An Up-To-Date History of Nebraska 8-Man Football - Saluting the 2024 Class D-1/D-2 Playoffs, All-State Teams and Final Ratings

We Did It! The History of Nebraska 8-Man Football is finally current and (complete) from 1954 to 2024. The journey has been long and difficult at times, but never tedious.A labor of love of the 8-Man Game if you will.

This has been a journey dedficated to my dear friend Coach Bob McEvoy, the biggest supporter of Eight Man football this state has ever seen. Along with Coach McEvoy, I would also like to dedicate this History to all the legendary 8-Man football coaches plus the great Bob Jensen that comprise the NEMFCA Eight-Man Football Hall of Fame Nominating Committee.

The state of Nebraska is the national showcase for Eight-Man Football in my humble opinion, sporting more high schools playing the sport than any other state in the USA.

God willing, my plan is to continue these yearly updates well into the future!

So, without further ado, we salute the 8-Man Stars of 2024.

**{Total schools actually fielding 8-Man football teams in Nebraska during the 2024 season was 111, three less than 2023.}**

*CLASS D-1*

*2024 Final Class D-1 Top 10* (Stu Pospisil- Omaha World Herald)

1. Sandy Creek (13-0), 733-148 {Andrew Kuta}

2. Stanton (12-1), 666-300 {David Stoddard}

3. Summerland (10-2), 580-242 {Tom Thramer}

4. Crofton (9-2), 470-228 {Tom Allen}

5. North Platte St. Patrick’s (9-2), 391-176 {Kevin Dodson}

6. Nebraska City Lourdes (9-3), 508-377{Jon Borer}

7. Shelby-Rising City (9-2), 490-246 {Zach Kubik}

8. Plainview (7-4), 380-313 {Kyle Schmidt}

9. Arapahoe (8-2), 420-151, {Dustin Kronhofman}

10. Dundy County-Stratton (8-2), 339-170, {Mike Spargo}

------------------------------------------------------------

2024 Class D-1 (Eight-Man 1) PLAYOFFS

Class D1

First Round

(8-0) Sandy Creek 63, Niobrara/Verdgre 14 (3-5)

(6-2) South Loup 22, Alma 14 (6-2)

(7-1) North Platte Saint Patrick's 56, Hemingford 8 (5-3)

(7-1) Summerland 45, Elkhorn Valley 8 (4-4)

(7-1) Dundy County/Stratton 62, Boyd County 16 (4-4)

(7-1) Arapahoe 21, Sutton 16 (5-3)

(6-2) Bridgeport 34, Ravenna 30 (6-2)

(3-5) Sandhills Valley 42, Pleasanton 20 (8-0)

(8-0) Stanton 52, Clarkson/Leigh 18 (5-3)

(6-2) Thayer Central 36, Johnson-Brock 30 (6-2)

(4-4) EMF 50, Hartington-Newcastle 20 (7-1)

(7-1) Shelby-Rising City 70, McCool Junction 6 (5-3)

(8-0) West Point Guardian Angels CC 20, Pender 12 (5-3)

(6-2) Nebraska City Lourdes 42, Wisner-Pilger 30 (5-3)

(5-3) Plainview 44, East Butler 7 (6-2)

(7-1) Crofton 62, Tri County Northeast 22 (4-4)

Second Round

(9-0) Sandy Creek 76, Sandhills Valley 12 (4-5)

(8-1) Shelby-Rising City 30, Arapahoe 22 (8-1)

(7-2) Nebraska City Lourdes 34, Dundy County/Stratton 30 (8-1)

(6-3) Plainview 42, West Point Guardian Angels CC 20 (9-0)

(8-1) Crofton 44, Thayer Central 32 (7-2)

(8-1) Summerland 46, South Loup 0 (7-2)

(8-1) North Platte Saint Patrick's 55, Bridgeport 8 (7-2)

(9-0) Stanton 48, EMF 8 (5-4)

Quarterfinals

(8-2) Nebraska City Lourdes 32, Plainview 27 (7-3)

(10-0) Sandy Creek 54, Shelby-Rising City 0 (9-1)

(9-1) Summerland 48, Crofton 38 (9-1)

(10-0) Stanton 36, North Platte St. Patricks 28 (9-1)

Semifinals

(11-0) Sandy Creek 63, Nebraska City Lourdes 8 (9-2)

(11-0) Stanton 48, Summerland 34 (10-1)

Championship Final

(12-0) Sandy Creek 44, Stanton 42 (12-0)

