By Tony Chapman and Chris Basnett – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The Nebraska School Activities Association state football championships and the fall sports season will end on Tuesday with the fourth 11-man state championship game at Memorial Stadium. The run of four 11-man games will begin on Monday night when Waverly (12-0) will face conference mate Gretna East (11-1).
The state championships will conclude on Tuesday with Class C-1 10:15 a.m. between defending champion Wahoo (12-0) and Sidney (12-0). It will be followed by the C-2 contest – another conference clash – between Grand Island Central Catholic (11-1) and Bishop Neumann (11-1) at 2:45 p.m. The nightcap pits Millard South (11-1) against Papillion-La Vista South (11-1) in the Class A game.
All of the 11-man championship games can be seen statewide on Nebraska Public Media.
State Football Championship Finals HQ
CLASS B: Waverly, Gretna East Aim For A Historic Title
Waverly has waited 45 years for Monday. Gretna East just three.
Either way, the wait ends at Memorial Stadium with one of the two programs winning a historic state championship.
Waverly is in its first championship game since the Vikings won the Class B title in 1980, back when the playoff field was just eight teams. The program’s only other finals appearance came in 1975, the first year of the playoff system in Nebraska, when the Vikings fell to Lincoln Pius X.
Since then, it’s been a string of deep playoff runs that have come up just short — 2025 marked Waverly’s fifth state semifinal appearance in the last eight seasons, and third in four years.
The Vikings finally broke through in style, racing to a 38-0 lead over four-time finalist Bennington before winning 38-18.
“We did not talk about it as a team a lot, but everybody else talked about it,” Manstedt said with a laugh. “Obviously, the boys were aware. And when I broke them down on Thursday, the night before the (Bennington) game, I did tell them: ‘let’s go make history. It’s been 45 years, guys. It’s time.’
“So we mentioned it, but it wasn’t a war cry of ours by any means.”
Gretna East, which opened in the fall of 2023, won three games its first season and six with a playoff victory in 2024 before this season’s 11-1 campaign.
And the Griffins have played their best football of this year in the postseason. It started with a 26-point win over Lincoln Standing Bear in the opening round, and was followed by a 42-21 win over Omaha Skutt in which Gretna East led 28-0 early in the third quarter and played its reserves for the game’s final nine minutes. A 55-34 semifinal win over cross-town rival Gretna saw the Griffins lead 45-13 late in the third quarter.
“I think it’s really, truly, an amazing deal,” Gretna East coach Justin Haberman said. “These kids have bought into the culture from Day 1. And when you have a tremendous offensive line like we do, and the great senior leadership, and a host of running backs that are willing to run hard, this is a very ‘we’ team. You don’t hear them talk about themselves very often.”
Indeed, after starting the 2024 season 0-3, Gretna East has won 17 of its last 20 games.
Waverly has won 12 in a row, all this season, including four wins by one score. Learning to win in those tight situations has only made the Vikings stronger as the year has gone on.
“I’ve told the boys this before, but it’s contagious to get in close games and lose them, and it’s contagious to get in close games and win them,” Manstedt said. “And fortunately for us, we’ve been on the positive side of that this year.”
Led by workhorse running back Nathan Axmann, Waverly’s physical style is well-suited for November football. Axmann has rushed for 1,736 yards and 25 touchdowns while averaging nearly 25 carries per game, and has 17 catches for 275 yards and another score. Axmann got 42 carries in Waverly’s semifinal win.
Quarterback Brockston Teply has unlocked the passing game for the Vikings, throwing for 2,223 yards and 25 TDs while completing 64% of his passes. A balanced receiving corps has five players with more than 220 yards, led by Gavin McMillan’s 474 yards and six TDs. Tight end Brady Schieffer has 357 yards and a team-best eight TD catches.
McMillan also leads a ball-hawking Waverly defense with six interceptions. The Vikings have picked off 13 passes and recovered six fumbles.
“For one, coach Manstedt is a tremendous coach. He’ll have his boys prepared,” Haberman said of Waverly. “They’re big up front. They have a great running game, but they also have receivers that can go up and get the ball, too. I’m really excited to see what they try to attack us with and be ready to try and make some stops defensively.”
The Griffins have done it the old-fashioned way, overpowering opponents with a running game that eats up 279 yards per game. Leading the way is Air Force commit Connor Sams, who leads Class B and is second in the state with 2,083 rushing yards to go with 25 touchdowns.
Quarterback Chase Grow is a dual threat, having thrown for 1,143 yards and 12 TDs while running for 746 yards and 12 scores on 10.2 yards per carry. Senior Seth Kraegel has 525 receiving yards and 12 TDs on 18.1 yards per catch, and also has a 92-yard kickoff return.
