Nebraska's Top 10 high school football games for September

After getting a gridiron tease with a handful of football games last week, the floodgates are about to open in Nebraska. From Chadron to Falls City, Sidney to Sioux City, and all points in between, footballs will be filling the Cornhusker State air this weekend. In all, 141 contests are scheduled to start between last night's action and the contests being played this evening.

In this week's Top 10, however, we are releasing our Top 10 Nebraska high school football games for September.

In our top matchup for September, 2021 Class A semifinalist Bellevue West travels to Gretna who upended Omaha Westside 7-3 in the state championship game a year ago. It was determined, however, that Gretna used an ineligible player last fall and the Dragons vacated their title. You can bet that both of these clubs are eager to kickoff against each other Sept. 30.

Defending Class B state runner-up Aurora travels to 2021 Class C1 quarterfinalist Ashland-Greenwood to duke it out in our No. 2 game of the month Sept. 9. Then, two weeks later, defending Class B state champion Bennington hosts five-time Class B state champion Omaha Skutt Catholic in a contest that we are touting as the third best contest in the Cornhusker State for the month.

In a battle of small school powers, defending Class D1 state champion Howells-Dodge hits the road to renew its old rivalry with 2021 Class D2 quarterfinalist Humphrey St. Francis on Sept. 30 while defending Class C2 runner-up Norfolk Catholic hosts rival Battle Creek, who played its way into last season's Class C1 semifinals, Sept. 29 to round out the Top 5.

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 contest, the record in parenthesis is a school's 2020 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 football games to see in September

1. Class A No. 3 Bellevue West (Bellevue) (10-2) @ Class A No. 1 Gretna (12-1), Sept. 30
Bellevue West has already upended No. 15 Omaha Creighton Prep 28-21 and could gain some serious momentum by knocking off the Dragons at the end of the month. Gretna has some serious postseason aspirations of its own.

2. Class C1 No. 3 Aurora (10-3) @ Class C1 No. 2 Ashland-Greenwood (Ashland) (10-1), Sept. 9
Aurora drops to Class C1 after falling short in the Class B title contest. Ashland-Greenwood, meanwhile, bowed out in the Class C1 quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Pierce 35-28.

3. Class B No. 7 Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (7-4) @ Class B No. 1 Bennington (13-0), Sept. 23
Five-time Class B state champion Omaha Skutt Catholic battles the defending state champion Badgers in this classic gridiron tussle.

4. Class D2 No. 1/No. 1 Howells-Dodge (Howells) (13-0) @ Class D2 No. 9/No. 10 St. Francis (Humphrey), Sept. 30
Between them, Howells, Dodge and Humphrey St. Francis are winners of 20 state championships in the Eight-Man Ranks. They renew their rivalry in late September.

5. Class C2 No. 7 Battle Creek (8-4) @ Class C2 No. 3 Norfolk Catholic (Norfolk) (11-2), Sept. 29
These northeast Nebraska giants haven't played each other since 2019 when Battle Creek shutout the Knights 30-0. Norfolk Catholic hasn't forgotten. The Braves would love a repeat.

6. Class D6 No. 8/No. 9 Pawnee City (6-4) @ Class D6 No. 5/No. 4 Parkview Christian (Lincoln) (7-3), Sept. 30
The winner of this contest just may vault its way into contender status come October.

7. Class 3A No. 9 Frederick (Colo.) (9-2) @ Class B No. 2 Scottsbluff (8-3), Sept. 9
Two fantastic football teams from bordering states. What a way to start the year.

8. Class D1 UR/UR McCool Junction (8-2) @ Class D1 No. 5/No. 2 Cross County (Stromsburg) (11-2), Sept. 9
McCool Junction moves up two classes to Class D1 after playing its way into the Class D6 (Six-Man) quarterfinals a year ago. Are they ready for such a climb?

9. Class B No. 3 Elkhorn (8-4) vs. Class B No. 8 Gross Catholic (Omaha) (4-6) @ Bryan Stadium, Sept. 8
The Antlers and Cougars both competed in the Class B postseason a year ago. A win in this contest would go a long way towards a long postseason run.

10. Class D2 No. 5/No. 3 Sacred Heart (Falls City) (8-2) @ Class D2 No. 6/No. 8 Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (Bruning) (8-4), Sept. 23
This contest simply features two small school powerhouses that have won 12 state titles collectively since 1989.