19)No. 2 Kenesaw (8-0), No. 17 Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (5-3), No. 19 Blue Hill (4-4), No. 29 Lawrence-Nelson (3-5), No. 41 Giltner (1-7).
10. D1-2 District | Average MaxPreps Rating (19.84) | Collective Record (22-18)No. 5 Lourdes Central Catholic (8-0), No. 23 Palmyra (6-2), No. 39 Freeman (4-4), No. 40 Johnson County Central (2-6), No. 49 Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer (2-6).