Defensively, senior Cade Thompson’s 113 tackles are third in Class B and 11th overall in the state. Sophomore Lucas Haverty has 101 stops. Thompson also has three fumble recoveries as part of a unit that has forced 24 turnovers in 12 games.
“Their athleticism is off the charts. The quarterback is a dual threat guy, can throw it, can run it. And the running back is obviously the leading rusher in Class B,” Manstedt said. “But they’ve got guys on the outside too, that if you’re going to load the box, it’s going to be tough because they can make you pay.”
CLASS C-1: First Timer Sidney, Gets Ultimate Shot At Wahoo
Sidney coach Ryan Smith kept things pretty simple when asked what he thought defending Class C-1 champion Wahoo had been good at in football this season.
“Everything,” the coach quipped.
Yes, Wahoo rolls into Lincoln with a single game left to complete one of the most dominant seasons in Class C-1 history. Winners of 25 consecutive games and 37 of their past 38, the Warriors bring a scoring average of 52.5 points per contest, and they have turned on the running clock in each of their 12 games this season.
“They are just so darn good,” Smith went on. “You can’t load up and take away the run; that’s what you should do, but they will throw it over the top and make you look silly. We have seen all their games – long before we knew we were going to play them – just because they are fun to watch.”
Wahoo coach Chad Fox said his team, and their recent winning ways, has been built around a strong culture of 18 current seniors.
“We have a senior group that has been an important part of the last three years for us,” Fox said. “They have been playing at a very high level and the kids have high expectations. But, we understand that those expectations are a privilege and people expect a lot out of us. And, our kids are okay with that.”
Talented running back Kip Brigham, a Nebraska-Kearney commit, leads the Warriors — and the whole state — in rushing with 2,571 yards while averaging just over 13 yards per carry. He has scored 52 touchdowns (including 45 on the ground) on the season. The records have piled up: the state’s all-time scoring leader, all-time touchdown leader and Class C-1 record holder for consecutive 100-yard games (now 21).
Quarterback Jase Kaminski is throwing at a nearly 74% clip and has 1,507 yards on the season with 17 TDs against just three interceptions. The Warriors have punted just 10 times in 12 outings.
Wahoo has been just as powerful defensively.
Seniors Eli Shada and Harrison Kruger lead a talented Warrior crew that has allowed just 115 points the entire season, which includes five shutouts. Kruger leads the team in tackles at 124 and has eight tackles for loss. Shada has 90 total tackles with 18 of them for loss. Wahoo has forced 20 turnovers and sacked opposing quarterbacks 22 times as well.
“Their entire defensive line can run,” Smith said. “They are big and thick and physical. Another group that does everything well.”
For Sidney, the recent third time was finally a charm.
In the semifinals for a third consecutive season — and just the fourth time in school history — the Raiders come-from-behind 28-24 win over Columbus Lakeview has them in the state championship game for the first time ever. Sidney had lost to Central City (2024) and Wahoo (2023) in the semifinals during the past two playoffs.
Sidney’s defense has been just as prolific as Wahoo’s. They have allowed just 94 points in 12 contests and pitched four regular season shutouts. Iowa State pledge Keian Kaiser leads the defense with 102 tackles on the year with Ben Monheiser checking at 80. The Red Raiders have forced 26 turnovers as well on the season including 16 interceptions.
You can count Fox as a reciprocal fan of the Raiders, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
“They have a ton of speed on the field,” Fox said of Sidney. “They are going to be as fast of a team as we have played all season. They will match up with us speedwise better than anyone we have seen. As good of a team as we have seen defensively, maybe since the finals in 2023. I think they are only giving up about 50 yards rushing a game.
“We fully expect to have our hands full. It’s really cool to see them break through to the finals. Coach Smith and his staff have just done a tremendous job.”
Dual-threat senior quarterback Alek Doty has accounted for over 2,400 yards rushing and passing, connecting on 61% of his passes while running for 768 yards on the season. Junior Rhys Dorcey has accounted for 1,369 yards on the ground and scored 25 touchdowns, including the game winner against Lakeview in the semifinals.
Smith said the Raiders have watched film of the 2023 semifinal – where the Raiders trailed 7-0 heading to the fourth quarter before falling 21-0 – but both teams have grown up.
“We have looked at that game a little bit, just to see how they line up,” Smith said, “but really we kind of laughed about how skinny our guys were. You forget sometimes that they grow up. I think both teams played a ton of sophomores that game. Our kids look at that game as, ‘we played them and lost, we want another chance.’”
Tuesday’s game will be the first state championship game a Sidney boys team has played in since 2015 when the Raiders lost to Elkhorn South in the Class B state basketball finals. A win for Wahoo would make them the first repeat champion since Norfolk Catholic won three consecutive titles from 2010-2012.
