Knee Jerk Reaction: Class D-2 First Round Pairings
Class D-2 West Bracket First Round Pairings
No. 16 Maywood/Hayes Center (4-4) at No. 1 Hitchcock County (8-0). Though scheduled in the regular season these teams did not play due to a M/HC forfeit. Hitchcock has been dominant all season long and is coming off another forfeit win in Week 8 (Med Valley).
No. 9 South Loup (5-3) at No. 8 Kenesaw (7-1). My beloved alma mater is part of a South Loup program that is on a rapid rise, having played competitive football against both No. 1 seed Hitchcock and No. 2 Sandhills/Thedford. We’ll see how that plays at defending champion Kenesaw.
No. 12 Mullen (4-4) at No. 5 Elm Creek (7-1). Elm Creek’s only loss is to No. 7 seed Twin Loup and the Buffaloes are making up for not winning a game last season. Mullen’s four losses are to teams among the top nine seeds in the West.
No. 13 Axtell (4-4) at No. 4 Dundy County-Stratton (7-1). Axtell’s last three losses are to 7-1 teams (Dundy, Kenesaw, Lawrence-Nelson). Did we mention the loss to Dundy?
No. 14 Loomis (3-5) at No. 3 Ainsworth (8-0). Ainsworth has put together the greatest season in program history while Loomis came up with a clutch Week 8 win over Bertrand to qualify.
No. 11 St. Mary’s (6-2) at No. 6 Central Valley (7-1). This one should be a lot of fun. St. Mary’s has won six of its last seven games, Central Valley was especially impressive in Friday’s 60-24 win over No. 7 Twin Loup.
No. 10 Elgin/Pope John (6-2) at No. 7 Twin Loup (6-2). Both teams lost in Week 8, EPPJ is battling despite some key injuries and Twin Loup has won six times more games than it did last season. Or the season before.
No. 15 Hyannis (4-4) at No. 2 Sandhills/Thedford (7-1). Sandhills/Thedford has been mostly dominant since its loss to Hitchcock in Week 2, having cleared its throat after an unexpected coaching change. One of those wins was by 52 over Hyannis.
Class D-2 East Bracket First Round Pairings
No. 16 Creighton (4-4) at No. 1 Howells-Dodge (8-0). Lots of great football history between these two programs, and Creighton did win its last two games in get in, but man, Howells-Dodge is good.
No. 9 Falls City Sacred Heart (4-4) at No. 8 Humphrey St. Francis (5-3). Speaking of great history here is a pairing that has more than any game we will see in this round, maybe any round in any class. Two great champions, right here.
No. 12 Wausa (5-3) at No. 5 Johnson-Brock (7-1). Wausa was wobbled by three late season losses but won in Week 8 to qualify while J-B has lost only to No. 3 seed BDS.
No. 13 Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (5-3) at No. 4 Bloomfield (7-1). Both teams lost in Week 8, HLHF to St. Francis from just down the street while Bloomfield saw its perfect season end v. No. 2 weed Wynot.
No. 14 Nebraska Lutheran (5-3) at No. 3 BDS (8-0). Nebraska Lutheran qualifies for the first time since 2017 and just the fifth time all-time and has a prolific passing game. BDS has won a postseason game or two.
No. 11 Fullerton (4-4) at No. 6 Osceola (7-1). When these teams met three weeks ago Osceola won by 30. And now Isaiah Zelasney is back.
No. 10 Lourdes Central Catholic (4-4) at No. 7 Lawrence-Nelson (7-1). After a 34-point win over old friend Kenesaw in Week 6 the Raiders have stomped on the gas. Lourdes beat battered Sacred Heart 40-0 in Week 8, part of a three-game winning streak to end the regular season.
No. 15 Winside (4-4) at No. 2 Wynot (7-1). Winside shook off a three-game losing streak to win in Week 8 to qualify while Wynot has won five in a row with its only loss to No. 1 seed Howells-Dodge.