Preseason Practice Begins; Order Your Huskerland Magazine Now
At last, real football. Or real football practice.
That’s the reality for Huskerland football in 2023 as the 28 teams who are paired in Week 0 games - a very beefy number, 28 - can begin their practice schedule in advance of those August 18 games.
Where did summer go, anyway...
Hope you are enjoying the rest of our preseason football stuff on the website - it will be stacked until the real Opening Day - and a reminder, the 2023 Huskerland Prep Report preseason high school football magazine, all 170 pages of it, will be available on Wednesday. To get your copy please send your check to: Jensen Publishing, 19109 Hampton Drive, Omaha NE 68136. Thank you kindly...
Among the headliners for that abbreviated Opening Night will be Creighton Prep at Bellevue West and Papillion-LaVista South at North Platte in Class A, and Norris at Blair in Class B. You are also going to have season openers for projected state title contenders like rising Elkhorn North (at Beatrice) and defending state Six-Man runner-up Pawnee City (hosting St. Edward), and the debut of top ten teams like Class D-1 North Platte St. Pat’s (hosting Bridgeport) and Class D-2 Riverside (hosting Summerland).
Lots of hype (ahem) surrounding the Elkhorn North program but the Wolves finished their 2022 season with a flourish and certainly seem legit. Pawnee City also finished strong last season, reaching its first-ever state final, but can the Indians replace the great Andy Maloley? Football life goes on for every program after every graduation, and Pawnee has some really skilled underclassmen. Stay tuned.
St. Pat’s was snake-bit, injury-bit, at the end of last season when it seemed it could be the answer in Class D-1. The Irish open at home, much to the delight of Tim O’Connor, and will face a Bridgeport team which, like St. Pat’s, adapted very well to its first year of eight-man football in 2022.
Riverside also took a huge graduation hit but returns a lot of speed and skill, plus the Chargers know how to win. I still need to get to Summerland for a game, it’s on my list.
North Platte will actually host a real tasty double-dip on the first Opening Night, as across town from Knights of Columbus Field North Platte High will host Papillion-LaVista South. Programs like Bellevue West and Creighton Prep (and Westside and Gretna, you get the idea) often hog the Class A headlines but these are two really good teams. North Platte seems like a great destination for the first Opening Night, especially if somebody can get me on at North Platte County Club. Just sayin’.
When I look down the list of opening games I am also fascinated to see...
* Alma’s offense, which should be very productive all season long. The Cardinals host Superior in Week 0.
* I have it my head Boyd County could be one of those teams which could make a jump this season. We will know more after the opener against Randolph, which is another program trying to gain some traction.
* How much better will Omaha Westview be in its second season? The Wolverines took their lumps last season and open at Crete. How much better will Lincoln Northwest be in its second season? The Falcons pulled the plug on their 2022 season after just four games, and they host Pius X in the opener. As a fan, you hope for much more competitive football by each program, and soon.