You know the arrival of the high school football season is close with the release of the Huskerland Prep Report’s Nebraska High School Football Preview magazine. Publisher Bob Jensen is watching his creation celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. KCNI/KBBN visited with Jensen about the publication and as the magazine celebrates its 30th anniversary Jensen said he also celebrates the 40th anniversary of when he began as the sports editor of the Custer County Chief in 1979.
Included in this year’s magazine are the Huskerland Prep Report Preseason All-State Teams which include a few names from the KCNI/KBBN coverage area. Caden Kusek of Arcadia/Loup City and Jase Williams of Burwell make the Class D1 preseason team at running back. Grant Jones (defensive line) and Jace Connell (defensive back) of South Loup make the D1 team on defense. Mullen defensive lineman Clayton Hassett was selected to the D2 preseason defensive team and Owen Geiken of Gothenburg along with teammate Tucker Wyatt appear on the Class C1 preseason all defensive team.
A handful of area teams make the cut in the Huskerland Prep Report’s preseason top ten rankings. The Burwell Longhorns, last year’s state runner-up in Class D1, are preseason ranked #3 behind last year’s D1 state champion Creighton who is ranked #1 and Lutheran High Northeast who is ranked #2. Arcadia/Loup City make the D1 preseason top ten coming in at #5. The Rebels and Longhorns will matchup in the regular season on October 11th in Burwell. Last year’s D2 state runner-up, Mullen, makes the 2019 D2 preseason top ten at #6 with Falls City Sacred Heart getting the nod at #1. Gothenburg and Cozad each make the preseason top ten in Class C1. The Swedes are ranked #9 and Cozad #10 and the two will play each other in the second week of the season. Pierce is top rated in C1. The Huskerland Prep Report ranks Bellevue West #1 in Class A, Omaha Skutt #1 in Class B, and BRLD (Bancroft Rosalie Lyons Decatur) is preseason ranked #1 in Class C2.