CLASS C-2: GICC, Neumann Ready For Physical Matchup
The long paths to the Class C-2 state championship game have been markedly different for the players at Grand Island Central Catholic and Bishop Neumann. But the destination of Memorial Stadium on Tuesday afternoon has been the same.
Neumann’s seniors have waited their turn, many behind talented previous classes that all made the state playoffs and the 2024 state championship game where they lost to Norfolk Catholic. While the seniors at Grand Island Central Catholic didn’t win a single football game their freshman year and are in the playoffs for the first time in their high school careers.
New Bishop Neumann coach Joe Pavlik, who had previously coached at Syracuse and was an assistant at Omaha Central, said his first team in Wahoo has been a dream come true.
“It seems like we have had three things working for us,” the coach said. “First, a great community at our school. Second, great families. And, third, a group of tough young men who are hard working and focused. It’s pretty special to come here from an outsider’s perspective and see it all come together.”
The 11-1 Cavaliers weathered a pre-district regular season schedule that included three playoff teams – Norfolk Catholic, Yutan and West Point-Beemer in successive weeks – and prepared them for a shot at their fourth football state championship. But, it was a 21-7 loss to Malcolm that Pavlik said may have turned the tide for his team.
“One of our standards we talk about is how complacency breeds mediocrity,” Pavlik said. “I also think it is human nature to be complacent no matter what age you are. That was a game where we turned the ball over six times. We didn’t play well.
“But every once in a while in life, you have to put your hand to the hot stove and get burned. I think that was our moment. And, instead of responding negatively our kids responded by coming together. I believe that if we had won that game – squeaked one out – we would not be where we are at right now.”
It’s an old-school, mostly under center, triple option attack that has carried the Cavaliers this season. Senior backs Jack Van Slyke (1,150 yards and 20 touchdowns) and Landon Sund (1,058 yards and eight TDs) lead the way for an offense directed by quarterback Beau Fujan (439 yards rushing and 895 passing). Fujan has accounted for 13 TDs and thrown just three interceptions.
It’s one that has impressed Crusader coach Jeff Ashby.
“It’s really, really good triple option,” Ashby said. “They do it from under center and from the shotgun. You have to practice angles when you play an offense like this you have to be very sound assignment wise, because if you miss one that right guy is going to have the ball and he’s going to break one you. Everyone has to be accounted for or it’s going to be a touchdown.”
The good thing for Ashby is they have one of the top defenses in the class. They didn’t allow an offensive touchdown until week six when they lost to Ord, 21-14. They avenged that loss in last week’s semifinals, 23-13.
GICC has feasted on wreaking havoc this season. They have 24 sacks and an astounding 122 tackles for loss on the season and have forced 23 turnovers. Sophomore linebacker Jackson Gangwish has 131 tackles on the season with fellow sophomore Owen Price at 92 and senior linebacker Jack Alberts next at 87.
“I think we have improved tremendously as the season has gone on,” Ashby said. “We learned a lot when Ord beat us and made a couple small changes to get guys in a better position. We have really started playing much faster and more confidently.”
When GICC has the ball, they counter with an offense that has been excellent in the playoffs and balanced around quarterback Grayson Sack. The dual threat has thrown for 1,791 yards and ran for 834 while accounting for 30 total touchdowns. His favorite target is Connor Haney who has 42 catches for 972 yards and 12 scores. Alberts is the leading rusher with 991 yards and 17 TDs.
For Neumann, Van Slyke also leads a defense that has forced 19 turnovers. He heads into the finals with 132 tackles, the tops in any class this season. Sophomore Henry Woita (116) and junior Quin Schutt (101) have also topped the century mark in tackles. Senior Alex Berry has four interceptions.
“They are the toughest, most physical team we have seen all year,” Pavlik said. “It just seems like they are not afraid of anything. And, then one thing they can do that many Class C teams can’t do is stretch the field. They can get the ball to the middle of the field at the second and third level of the defense.”
Tuesday’s contest will feature the state’s top-two tackle men in Van Slyke and Gangwish.
“I’d love to see them play defense at the same time,” Pavlik noted.
While Wahoo (population 4,970) has both schools in their town in the state championship game, the Crusaders are the first school from Grand Island to make the state finals since 2018 when Grand Island Senior High lost to Omaha Burke. A win would be the first football title for the city since Northwest defeated Blair 35-0 in the 1985 Class B finals.
CLASS A: Papio South Stands In The Way Of Patriots Dream Season
Untouchable all year, Millard South will try to finish off the most dominant season in Nebraska high school football history Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium.
