West of Lincoln: History isn’t on Grand Island’s and Scottsbluff’s side. The last time the Class A and B champions in the same season were from schools outside of the Omaha and Lincoln area was 2006 — Kearney in A and Crete in B.
Grand Island: Islanders are making their first appearance in the title game since 1990 — it’s their first final in Memorial Stadium — and third since 1975. They are 1-2, beating Omaha Creighton Prep 31-7 at home in 1978.
Omaha Burke: The Bulldogs are 0-3 in title games. Their last appearance was a 21-9 loss to Lincoln Southeast in 2011.
Class B: Scottsbluff is making its first title-game appearance since back-to-back losses in 1999 and 2000. Elkhorn defeated the Bearcats 20-3 in 1999 and Crete was a 13-3 winner in 2000. Omaha Skutt is making its fifth appearance in six years and its seventh since 2005 — the SkyHawks have gone 3-3.
Aurora: The Huskies are in their seventh final and fourth since 2008. The Huskies are 2-4 in Class B championship games — winning in 2008 and 2009. Most recently was a 32-21 loss to Elkhorn South in 2015.
Ord: The C-1 title game will be the first for Ord.
Norfolk Catholic: In Class C-2, the Knights are in their 17th final looking to add to their 10 state championships. Last year’s C-1 champions are after back-to-back titles for the fourth time since 1983. The last time the Knights played in the C-2 title game, they lost 35-16 to Cambridge in 1996.
Centennial: Norfolk Catholic’s C-2 foe on Tuesday was runner-up to Yutan last season and runner-up to Tekamah-Herman in the 1976 C-1 final.
Burwell: The Longhorns are making their third Eight Man-1 final appearance in four years. They defeated West Point GACC 47-18 in the 2016 title game after losing to BDS in 2015.
Mullen: The Broncos are making their fifth title-game appearance since 1990. Mullen is 3-1 in the previous four, winning two titles in Eight Man-1 (1990, 1998) and one in Eight Man-2 (2003). Its most recent appearance (2004) was a 36-18 loss to Lindsay Holy Family.
Johnson-Brock: The Eight Man-2 Eagles are in their first final.
140-4: The combined record of the 12 teams in the state finals playing Monday and Tuesday.
Nine: Unbeaten teams heading into the remaining six games.
The top uncommitted prospects in each of the state football championships
Eight Man-2: Mullen vs Johnson-Brock, 10:15 am. Monday
Lane Edis, senior, Mullen: It is no secret what Mullen wants to do offensively — get the ball to the 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior. Edis has rushed for 6,703 yards and 121 touchdowns in his career — 2,598 of those yards and 42 touchdowns have come this season. Edis doesn’t have a scholarship offer. He is receiving interest from Division II schools UNK and Wayne State, DIII Nebraska Wesleyan and NAIA schools Hastings, Doane and Midland.
Ty Hahn, junior, Johnson-Brock: The 6-2, 185-pound athlete leads the Eagles with 55 receptions for 1,049 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also has 147 rushing yards with seven touchdowns. Hahn has taken four game day visits to Nebraska, one to Minnesota and one to South Dakota State this fall.
Kaden Glynn, sophomore, Johnson-Brock: Glynn has produced big numbers on both sides of the ball. He is second on the team in rushing (304 yards, eight touchdowns) and receiving (35 receptions, 808 yards, 13 touchdowns). On defense, his five interceptions and five sacks are second on the team.
Eight Man-1: Burwell vs Creighton, 2:45 pm. Monday
Bryce Zimmerer, senior, Creighton: The 6-0, 175-pound running back leads the Bulldogs with 2,422 yards and 22 rushing touchdowns. He has an additional 225 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 11 receptions. The two-way player has 63 total tackles, two sacks and three fumble recoveries.
Jase Williams, senior, Burwell: Williams leads the Longhorns with 1,628 yards rushing and 30 touchdowns.
Class A: Grand Island vs Omaha Burke, 7:15 pm. Monday
Xavier Watts, junior, Burke: Watts (6-1, 185 pounds) leads the Bulldogs with 933 receiving yards to go with 12 touchdowns. Not only a standout receiver, he has emerged as a safety — 53 tackles and five interceptions. He holds scholarship offers from Nebraska, Minnesota, Purdue, Iowa State, Northwestern, Wisconsin and South Dakota State.
