Nebraska's Top 10 football games to see in August and September

The long wait is over. Finally. From Chadron to Falls City, Sidney to Sioux City, and all points in between, footballs will be filling the Cornhusker State air starting this weekend. In all, 131 contests are scheduled to kickoff between last night's action and the contests being played this evening.

In our top matchup for August and September, MaxPreps' Class C1 favorite Wahoo hosts No. 2 Aurora, which just happened to win it all in C1 a year ago. Then, a week later, Millard West and Millard South, a pair of Cornhusker State big school powers, duke it out on the football field Sept. 20. Next weekend, Skutt and Roncalli renew their gridiron rivalry to round out this week's Top 3.

If your game wasn't mentioned in this week's Top 10, don't fret, there is still plenty of gridiron action scattered throughout the state the next five weeks. So, buckle your seat belt and get ready for the football ride.
As you look at the top line of each rivalry, the record in parenthesis is a school's 2018 mark. The preseason ranking to the left of schools that reside in Classes A, B, C1 and C2 are MaxPreps' Nebraska Preseason Rankings. Rankings to the left of schools that play either Six-Man or Eight-Man football were selected from the Omaha World Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star, with the Omaha World Herald's preseason ranking listed first.

Nebraska's Top 10 games to see in August and September

1. Class C1 No. 2 Aurora (13-0) at Class C1 No. 1 Wahoo (10-2), Sept. 13
The defending Class C1 state champion Huskies play at Wahoo, this year's favorite, in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown!

2. Class A No. 1 Millard West (Omaha) (9-3) at Class A No. 6 Millard South (Omaha) (9-2), Sept. 20
This rivalry has seen it all. They even played each other for the Class A state title in 2008 and 2009.

3. Class B No. 1 Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (13-0) at Class B No. 4 Roncalli Catholic (Omaha) (8-3), Sept. 6
After dropping a three-touchdown decision to the eventual state champions a year ago, Roncalli likes its chances in front of the home crowd next week. Skutt just wants to hand the Crimson Pride another loss on its way to another state title.

4. Class C1 No. 3 Pierce (10-1) at Class C2 No. 1 Norfolk Catholic (Norfolk) (11-2), Aug. 30
Two of northeast Nebraska's dominant football programs will be getting after it again this weekend. Norfolk Catholic did not care for the results of last year's game, after dropping a 48-29 decision. Pierce would love nothing more than to win back-to-back tussles over the Knights for the first time since 2012 and 2013. Norfolk Catholic, winners of 10 of the last 16 football battles, has other ideas.

5. 8-Man-1 No. 5/6 Howells-Dodge (Howells) (7-3) at 8-Man-1 No. 3/7 Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) (9-2), Sept. 6
These two 8-Man juggernauts have split six contests since Howells merged with Dodge in 2011 and West Point Central Catholic became Guardian Angels Central Catholic. Howells-Dodge won the first three contests by a 112-0. The Bluejays returned the favor by winning in 2014 and 2015 before taking last year's battle 32-28.

6. 8-Man-2 No. 3/5 Johnson-Brock (Johnson) (13-0) at 8-Man-2 No. 5/3 Lawrence-Nelson (Nelson) (8-4), Sept. 20
Two fantastic 8-Man football programs boasting two of the state's best in Ty Hahn of Johnson-Brock and Lawrence-Nelson's Kyle Golay. Johnson-Brock is ready to defend its title. The Raiders, on the other hand, are planning a trip to Memorial Stadium themselves.

7. Six Man No. 3/7 Spalding Academy (Spalding) (7-3) at Six Man No. 1/1 Harvard (10-1), Aug. 30
Harvard is everybody's Six-Man favorite after falling to eventual state champion Wilcox-Hildreth 63-50 in last year's semifinals. Spalding Academy, meanwhile, returns four starters on each side of the ball after dropping a 51-8 quarterfinal decision to runner-up Hay Springs. Friday's game is sure to be an early measuring stick for both of these squads.

8. Class A No. 2 Omaha Westside (Omaha) (9-2) at Class A No. 7 Lincoln Southeast (Lincoln) (7-4), Sept. 13
Playoff tested a year ago, the Knights and Warriors return at least 13 starters each. With an eye on the prize, each of these clubs should have an idea of where they stand in a couple of weeks.

9. Six Man No. 4 Cody-Kilgore (Cody) (6-4) at Six Man No. 7/6 Hay Springs (11-1), Sept. 27
Two western Nebraska football programs that have proven they're more than capable of making deep postseason runs. This battle is in late September, but will they meet again in November?

10. Class C2 No. 4 Centennial (Utica) (13-0) at Class C2 No. 5 Aquinas (David City) (7-4), Sept. 27
Last year's state champion Broncos travel to brawl on the gridiron with the Monarchs, one of the dominant football programs in the entire Cornhusker State. While Centennial is reloading this year, Aquinas returns a lot of pieces from last year's quarterfinal team.