Standing in the Patriots’ way is a team with nothing to lose in first-time finalist Papillion-La Vista South.
Will the game be a coronation for the Patriots? Or an all-time night for the Titans?
“We do not talk about it. But we know that it is talked about,” Millard South coach Taylor Mendenhall said of his team’s place among the best ever in Nebraska. “It will not matter unless we take care of business on November 25.”
While Millard South was long expected to be in this position, Papillon-La Vista South spent the offseason learning about itself, then getting better as the season went on to make its historic first final.
“I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said that I knew exactly what we had when we walked out onto the Memorial Stadium turf for our first team camp of the summer on June 8,” Papio South coach Tim Clemenger said. “I did know that we had a great group of hungry people who worked hard, had some talent, and were looking to do something big this year.
“Success is always the goal. Ever since we started this thing a number of years ago, we’ve tried to make ‘championship decisions’, meaning, when faced with a fork in the road, we’d make the decisions that champions would make. That didn’t lead to immediate results. Far from it at times. But we just continued to stick with it and stick with it. Now here we are and it feels good that it has led us to the biggest stage in our sport.”
With at least 12 seniors expected to be on NCAA Division I football rosters next fall, Millard South (11-1, with a forfeit loss) have outscored their 10 Nebraska opponents by an average of 64-4: 489-10 in seven regular-season games, and 155-27 in the playoffs, with 21 of those 27 postseason points against being scored by Omaha Westside in Millard South’s 62-21 state semifinal win.
Record-setting quarterback Jett Thomalla, an Alabama commit, threw for playoff records of 455 yards and seven touchdowns in the semifinal win over Westside. He heads to the championship game with 3,196 passing yards and 51 TDs, against just four interceptions. Thomalla’s numbers have come without him playing a full four quarters in a game, and with Millard South only playing 11 of a possible 12 games because of an opponent forfeit.
Thomalla’s favorite target is Iowa State commit Amarion Jackson, who has 44 catches for 848 yards and 14 TDs in just nine games. Missouri-bound Isaac Jenson has 33 receptions for 652 yards and 13 scores. Owen Zech gives the Patriots a third 600-yard receiver with 31 catches for 616 yards and nine TDs. Illinois running back commit Nelsyn Wheeler has 698 rushing yards and 14 TDs while averaging 9.6 yards per carry. The list goes on.
On defense, Teagan Urban leads the way with 105 tackles, 9.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, and an interception. The Patriots have 55.5 sacks in 12 games.
Everywhere you look, another eye-popping stat.
“By now, everyone knows about our opponent,” Clemenger said. “Sure, they’ve assembled a very talented bunch of athletes, no doubt. Our team is going to take the field, not back down, take our shots, and put pressure on them. All year, our mantra has been anybody, anywhere, anytime — and that mindset is going to continue this week. We’re excited to put the ball down, line up, and get after it.”
Papio South (11-1) has lived by its anybody, anywhere, anytime mantra this postseason. The Titans first survived an opening-round upset bid before defeating two of Nebraska’s top programs.
The Titans stopped a Lincoln North Star two-point conversion attempt late to hold on for a 23-22 first-round win, then defeated five-time champion Millard North in the quarterfinals and nine-time champ Creighton Prep in the semifinals to make their first trip to Memorial Stadium.
Winners of 10 consecutive games, Papio South relies on a balanced offense that throws for 190 yards and rushes for 180 yards per game. Quarterbacks Colin Raybourn and Grant Beckenhauer have combined for 2,136 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, and 236 rushing yards and eight scores. Running back Logan Arch has 740 yards and 14 TDs while averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Chester Mendoza adds 487 yards and nine scores. Elon Washington (702 yards, four TDs) and Brady Alderson (647 yards, seven scores) provide a pair of threats in the receiving game.
Seniors Ben Meyers and Cole Lempp anchor the defense with 94 and 91 tackles, respectively, while combining for 21 tackles for loss. The Titans have a remarkable 98 tackles for loss in 12 games.
“Papio South’s 3-3 stack causes challenges to prepare for on offense because there is much more of a guessing game as to where their linebackers and safeties will be lined up and what coverage they will be in,” Mendenhall said. “They run a lot of different coverages and roll into and out of their looks pre-snap. We will need to be decisive and keep our run game simple in order to get the ball moving early in hopes to take our shots later.
“They have found some post-season magic and are playing with confidence. Ultimately we will need to keep things simple early and wear them down as they have lots of two-way players.”
Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.
Chris Basnett is a freelance writer based in Lincoln. He has covered prep and college sports for more than 20 years and most recently was the assistant sports editor at the Lincoln Journal-Star. He currently provides content for the Harvest Sports Newsletter.