James Burks, senior, Burke: Burks can be overshadowed by his higher profile teammates at time. Burks is a three time state champion wrestler and one of the toughest backs to tackle in the state. He leads the Bulldogs with 1,834 yards and 27 touchdowns on the ground. A two-way player he has 55 tackles from his strong safety position.
Tyler Chadwick, senior, Burke: A three-year starter at quarterback for the Bulldogs, Chadwick (6-0, 185) received his first Division I offer from FCS Drake last week. He has thrown for 24 touchdowns and 2,071 yards, the third consecutive year he has gone over 2,000.
Eric Allen, senior, Grand Island: At 6-3, 280 pounds he is an anchor on the offensive line for the Islanders. Allen took a visit to Nebraska on Saturday.
Caleb Francl, junior, Grand Island: Despite his size (6-0, 170), he leads the Islanders in tackles (93) and sacks (three). He is second on the team in rushing with 513 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Class C-2: Centennial vs Norfolk Catholic, 10:15 am. Tuesday
Dylan Kautz, senior, Norfolk Catholic: Kautz is a speedster with 2,612 yards and 43 touchdowns on the ground this season. He has rushed for an 11-man record of 7,486 yards in his career. At 5-9 and 178 pounds, Kautz has run a 4.44 40 times. At Nebraska’s June 22 Friday Night Lights Camp, Kautz ran that time twice. He holds a grayshirt offer from Minnesota. That means Kautz would be a walk-on his first season, then get a scholarship after that. He also has offers from DII schools Sioux Falls and Bemidji State.
Joe Teten, senior, Norfolk Catholic: Along with Husker commit Ethan Piper, Teten opens the holes for Kautz to run through. At 6-4, 275 pounds Teten has scholarship offers from Chadron State, Sioux Falls, Augustana, Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State.
Wyatt Ehlers, senior, Centennial: The 6-0, 185-dual threat quarterback leads the Broncos back to the title game after a runner-up finish last season. Ehlers has 2,260 yards and 30 touchdowns passing to go with his 777 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He also has four interceptions and 77 tackles.
Jackson Hirschfeld, senior, Centennial: Ehlers’ favorite target (6-0, 175) has 86 receptions for 1,185 yards and 14 touchdowns this season.
Class C-1: Aurora vs Ord, 2:45 pm. Tuesday
Cy Bullerman, senior, Aurora: Bullerman (5-8, 165) leads the Huskies’ high-powered offense with 1,021 receiving yards. Quarterback Baylor Scheierman (South Dakota State basketball signee) has connected with Bullerman for 11 TDs.
Jessie Ulrich, senior, Ord: The dual-threat QB (5-11, 190 pounds) leads the Chanticleers with 1,575 yards and 15 touchdowns passing. On the ground, he has 1,310 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Class B: Scottsbluff vs Omaha Skutt, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday
Jarod Epperson, senior, Skutt: The running back has game-breaking speed. The 6-0, 185-pound senior leads the SkyHawks with 2,059 yards and 32 TDs on the ground.
Tyson Gordon, junior, Skutt: The safety has seven interceptions — Gordon (6-2, 165) has taken three of those seven back for touchdowns. He also has 274 receiving yards and 270 rushing yards.
Blake Anderson, junior, Skutt: Anderson is the best lineman prospect for the SkyHawks. At 6-5, 275 pounds, he translates at the next level to an offensive lineman and has taken a game day visit to Nebraska this fall. He also has 62 total tackles.
Sabastian Harsh, junior, Scottsbluff: The 6-3, 220-pound dual-threat quarterback has 711 rushing yards with 16 touchdowns and 852 passing yards with eight touchdowns. Harsh is a part-time outside linebacker and has 32 tackles, three sacks and one interception.
Christopher Busby, senior, Scottsbluff: Busby (5-11, 175) leads the Bearcats with 1,278 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. He has scholarship offers from UNK and Chadron State. FCS program Northern Colorado has also expressed interest.
D2 Championship: Mullen vs. Johnson-Brock
When: 10:15 a.m. Monday
Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
Radio: 103.1 FM, b103.fm and ncnsportsnow.com
Mullen relies on run, Johnson-Brock prefers to pass, but both are perfect, for now
Kaden Glynn is exactly what Eagles needed on their march to first state championship appearance
Johnson-Brock’s championship opponent has a lot of similarities to St. Francis