Championship Team: Sandy Creek (13-0), Coach: Andrew Kuta

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

All-State Teams

2024 EIGHT MAN-1 ALL-STATE FOOTBALL TEAMS

EIGHT MAN-1

Offense

WR — Sam Cheatum, Summerland, 6-0, 170, Senior

OL — Jack Watts, Sandy Creek, 6-0, 255, Senior

OL — Ren Brown, Stanton, 6-6, 285, Senior

OL — Garrett Hansen, Stanton, 5-11, 200, Senior

QB — Ethan Shaw, Sandy Creek, 6-2, 190, Senior

RB — Will Cacy, Arapahoe, 6-0, 200, Senior

RB — Ethan Latta, Dundy County-Stratton, 6-0, 150, Junior

RB — Becker Pohlman, Stanton, 6-0, 200, Senior

Kicker — Alex Diaz, Arapahoe, 5-10, 155, Senior

Defense

DL — Logan Dodson, North Platte St. Patrick's, 6-0, 215, Senior

DL — Hudson Devlin, Sandy Creek, 6-5, 255, Senior

DL — Collin Vrbka, Shelby-Rising City, 6-4, 240, Senior

LB — Jacson King, Plainview, 5-11, 215, Senior

LB — Connor Rempe, Sandy Creek, 5-8, 155, Senior

LB — Alec Schindler, Summerland, 6-1, 190, Senior

DB — Barrett Wilke, Stanton, 6-0, 210, Senior

DB — Karter Lingenfelter, Plainview, 5-11, 160, Senior

DB/Punter — Sam Souerdyke, Thayer Central, 6-3, 210, Senior

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*CLASS D-2*

2024 Final Class D-2 Top 10 (Stu Pospisil- Omaha World Herald)

1. Central Valley (12-1), 728-207 {Chip Bartos}

2. Riverside (10-3), 644-350 {Cory Valasek}

3. Humphrey Archangels (11-1), 532-180 {Eric Kessler}

4. Sandhills/Thedford (10-1), 706-221 {Tyson Cox}

5. BDS (11-1), 479-235 {Mark Rotter/Chris Ardissono}

6. Howells-Dodge (8-3), 418-218 {Mike Speirs}

7. Wynot (8-3), 368-234 {Steve Heimes}

8. Overton (9-2), 470-257 {Marcus Harvey}

9. High Plains Community (7-3), 405-218 {Greg Wood}

10. Bancroft-Rosalie (8-2), 409-328, {Kyle Elsasser}

------------------------------------------------------------------------

2024 Class D-2 (Eight-Man 2) PLAYOFFS

Class D2

First Round

(3-5) Twin Loup 38, Loomis 34 (8-0)

(5-3) O’Neill St. Marys 30, Cambridge 12 (4-4)

(5-3) Kenesaw 68, Ainsworth 42 (5-3)

(7-1) Central Valley 62, Elm Creek 8 (3-5)

(7-1) Overton 61, Hyannis 14 (4-4)

(6-2) Hitchcock County 30, Wilcox-Hildreth 28 (5-3)

(6-2) Axtell 44, Mullen 20 (4-4)

(8-0) Sandhills-Thedford 68, Maxwell 12 (4-4)

(8-0) Humphrey Archangels Catholic 50, Elgin Public/Pope John 22 (4-4)

(6-2) Creighton 34, Weeping Water 18 (7-1)

(6-2) Howells-Dodge 44, Elmwood-Murdock 0 (4-4)

(6-2) Riverside 68, Winside 16 (4-4)

(6-2) Wynot 44, Palmer 8 (4-4)

(7-1) Bancroft-Rosalie 64, Fullerton 54 (5-3)

(6-2) High Plains Community 22, Lawrence-Nelson 20 (5-3)

(8-0) BDS 42, Lyons-Decatur NE 0 (4-4)

Second Round

(9-0) Humphrey Archangels 38, Twin Loup 0 (4-5)

(7-2) Howells-Dodge 54, Bancroft-Rosalie 22 (8-1)

(7-2) Wynot 22, Hitchcock County 14 (7-2)

(8-1) Central Valley 72, O’Neill St. Marys 26 (6-3)

(9-0) Sandhills-Thedford 76, Axtell 26 (7-2)

(7-2) Riverside 84, Creighton 46 (9-0)

(8-1) Overton 32, High Plains Community 20 (7-2)

(9-0) BDS 56, Kenesaw 54 (6-3) {3 OTS}

Quarterfinals

(10-0) Humphrey Archangels 24, Howells-Dodge 6 (8-2)

(9-1) Central Valley 44, Wynot 6 (8-2)

(8-2) Riverside 84, Sandhills-Thedford 46 (10-0)

(10-0) BDS 32, Kenesaw 25 (9-1)

Semifinals

(10-1) Central Valley 50, Humphrey Archangels 8 (11-0)

(9-2) Riverside 50, BDS 20 (11-0)

Championship Finals

(11-1) Central Valley 52, Riverside 12 (12-0)

Championship Team: Central Valley (12-1), Coach: Chip Bartos

---------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------

2024 EIGHT MAN-2 ALL-STATE FOOTBALL TEAMS

EIGHT MAN-2

Offense

WR — Ben Barlow, O'Neill St. Mary's, 6-1, 140, Sophomore

WR — Braylon Wegner, Bancroft-Rosalie, 5-9, 180, Junior

OL — Eli Weber, BDS, 6-3, 215, Senior

OL — Andrew Kosch, Humphrey Archangels, 6-0, 225, Senior

OL/K — Caden Zutavern, Sandhills/Thedford, 6-3, 240, Senior

QB — Kyle Cox, Sandhills/Thedford, 5-10, 175, Senior

RB — Grady Kelly, Central Valley, 6-0, 195, Senior

RB — Hunter Luther, Howells-Dodge, 6-1, 195, Junior

RB — Jack Molt, Riverside, 5-10, 185, Senior

Defense

DL — Dane Schalk, Riverside, 5-11, 195, Senior

DL — Tate Kvanvig, Mullen, 6-4, 225, Junior

LB — Trevor Carraher, Riverside, 5-11, 160, Senior

LB — Mason Geilenkirchen, Humphrey Archangels, 6-0, 185, Senior

LB — Tae Soto, Central Valley, 6-2, 165, Senior

LB — Dylan Brichacek, Howells-Dodge, 5-11, 175, Senior

DB — Zaden Wolf, Central Valley, 6-1, 170, Senior

DB — Gage Hedstrom, O'Neill St. Mary's, 6-0, 180, Junior

P — Maddox Wagoner, Kenesaw, 6-0, 160, Senior