Ya know, Tom Petty was right. The wai-a-a-ting really is the hardest part.

Lots of math already done by lots of you already but the official playoff pairings won’t be released for a bit so let’s take a few minutes to review the action from the Week 9 weekend to date.

As usual I had some decisions to make on Friday. I really felt drawn to the Grand Island Northwest at Hastings game, for instance, but there were only two games in the state featuring unbeaten teams going into the final night of the regular season and that kind of action is hard to turn down.

In order to get to them ol’ @HuskerlandBob was going to need a break. And he got one on Wednesday morning.

When I opened my email that day what should I see but a note from Humphrey St. Francis head coach for all seasons Eric Kessler. Always great to hear from Eric, especially when he’s writing to tell me his team’s Friday game against Plainview had been moved back to 7:30 p.m.

Plainview and St. Francis were undefeated on Wednesday, see. That was one of my games and now I had an extra half hour for drive time. Good thing, since I started my night at Lyons, which is located 70 miles of two-lane highway to the northeast of Humphrey.

I was in Lyons to catch part of the Class C-2 battle of unbeatens featuring No. 1-ranked Oakland-Craig and No. 2 BRLD. (To be honest I was also there to snag some of that fabulous Shannon Harney BBQ and wasn’t disappointed, not in the least.)

Actually, I arrived at the ballpark earlier enough to make the rounds, having a chance to chat it up (briefly, of course) with both The O-C HC (lots of capitals there) Joe Anderson and BRLD head coach Dan Maresh, two of the good guys. Speaking of good guys, me and Maresh are going all of the particulars and I hear somebody call my name. I turn, and what do I see?

That’s right, Will Gatzemeyer. Besides being the most impactful player in Class C-2 football he’s also a swell kid, and he comes racing over with a big smile on his face and we bro-hugged it up.

(For the record, as I have mentioned elsewhere and would later last night, I have been working on my bro hug. My daughter, Huskerland Jessie, has told me to basically just get a grip and fall into them, adding they have to catch me.

They do not. So I am also very cautious with my bro hugging. I go down there’s not guarantee at age 61 that I’m getting back up.)

There was the usual shenanigans on the pregame sideline, where we spoke of both Connor Thiele and Cody Mace at length, of course. Also had a chance to chat it up with BRLD’s state champion head basketball coach Cory Meyer who also graces the football chain crew. In all my years I had never shot a football game at Lyons, not that I can remember anyway, so that was an added treat. Lyons is a beautiful little town and that football stadium is top notch.

So was the game, both beautiful and top notch. Oakland-Craig won the game, 40-30, proving two things - in my mind the Knights are certainly deserving of that No. 1 ranking and secondly there is no stopping that BRLD offense, not even by that red hot Knights’ defense. Will is fantastic and he’s got plenty of weapons around him, even without junior superstar Lucas Vogt in the mix. Saddened me to hear the kid is still battling some cracked ribs - it hurts just writing that - but he is expected to be back for the postseason.

What a great hors d’oeuvre for the upcoming playoffs. Not as good as that pre-game brisket, Shannon, but still.

* With that added half hour at Humphrey I was able to watch more than usual at Lyons before taking off. On my way I took Highway 91 which meant I’d go through Snyder and have the chance to stop at that wonderful little mini mart right in the heart of town. Which I did. And always do. Good place that Snyder mini mart.

Things timed out pretty great for my return to Humphrey as I arrived at the stadium with less than a minute to go in halftime warm-ups. Plainview had needed to be more warmed up at the start of the game as the Pirates fell behind something like 24-0 before catching its breath - that kind of thing can happen when you get into a big game like that against a monster program like St. Francis.

The Pirates did not go away, though. They showed a lot of heart and played the Flyers on pretty even terms for most of the second half, which bodes well for them in the playoffs. Plainview will win a couple of playoff games or I’ll miss my guess. (Easy now.)

