A team that has beaten three playoff-bound opponents should be in the playoffs, right?
Well, Lincoln Southwest is far from a sure thing even if the Silver Hawks win their final regular-season game to get to 5-4.
It will take rival Lincoln Southeast not stubbing its toe in Kearney on Friday night, along with wins from Millard South and Grand Island, for Southwest to qualify. This in a season in which it has wins over playoff qualifiers Lincoln North Star, Lincoln Northeast and Norfolk.
District 2, in which Southwest is one of five teams still alive for the postseason, has two key games Friday night.
Southeast visits Kearney and Norfolk visits Elkhorn.
If Southeast wins, the Knights, Norfolk and Elkhorn are the district qualifiers. If Kearney and Norfolk win, then Norfolk, Southeast and Elkhorn qualify.
If Kearney and Elkhorn win, Elkhorn, Norfolk and Kearney qualify and Southeast makes it in as the at-large team.
Class A's playoff field consists of the top three finishers in each of the five districts, and the 16th team is the remaining team highest in the state point system.
Also in limbo is Omaha Burke, which after losing 13-10 to Millard North in overtime, could be 6-3 with a win over Papillion-La Vista South and not qualify. The Bulldogs are in District 4, which has Omaha North visiting Bellevue West and Burke visiting Papillion-La Vista South in district games and Millard North playing Millard South in a non-district game.
If Omaha North and Burke win, North, Bellevue West and Millard North qualify. If Omaha North and Papio South win, both qualify, along with Millard North.
If West and Burke win, West and Omaha North qualify. Millard North also would qualify with a win over Millard South, but Burke would qualify with a Millard North loss.
If West and Papio South win, West, Omaha North and Millard North qualify.
Kearney, if it beats Southeast, joins Southwest and Burke as the only teams in at-large contention. Burke would need to win and get wins from Omaha Benson, Omaha Central and Millard North provided Southeast beats Kearney.
Other Class A projections:
District 1: Grand Island, Lincoln North Star and Lincoln Northeast are in.
District 3: Papillion-La Vista, Millard West and Omaha Central (with a win over Omaha Westside) are in. Westside qualifies by beating Central and if Omaha Bryan beats Bellevue East. Bellevue East qualifies if it wins and Westside wins.
District 5: Millard South, Omaha Creighton Prep and Benson are in.
Class B
District champions: Blair in District B-1, Plattsmouth in B-2, Omaha Skutt in B-3.
District champions with a win: Lincoln Pius X-Crete winner in B-4, Columbus Lakeview-Seward winner in B-5, Adams Central-Aurora winner in B-6, Ogallala-McCook winner in B-7, Scottsbluff-Gering winner in B-8.
At-large berths: Waverly, Gering (if it loses), Adams Central-Aurora loser, McCook (if it loses).
At-large berths with a win: Lexington (vs. Holdrege), Omaha Gross (vs. Ralston), Alliance (vs. Sidney).
Class C-1
District champions: Boys Town in C1-1, Wisner-Pilger in C1-4, Norfolk Catholic in C1-5, Minden in C1-8, Broken Bow in C1-9, Chadron in C1-10.
District champions with a win: Syracuse-Fairbury winner in C1-2, Wahoo Neumann-Milford winner in C1-3, Centennial-David City winner in C1-6, Hastings St. Cecilia-Grand Island Central Catholic winner in C1-7.
At-large berths: Crofton, Milford-Neumann loser, Gothenburg, Gordon-Rushville, HSC-GICC loser, Pierce, Bennington.
At-large berths with a win: Ashland-Greenwood (vs. Auburn), Wahoo (vs. Raymond Central), Mitchell-Valentine winner, Fort Calhoun (vs. Douglas County West), Wayne (vs. Norfolk Catholic), St. Paul-Fillmore Central winner, Arlington (vs. Tekamah-Herman).
Class C-2
District champions: Elmwood-Murdock in C2-1, Ponca in C2-5, Creighton in C2-6, Ravenna in C2-7, Blue Hill in C2-8, Sutherland in C2-10.
