Familiar foe for top-seed McCook in Class B state playoffs

Sunday, October 23, 2011
Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook defenders Clint Beguin (62) and Matt Collicott (89, right) control Holdrege quarterback Dakota Fulk as the Bison blanked the host Dusters 35-0 Friday, Oct. 21. McCook, 9-0, earned the top seed for the Class B state playoffs, and the Bison will host Alliance in first-round action Friday, Oct. 28 at Weiland Field.

McCook High School coaching staff should have an easy time scouting opponents in the early rounds of the 2011 Nebraska Class B State High School Football Playoffs.

The Bison capped an undefeated regular season Friday night, Oct. 21, with a 35-0 romp at Holdrege. McCook, 9-0, climbed to the top seed in the 16-team Class B state playoff field, nipping Gretna for the top seed.

The Bison have a point average of 45.0000 in the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) wild-card point system. Gretna, 9-0, finished with a point average of 44.4444.

McCook will be very familiar with its first-round playoff foe. Alliance will visit Weiland Field next Friday, Oct. 28, for a first-round playoff contest and a rematch of the third week of the regular season. The Bison traveled to Alliance Sept. 9, and McCook rallied in the fourth quarter to claim a 31-20 win.

Kickoff times for all first-round playoff games will be announced in the coming days.

Alliance dropped a 21-9 decision to Scottsbluff Oct. 21 in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Bulldogs squeaked into the playoffs with a 5-4 record and a point average of 39.1111 to earn the 16th and final spot in the Class B playoff field.

Omaha Gross Catholic, 3-6, was 17th with a point average of 38.6667, and Gross will miss the playoffs.

Bison earn district championship

McCook made the playoff field by winning the Class B District 7 championship. Alliance qualified despite finishing third in District 8. Scottsbluff, 7-2, won the District 8 title, and Gering, 5-4, was second in the far-west district.

Adams Central, 6-3, finished second behind McCook in the final District 7 standings, and the Patriots also advanced to the Class B playoffs.

McCook beat all three of those teams, with a season-opening 28-7 decision at Scottsbluff Aug. 26, a 24-0 shutout win at Gering Sept. 16 and a 24-21 thriller over Adams Central at Weiland Field Oct. 14.

Adams Central drew the eighth seed and Gering is seeded ninth. Gering travels to Hastings next Friday to face the Patriots in a first-round contest. The McCook-Alliance winner would face the Adams Central-Gering winner in the playoff quarterfinals Friday, Nov. 4.

Playoff format changed

The NSAA changed the format for this year's state playoffs. In past years, the 16 qualifying teams were divided into East and West brackets with eight teams in each bracket. The teams were seed one through eight in each bracket, and the two teams that advanced unbeaten through three rounds of bracket play met in the state championship finals.

This year, there will be no East and West bracket. Instead, the 16 state qualifying teams were seeded one through 16 and paired up by seeds, with the top seed meeting No. 16, the second seed facing No. 15, and so on down to the eight and ninth seeds.

Other first-round games in the top half of the Class B playoff bracket include No. 12 Beatrice (5-4) at fifth-seed Blair (7-2), and No. 13 Omaha Skutt Catholic (6-3) at fourth seed Elkhorn HIgh (8-1). Winners of those games advance to the quarterfinals Friday, Nov. 4.

Two unbeatens in bottom half of bracket

Gretna, Crete, Aurora and Scottsbluff are all in the bottom half of the bracket, meaning McCook would not face any of those teams until the Class B state championship finals at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Monday, Nov. 21 -- if the Bison can win three straight playoff games in the top half of the bracket.

Gretna will host 15th-seed Plattsmouth (5-4) next Friday. Crete, 9-0, is seeded third, and the Cardinals host No. 14 Elkhorn South (6-3).

Aurora (7-2) is seeded sixth, and the Huskies entertain No. 11 Norris (5-4) in a first-round contest next Friday.

Scottsbluff, 7-2, is the seventh seed, and the Bearcats will host 10th-seed Ralston (7-2) in perhaps the most interesting Class B first-round meeting. Ralston, a suburb of Omaha, will travel nearly 450 miles to Scottsbluff for next Friday's game.

Area playoff qualifiers

Other Gazette area teams qualifying for state playoff action include Cambridge and Chase County in Class C-2, Arapahoe in Class D-1 (eight-man), Medicine Valley and Hayes Center in Class D-2 (eight-man) and Hitchcock County in six-man.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: