The NSAA has released the opening round pairings for the Class D1 and D2 state football playoffs. The opening round includes 32 teams and is split into two 16 team brackets (west and east). The South Loup Bobcats are the #2 seed in the west bracket. South Loup completed an undefeated regular season and will face Ansley/Litchfield in the opening round. The Spartans qualified for the playoffs with a big win over Elm Creek in their regular season finale to improve to 3-5 on the season. South Loup will host. Sandhills/Thedford is the #4 seed in the west bracket. The Knights ended the regular season at 7-1 and will host Overton in the opening round. Twin Loup is the #6 seed in the west bracket. The Wolves finished the regular season at 5-3 and will host 4-4 Hitchcock County in the opening round. Anselmo-Merna qualified for the playoffs. The Coyotes finished the regular season at 4-4 and are the #9 seed in the west bracket. AM will travel to Boyd County in the first round. Mullen is the #7 seed in the west bracket. The Broncos finished the regular season at 5-3 and will host Hyannis in the first round.
On the east side of the D2 bracket, the top four seeds are Johnson Brock #1, Wynot #2, Central Valley #3, Humphrey St. Francis #4.
The opening games will take place Thursday October 19th. The bracket will be re-seeded for round two.
