The NSAA has released the brackets and pairings for the Class D1 and D2 state football playoffs. Unlike the past few years, the brackets have been set as a 32 team statewide bracket. The eight-man football playoffs begin Thursday (10/23).
Arcadia/Loup City has qualified for the playoffs in Class D1. The Rebels had an outstanding regular season finishing 7-1. ALC is the #18 seed in the tournament and will face #15 seed McCool Junction (6-2) on the road in round one. The #1 seed in the D1 bracket is undefeated Shelby-Rising City.
In Class D2, Howells-Dodge is the top seed and defending state champion Central Valley is the #2 seed. Anselmo-Merna is the #5 seed in the bracket. The Coyotes finished the regular season with a record of 7-1. Anselmo-Merna will be at home in the first round when they host 4-4 Lyons Decatur-Northeast. Mullen is the #11 seed in the bracket and will host 5-3 Maxwell in the first round. The two teams met earlier this season with Mullen winning 34-32. Sandhills/Thedford is the #12 seed in the bracket. The Knights won the D2-9 district championship and finished the regular season at 6-2. S/T will be at home in the first round and will face 5-3 Winside. Twin Loup is the #19 seed in the bracket. The Wolves are 5-3 and will be on the road Thursday to face Neligh-Oakdale. Burwell (4-4) qualified for the D2 playoffs. The Longhorns are the #20 seed and will play at BDS in the first round.
Of area note, should Anselmo-Merna and Sandhills/Thedford win their opening round matchups, they would face each other in round two.
The full playoff brackets for D1 and D2 are posted below.
