Another high school football season has come and gone in Nebraska. Man, my favorite time of year seems to go fast!
There were some terrific championship games last week at Memorial Stadium. And, as in most years, a few surprises to go along with anticipated results.
Once again, Class C1 was as competitive as any class in the state in 2008. Congratulations to Pierce and Coach Mark Brahmer on back-to-back titles. That is quite an achievement.
When you look at C1, however, you get the feeling, if they started the playoffs over again, you might end up with a different winner. That’s how balanced and powerful the field was.
I have to believe Norfolk Catholic still feels strongly it could be champ, having handed Pierce its only loss of the season and coming less than a yard from possibly knocking off Boys Town.
Hastings St. Cecelia would surely enjoy a rematch of its knock-down, drag-out quarterfinal slugfest with the Bluejays. Chadron and Syracuse earned plenty of respect with their runs to the semi-finals.
When all is said and done, though, the fact remains that Pierce won the title – on the field.
Imagine if the NSAA used some type of BCS system rather than a true playoff. Its likely Pierce would not even have had the chance to defend its 2007 title. In fact, the Jays, Norfolk Catholic, St. Cecelia and Boys Town would all have been on the outside looking in while Syracuse and Chadron hooked up at Memorial Stadium, based on the final NSAA regular-season power point standings.
I’m the first to admit that playoffs aren’t perfect. Brackets can be lopsided. The two best teams often meet in a quarterfinal or semi-final match-up. Upsets happen.
But, you can’t deny that deserving teams at least get their shot. What they do with it is up to them. The Pierce Bluejays did pretty well, thank you.
Which brings us to this year’s annual mess in the actual NCAA BCS. Can anyone see a way this is going to work out fairly for all involved?
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