After 12 weeks of competition, the 2024 Nebraska high school football season will come to a close at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln with six state championship games.
The 2024 Nebraska High School Football Championships began Friday with the Six Man championship game, which saw No. 3 Stuart beat No. 1 Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 42-38 at UNK’s Cope Stadium.
The six remaining classes will play their championship games on Monday and Tuesday at the home of the Cornhuskers. Here’s what you need to know about all six games.
Monday
Eight Man 2
10:15 a.m. — No. 4 Central Valley Cougars (11-1) vs. No. 6 Riverside Chargers (10-2)
Riverside has never officially won an NSAA state championship, according to the record books. However, the Chargers did win four straight six-man championships (2014-17). The Chargers took some time to get adjusted back to the Eight Man, but they brought some of those air-it-out principles they won the Six Man titles with to the Eight Man ranks.
The Chargers are led by do-it-all man Jack Molt, who has 26 total touchdowns on offense while rushing for 1,663 yards and 105 total tackles with four interceptions on defense.
Nick Berger leads the team with five interceptions and is second on the team in receiving yards with 468 while securing a team-high 10 receiving touchdowns. Trevor Carraher is the team’s leader in receptions (44) and receiving yards (775) to go with his eight receiving touchdowns.
Riverside has put up video game-type numbers in the playoffs, scoring 68, 84, 74 and 50 in four playoff wins.
Trying to slow them down will be a Central Valley defense that has given up just 195 points in its 12 games this season. The Cougars have three defenders who have over 100 total tackles: Taesian Soto with 139 total tackles (70 solo), Williams Pokorny with 115 and Lucas Shoemaker with 109.
The two teams met in week one, with Central Valley winning 50-42. The 42 points scored by Riverside was the most the Cougars have given up this season. Their one loss came in week three to Stanton (40-28), who is playing for its second straight title in the Eight Man 1 championship game.
Whoever wins the rematch will secure its first NSAA state title in school history.
Eight Man 1
2:45 p.m. — No. 1 Sandy Creek Cougars (12-0) vs. No. 2 Stanton Mustangs (12-0)
This is the game most observers have looked forward to since Stanton defeated Sandy Creek in the semifinals in 2023.
Both teams have power running games with their senior quarterbacks leading the way. Barrett Wilke leads Stanton with 2,624 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns. At the same time, Ethan Shaw leads Sandy Creek with 1,510 yards on the ground and 28 touchdowns.
There is more to both teams than just the quarterbacks on the offensive side of the ball. Becker Pohlman is a do-everything guy for the Mustangs. He leads the team with 15 catches for 310 yards and four touchdowns receiving to go with his 1,407 rushing yards and 30 scores on the ground. Pohlman also leads the team with 108 total tackles.
Connor Rempe leads Sandy Creek in every receiving statistical category with 35 receptions, 792 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He is also the team’s leader in total tackles with 110. In addition to his running production, Shaw has thrown for 1,923 yards and 34 touchdowns as Sandy Creek is a bit more balanced than Stanton.
Stanton doesn’t throw it often and if they do, they will need to look out for the Cougars’ defense, which has 27 total sacks on the season led by Hudson Devlin’s eight.
Class A
7:15 p.m. — No. 1 Omaha Westside Warriors (12-0) vs. No. 2 Millard South Patriots (11-1)
Nebraska high school football fans get the matchup they wanted, with Millard South and Omaha Westside squaring off in the Class A final.
Millard South’s offense is potent, averaging 48.4 points per game, just shy of the Class A single-season record of 51.6 (Bellevue West, 2015).
Junior quarterback Jett Thomalla leads the way for the Patriots. His 3,444 passing yards this season has already surpassed the single-season A state record of 3,402. He needs just 13 more completions to tie the single-season state record of 243 (Alec Ditoro, Papillon-La Vista, 2012).
Thomalla has spread the ball around to five primary receiving options, led by Florida State commit Chase Loftin. Loftin has a team-high 54 receptions for 811 yards and 12 touchdowns. Defensively, junior Teagan Urban leads the Patriots in total tackles (69) in just seven games played due to injury.
The Warriors are looking to extend their class-record winning streak of 32 games on Monday night.
Westside sophomore quarterback Braylen Warren leads the Warriors with 2,053 passing yards and 30 passing touchdowns. Sophomore running back Tay Tay Jenkins leads the Warriors’ rushing attack with 1,879 yards (the most in Class A) and 21 touchdowns. Senior receiver Keynan Cotton leads the Warriors with 40 catches for 688 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns.
The Westside defense has been opportunistic, with 10 interceptions and four fumble recoveries while only giving up 99 points in 12 games. Reid McIntyre leads the team with 98 total tackles (76 solo), while linebacker Quinton Warren has a team-high four interceptions.
Tuesday
Class C2
10:15 a.m. — No. 1 Norfolk Catholic Knights (12-0) vs. No. 2 Bishop Neumann Cavaliers (11-1)
Conor Booth versus the powerhouse that is Norfolk Catholic is the story of this game. Booth, who left the 6-0 semifinal win over Battle Creek with an injury, is the state’s leading rusher (2,906) and leads the state in touchdowns (49).
Norfolk Catholic can add to its state-leading 12 state titles with a win, and the Knights do it with a little more balanced attack.
Norfolk Catholic’s leading rusher is Trevin Sukup, with 1,113 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. At the same time, Max Hammond is second on the team in rushing with 638 yards on the ground and 425 receiving yards.
Special teams are where Norfolk Catholic has an advantage. Hammond leads the team with eight of his 10 field goal tries going through the uprights including a long of 50 on the season.
The two teams faced each other in week one, with the Knights winning 28-21.
Class C1
2:45 p.m. — No. 3 Wahoo Warriors (12-0) vs. No. 5 Central City Bison (11-1)
Central City enters the championship game for the first time in school history. Wahoo, the favorite to win C1 all season, will look to win its second title after first hoisting the trophy in 2019.
The Bison have been the underdogs the last two weeks en route to the championship game. They have done it surprisingly with defense and timely turnovers in a quarterfinal road win at No. 4 Lakeview (19-7) and a semifinal win at No. 1 Sidney (29-12).
The high-powered Bison offense is led by a group of talented younger players for a balanced attack.
Junior quarterback Parker Zikmund has thrown for 2,545 yards and 36 touchdowns. Junior running back Corbin Kyes leads the Bison ground attack with 1,998 yards and 27 rushing touchdowns. Junior Wyatt Dent has a team-high 1,051 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Turner Hanke is a red-zone threat at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. He is tied for a team-high 13 touchdowns on 41 receptions.
Wahoo has a high-powered offense of its own led by junior back Kip Brigham. Brigham is a threat to score every time he touches it, averaging 13.5 yards per carry. He has 1,900 yards on the ground to go with 34 rushing touchdowns. Brigham is a receiving threat out of the backfield as well, with a team-high 473 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
The Warrior defense has been dominant, giving up just 80 total points in 12 games. The Warriors have playmakers on all three levels, led by Harrison Krueger’s 92 total tackles. The Warrior defense has a knack for forcing turnovers with 15 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries.
Class B
7:15 p.m. — No. 1 Bennington Badgers (11-1) vs. No. 3 Skutt Catholic SkyHawks (11-1)
A rematch of the week eight classic that saw Skutt snap the Bennington 46-game win streak. The Badgers will look to add to their Class B record of three straight Class B championships with a win, while the SkyHawks are looking for their fifth state championship and first since 2019.
Skutt do-it-all senior Joe Kolega enters the game with two single-season Class B records already. Kolega’s 1,449 receiving yards is 173 yards more than the previous record holder, Skutt’s Christian Banker (1,276 in 2016). His 19 receiving touchdowns are two more than Roncalli Catholic’s Shane Orr (17 in 2019). Kolega needs just six receptions to tie the B single-season record held by Aurora’s Cade Reichardt (74 in 2017).
The SkyHawks have adapted to their personnel more in 2024, finding success through the air with senior quarterback Dylan Van Dyke. Van Dyke has 3,077 yards through the air and 39 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
Offensively, Bennington has been balanced, led by sophomore Will Gutz, with 1,205 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Cooper Johnson is the Badgers’ leading receiving target with a team-high 40 receptions for 665 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Badger defense has been the mainstay for the last three seasons. In 2024, they have given up just 124 points, with 38 coming in the loss to Skutt. Senior linebacker Kyler Lauridsen leads the team with 100 total tackles and needs just three tackles for loss to finish his career with over 100 total tackles and double-digit tackles for loss in three straight seasons. Tysen Fleischman leads the team with 8.5 sacks. As a team, the Badgers have 19 total sacks. Senior lineman Jack Jansen dominated the Skutt offensive line in the 2023 championship game. Jansen has 99 total tackles and four sacks in 2024.
