Week 6 Games to Watch

Hi-Line (4-1) at DCS (4-0)

Hi-Line and Connor Schutz isn’t too bad and they had a nice win over Bertrand last week. The first of 3 straight quality opponents for the Tigers before the playoffs get going. Hi-Line beat Bertrand by 8; DCS beat them by 56

BDS (5-0) at Kenesaw (4-0)

Some of the other raters don’t have as much faith in Kenesaw as we do right now. Tyson Denkert is a special talent but he’s got some other dudes around him too like Deric Goldenstein, Trey Kennedy and Sean Duffy. This game probably tells us more about where the Blue Devils are vs where BDS is. Each team has had one quality opponent but otherwise feasted on cupcakes.

Archbishop Bergan (5-0) at Aquinas Catholic (4-1)

Two of the HWTs and title contenders in C2 collide. This is Aquinas’ third straight week of playing a heavyweight program so you wonder how much they have in the tank right now. Bergan hasn’t played anyone of note in a month. Koa McIntyre already has 1445 all-purpose yards so that nasty Aquinas defense will be dialed in to him all night. We know what Aquinas is and what they do-this game tells us what we need to know about the Knights, who should go unbeaten into Oakland-Craig in two weeks if they get this one.

Norris (4-1) at Plattsmouth (5-0)

Another one of those games where we know a lot about one team and not nearly as much about the other. Norris is legit and Bryson Schultz return gives them another offensive weapon. Plattsmouth has a few nice wins but this is by far their biggest challenge and best opponent. Dylan Meyer and Co will key on Blue Devils junior RB Christian Meneses who averages nearly 8 yards a carry.

Gretna (5-0) at Omaha Skutt (4-1)

Old Class B rivals collide again but this time the Dragons are up in A sporting an unbeaten record and the premier young QB in the state with sophomore Zane Flores who is completing 71% of his passes this year. You can argue that Gretna’s schedule hasn’t been exactly great other than that 3 touchdown win over Papillion-LaVista South. Skutt’s secondary is going to get some serious work with Flores throwing to Jackson Alexander and Trevor Marshall. Skyhawks need to play keep away on the ground with Barrett Liebentritt, Sam Scott and Dominic Melrose.

ALC (3-2) at Burwell (5-0)

There’s no love lost between these two rivals and Burwell would like nothing more than to bury the Rebels, who come in hot after a few weeks of dominating Amherst and Ravenna. Like everyone else up to this point, ALC simply doesn’t have an answer to match the Longhorns in the trenches so they better get creative with how they approach this one. So many weapons for Burwell with Birch and Busch leading the way. At this point, wondering if the only team in D1 that can slow them down is DCS. Since Tyron Calleroz was inserted into the ALC lineup, he’s averaging 200 yards per game and the Rebels are 3-0.

Aurora (3-2) at McCook (3-1)

With the top 4-5 teams pretty settled in Class B, the winner of this one emerges as next up. Weiland field should be rocking tonight. Aurora has two losses by 3 to Class A ratings contender North Platte and by 13 to Bennington and McCook has only lost to Hastings. They aren’t always pretty but the Huskies can wear you down with their line and their QB Ethan Shaw can make undisciplined defenses pay the price. McCook would get a boost if sophomore RB and 2019 Super State 9^th Jacob Gomez Wilson were back in the lineup. Will be a physical knock down, not for the feint of heart type of game.

Lincoln East (3-2) at Millard West (1-3)

Both teams come into this one with losses but the Spartans should be of better mindset than the Wildcats after their historic collapse against Prep last week. Two polar opposites in terms of philosophies with the Walters air show against the grind it out bunch from MW. East hasn’t seen a bigger and more athletic all-around set of lines on either side of the ball than what the Wildcats bring. Millard West could drop to 1-4 with a loss and Bellevue West looming next week.

Adams Central (5-0) at Central City (2-2)

After last week’s inexplicable pasting of Lakeview by Central City, this game quickly got added to the list of must-follow on the calendar. Kale Jensen and the Bison Air Raid is the first of 3 very tough games for the unbeaten Patriots. Expect super sophomore Hyatt Collins to carry the ball-a lot. Like he did against Cozad two weeks ago. Central City hasn’t lost since week 2 when they fell to C2 power Ord 37-20.

St Mary’s (5-0) at Creighton (5-0)

Two of the remaining unbeatens remaining in D2 and both are sitting right at the bottom of the Top 10. To the victors go the spoils-whoever wins here gets that ratings spot. Neither team has played a great schedule and for both, this appears to be the toughest game remaining until the playoffs.

Ord (5-0) at GICC (3-2)

Ord has pitched two straight shutouts against overmatched opponents but looking at how they held down a pretty prolific Central City offense, their defense appears for real. GICC is getting healthy. This is the toughest remaining regular season game for the Chants. Are the Crusaders good enough to stand up to the physical bruising style of Ord?

Crofton (3-2) at Hartington CC (5-0)

The Warriors need to just get past this hurdle and they should run the table during the rest of the regular season. With those two losses to OC and Aquinas, Crofton may be a little lower playoff seed. And one you won’t want to see in November. Think that HCC is good-exactly how good remains to be seen. They have that OT win over Battle Creek but this Crofton team is the best they have faced. Expect Jimmy Allen to carry the load with that physical punishing run game.

PLV (2-3) at Lincoln SE (5-0)

PLV didn’t play up to what they had last week against Elkhorn South and they get another physical run-first bunch with unbeaten Lincoln Southeast. Will Hubert and Luke Lindenmeyer need to hold up in the trenches because the Knights have went full Chuck Mizerski with their style of play. All those super state 9^th graders from a year ago for LSE are now firmly entrenched as big-time varsity players. Any chance of an upset probably hinges on QB play for the Monarchs is and whether Cole Price can grind out yards. A couple of teams that should be even better a year from now.

Wayne (4-1) at Norfolk Catholic (2-2)

NC appears limited offensively (good not great) but they have a decent defense. Wayne is ironically in the same boat so this one will be low scoring think 17-10 type win for the Blue Devils in this C1 vs C2 game.

Creighton Prep (2-2) at North Platte (4-0)

Might be over in record time with the way both teams run the ball. North Platte isn’t big up front but that system gives everyone problems like Army and Navy do at the college level. Bulldogs ran for 567 yards last week. Just don’t jump out to a big lead on Prep! Alex Bullock is a real star for Prep and earned a walk-on offer from the Huskers this week.

Howells-Dodge (4-1) at Stanton (3-1)

Two rateds in D1 that love to run the ball. The winner here wins out during the rest of the regular season. Jaguars are hoping to get all-state DE RJ Bayer back. As a team, Stanton averages 8 YPC. Sutton Pohlman and Levi Belina are two of the leading rushers in Eight Man 1.

Yutan (3-1) at Wilber-Clatonia (3-0)

Wilber-Clatonia finally gets to play after missing games the last two weeks with Covid cancellations. Yutan has been on fire since that opening night loss to Archbishop Bergan and looks more like the team we thought they’d be this year, although the last few opponents have been less than stellar. WC plays defense and plays it well and this should be the best that Yutan has seen on that side of the ball. Quran Cook is back for Yutan after he missed that opener against AB. Low scoring, nail-biter game. Anything else would be a surprise.