OK, so this will be brief and not all about football.

See, my daughter’s getting married tomorrow.

But that’s tomorrow and we have playoff football tonight (though the rehearsal dinner is tonight, too).

In my world playoff games are like children, you’re not supposed to choose your favorite. (sorry, son) There is no doubt about it, I am aware there are games tonight and I have some in particular I could attend in person. (pass the chicken parm, please...)

For instance:

Class A: Omaha North at Elkhorn South. Anymore you could pick about any season and say, boy that North v. South thing is gonna be something special. (it’s happened before) As it is I look at this game featuring two really good teams that will have a chance to take the center circle for a night and both of these are worthy of this round and the next, even the final when you get right down to it, though whoever wins will be a huge underdog to Westside in the semis. So soak it all in, it always goes down smooth.

Class B: Waverly at Skutt Catholic. You remember the old saying, it’s tough to be good team seven playoff games in a row, and that’s what Skutt will be facing tonight, Waverly too, as the SkyHawks have owned Waverly in the postseason. The coaches, Skutt’s Matt Turman and Waverly’s Reed Manstedt, are two of the good guys and good friends, adding another layer of bragging rights which are at stake. Used to be I’d go to this game after a pregame meal at Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse up at Village Pointe, only they closed up shop. A Huskerland Bob gut shot in more ways than one...

Class C-1: Chadron at Sidney. When our daughter Jessie was little - and by that I mean, like, three years old, not 14 - she loved to tell her big brother, “you’re not the boss of me!” That kinda goes for tonight as top-seeded Sidney comes out of the tunnel (there is no tunnel that I know of at Sidney’s beautiful stadium but stay with me) determined to prove it is Chadron’s boss by making it two wins over the Cardinals in a 14-day span. Won’t be easy, I know that. Besides the game will be played in the Panhandle - you really should go sometime - and by two really good teams.

Class C-2: Kearney Catholic at Wood River. Like I said earlier in the week it is ironic that Kearney Catholic is the 13-seed on the road and yet Wood River is the great underdog story. By now you’ve had 1996 pounded into your head the George Orwell did with 1984 but the bottom line is this magic carpet ride by Wood River is one of the best stories of the season, and we’ve had a ton of them. Not sure you will find a game tonight with a happier bunch of fans, both sides, than in this one.

Class D-1: Summerland at Crofton. You know the story, Summerland rises up and smacks the defending state semifinalist early in the season and then makes a run for it the rest of the way. You know Crofton Football has been lying in wait, ready to strike, maybe even getting here after trying to play two games at once last week against a good Thayer Central team, and I know you know what I mean by that. It’s been a week of healing for the Crofton community and with a clear mind you could see the Warriors running away with this one, though you know where I stand. If the rain stays away.

Class D-2: Riverside at Sandhills/Thedford. And not just because the game will be played two doors down from Reggie’s house, but that is a major factor. Until I lay down my pen and paper I will always love going back to the greater Broken Bow area (and the way I went about it at the Custer County Chief that area sorta got ridiculously big), to places I used to go when I was a 21-year-old cub sports reporter. Dunning was one of those places, another of my favorites. And yes, the game oughta be something.

Six-Man: Arthur County at Stuart. We never hear from Arthur County Football anymore, haven’t for 20 years or so, but they have another really good team out there, and I have a ton of respect for what that programs means to Six-Man football in this state. (Plus, it is always fun to drive that curvy Highway 61 north outta Ogallala...) That said there are few places that treasure their football team the way they do at Stuart, and their cozy little football complex is also pretty sweet, though we are probably a few days too late to enjoy the brightest of the fall foliage that circles the field.

* But I won’t be at any of those games, nor any other. Our lovely daughter Jessie marries the lovely Evan Dykes tomorrow and tonight we gather again as one big happy family, joined by the wedding party and some selected hangers-on - Hefner, you’ll be there - to go over the game plan for Saturday night and to eat a ton of Italian food. (easy to do on just a regular weeknight)

I will be back with Saturday Morning Quarterback - we need to be at the venue by 12 noon and kickoff for the ceremony is set for 5:30 - and I will have a game recap, probably on Monday. Either way it is a great night, great weekend for our family, and don’t you worry none, I got a box of Kleenex stuffed inside my tux.

And this didn’t turn out to be all that brief after all...