District champions with a win: Nebraska City Lourdes-Lincoln Christian winner in C2-2, David City Aquinas-Malcolm winner in C2-3, Oakland-Craig (vs. Scribner-Snyder) in C2-4, Elm Creek (vs. Cambridge) in C2-9.
At-large berths: North Platte St. Patrick's, Elm Creek-Cambridge loser, Oakland-Craig (if it loses), Fremont Bergan, Hartington Cedar Catholic, West Point Central Catholic, Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer, Aquinas-Malcolm loser, Nebraska City Lourdes-Lincoln Christian loser, Wilber-Clatonia, Thayer Center, Stanton, Tri County.
At-large with a win: Cross County (vs. Fullerton), Chase County-Perkins County winner, Homer (vs. Hartington CC), Randolph (vs. Ponca), Norfolk Lutheran NE (vs. Fremont Bergan).
Eight Man-1
District champions: Johnson-Brock in 8M1-1, Bancroft-Rosalie in 8M1-3, Winside in 8M-4, Burwell in 8M1-5, Palmer in 8M1-6, Garden County in 8M1-10.
District champions with a win: Exeter-Milligan/Pawnee City winner in 8M1-2, Giltner-Silver Lake winner in 8M1-7, Overton-Alma winner in 8M1-8, Maxwell (vs. Callaway) in 8M1-9.
At-large berths: Exeter-Milligan/Pawnee City loser, Howells, Maxwell, Giltner-Silver Lake loser, Amherst, Pawnee City, Arapahoe, Axtell.
At-large berths with a win: Osmond (vs. Winnebago), Eustis-Farnam (vs. Elwood), Emerson-Hubbard (vs. Omaha Nation), Meridian (vs. Freeman), Shelby (vs. Osceola), Franklin (vs. Axtell), Newman Grove (vs. Clearwater-Orchard), Crawford (vs. Leyton).
Eight Man-2
District champions: Sterling in 8M2-1, Humphrey St. Francis in 8M2-3, Wynot in 8M2-4, Bloomfield in 8M2-5, Ewing in 8M2-6, Pleasanton in 8M2-7, Anselmo-Merna in 8M2-8, Mullen in 8M2-9.
District champions with a win: Bruning-Davenport/Lawrence-Nelson winner in 8M2-2, Hayes Center (vs. Potter-Dix) in 8M2-10.
At-large berths: Sargent, Elgin Pope John, Falls City Sacred Heart, Chambers, O'Neill St. Mary's, Hampton, Loomis, Allen.
At-large berths with a win: Cedar Rapids-Spalding-Spalding Academy winner, Brady (vs. Anselmo-Merna), Stuart (vs. Bloomfield), Dodge (vs. Leigh).
Ratings notes: Bellevue West drops out and Millard North returns in Class A. Seward replaces Ogallala, which lost to Lexington, in Class B. Ravenna enters in Class C-2, Maxwell in Eight Man-1 and Lawrence-Nelson in Eight Man-2.
Top games this week:
(Kickoff 7 p.m. local time unless noted)
Class A—Thursday: Papillion-La Vista vs. Millard West at Buell. Friday: Omaha North at Bellevue West, Omaha Burke at Papillion-La Vista South, Lincoln Southeast at Kearney, Norfolk at Elkhorn, Millard South-Millard North at Buell.
Class B—Thursday: Scottsbluff at Gering. Friday: Adams Central at Aurora, Lincoln Pius X at Crete, Ogallala at McCook.
Class C-1—Thursday: Hastings SC at Grand Island CC, Pierce at Crofton, Wahoo Neumann at Milford, Syracuse at Fairbury.
Class C-2—Thursday: Chase County at Perkins County, David City Aquinas at Malcolm, Elm Creek at Cambridge.
Eight Man-1—Thursday: Overton at Alma. Friday: Giltner at Silver Lake.
Eight Man-2—Thursday: Chambers at Elgin Pope John, 2 p.m. Friday: Bruning-Davenport at Lawrence-Nelson, Hampton at Sargent.
Six-Man—Friday: Greeley-Wolbach at Arthur County, 2 p.m. MDT.
Contact the writer:
444-1041, stu.pospisil@owh.com
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