Previously in this space I have mentioned how St. Francis QB Trevor Pfeifer’s beautiful sister Natalie is married to the great Tyler Beranek, son of the great Rod and Janet Beranek, great friends of Huskerland Penni and mine from our time in Fairbury so many years ago. Lots of bold print there, hope you could follow all that.

With that as the back story Trevor got knocked out of bounds after a nice run up the St. Francis sideline, sliding to a stop about where I was standing. I’m minding my own business, trying to stay out of the way, when Trevor turns and gives me an, um, enthusiastic greeting. Another big smile, another fun moment on the road with Huskerland Prep Report.

The stars came out at Humphrey last night as while I was leaving for home - need my rest for this big Saturday morning - I again heard my name, always scary on the road with Huskerland Prep Report, turned and saw the great Matt Hoffman and his posse. Matt was a tremendous football player at Plainview a couple of years back but more importantly is a super kid and it was great to visit with him and the other Plainview grads in our conversation, including former QB John Novicki, whose mustache is really coming along.

We were just wrapping up our conversation when I heard somebody else call my name. (After a while you know your luck is going to run out in that situation but so far so good.) Turned and there he stood - the great Tyler Beranek. He brought up to speed on life in general and his folks and I am so happy for all of them. Good people those Beraneks and Pfeifers.

Also on the way out I had the chance to visit with Osmond head coach Scott Morrison, one of the nicest and most respectful people I know. Every school in the state could use themselves a Scott Morrison on their staff, every community, too.

So I finished my night at Humphrey.

* I had also started my day at Humphrey. See, the reason for the 7:30 Plainview-St. Fran start was the fact it was doubleheader day at Humphrey, with the Bulldogs facing Santee in a six-man matinee at 4 o’clock. Any sentence that includes the words “six-man” and “matinee” is an immediate winner in my book.

First of all, paving that hill down to field level at Humphrey is one of the greatest things of my football life. Now if we can just work in one of those chair lifts I’d have it made, though for the record it should be pointed out I made up and back twice yesterday.

While I was there I did manage to squeeze in between plays to greet hall-of-fame coach Bill Mimick, one of the seminal figures in our game. You wish you loved your job as my as Bill does his. Good man, that Bill Mimick.

That’s a lot but it’s my night in a nutshell. After all that I am playoff ready, for sure.

* They did play football on Friday night, here’s a few thoughts as we wait for the official pairings to be released:

Adams Central 44, Cozad 0. We keep talking Pierce-Wahoo, Patriots are gonna have something to say about that.

Ashland-Greenwood 41, Lincoln Lutheran 19. Bluejays too.

Aurora 30, Central City 29. Gutsy win by the Huskies, who drove late for the winning score. Soul crushing loss for the Hueberts and their Bison as a win would have clinched a playoff berth.

Axtell 38, Blue Hill 30, 2 OT. Not sure where it all ends for the Wildcats but this one of the most improved teams in any class.

BDS 60, Thayer Central 12. Uh oh, Eagles have found that extra gear. Somewhere Jill Catlett is smiling.

Bennington 42, Mount Michael 13. Those three losses shade the fact Bennington is good. Very good.

Doniphan-Trumbull 34, Milford 8. That is a great postseason springboard win for the Cardinals. They’ve only lost once, ya know.

Millard North 37, Gretna 20. After losing four in a row to open the season - all to playoff teams - the Mustangs rallied with four wins in the final five games to make the playoffs. Good for you guys.

North Bend Central 32, David City 25. Whew.

Osceola/High Plains 84, Nebraska Lutheran 36. Healthy just in time for the playoffs, the Stormdogs are going to be a handful.

Scottsbluff 21, McCook 14. A great program did what it had to do in order to win a tough road game. A great program made it hard for them to do that.

Wahoo 49, Columbus Scotus 0. Yikes.

Wakefield 62, Wisner-Pilger 26. As they put away the balls and pads Wakefield is left to wonder if this was the year they’d won state. They might well have.

Wayne 14, Bishop Neumann 12. Attention K-Mart shoppers, Wayne has lost only to Pierce and Wahoo - who hasn’t done that - and a win like this marks them a real dark horse in C-1.