Ratings: Bellevue West looking to remain fresh down stretch
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
By RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star
A strong schedule is always good preparation for postseason play — as long as you can survive.
Bellevue West has done better than survive. The fourth-ranked Thunderbirds have won five straight, beating No. 10 Omaha Burke, perennial contender Millard North and knocking Papillion-La Vista South down to seventh this week after a 43-20 Bellevue West win.
And now, the Thunderbirds take on top-ranked Creighton Prep. The regular season finale is with No. 8 Omaha North.
1. Creighton Prep (7-0) 1
2. Millard West (7-0) 2
3. Grand Island (6-1) 7
4. Bellevue West (6-1) 8
5. Kearney (5-2) -
6. Elkhorn (5-2) 3
7. Papillion-LV South (5-2) 4
8. Omaha North (6-1) 6
9. Omaha Westside (4-3) 5
10. Omaha Burke (5-2) 9
Class B Pvs
1. McCook (7-0) 1
2. Beatrice (6-1) 5
3. Omaha Gross (6-1) 3
4. Waverly (6-1) 4
5. Lincoln Pius X (5-2) 2
6. Aurora (6-1) 6
7. Ogallala (7-0) 7
8. Crete (5-2) 8
9. Omaha Skutt (4-3) 9
10. Schuyler (6-1) 10
Class C-1 Pvs
1. Norfolk Catholic (6-0) 1
2. Hastings St. Cecilia (6-0) 2
3. Pierce (6-0) 3
4. Boys Town (6-0) 4
5. Syracuse (6-0) 5
6. Chadron (6-0) 6
7. Grand Island CC (6-0) 7
8. Broken Bow (5-1) 8
9. Bishop Neumann (4-2) 9
10. Wahoo (4-2) 10
Class C-2 Pvs
1. Stanton (6-0) 1
2. Elmwood-Murdock (6-0) 2
3. Creighton (5-1) 4
4. Hartington CC (5-1) 5
5. Kearney Catholic (6-0) 6
6. Plainview (4-2) 3
7. Cambridge (5-1) 7
8. Blue Hill (5-1) 8
9. Archbishop Bergan (5-1) 9
10. Wakefield (4-2) 10
Class D-1 Pvs
1. Howells (6-0) 1
2. Clarkson (6-0) 2
3. Freeman (6-0) 5
4. Burwell (6-0) 6
5. Franklin (6-0) 7
6. Clearwater/Orchard (5-1) 4
7. Eustis-Farnam (6-0) 8
8. Giltner (5-1) 9
9. Hemingford (6-0) 10
10. Maxwell (5-1) -
Class D-2 Pvs
1. Elgin (6-0) 1
2. Ewing (6-0) 2
3. Bruning-Davenport (6-0) 3
4. Humphrey St. Francis (6-0) 4
5. Hampton (6-0) 5
6. Hayes Center (6-0) 6
7. Anselmo-Merna (6-0) 7
8. Lawrence-Nelson (5-1) 8
9. Shickley (5-1) 9
10. Ansley (6-0) 10
Class A
Contenders - Lincoln North Star, Lincoln Southwest, Millard South, North Platte, Papillion-La Vista.
Comments - Kearney held off Elkhorn 21-13 to break back into the ratings. Bellevue West out-lasted Papillion-La Vista South. Both teams that lost remain in the top 10, forcing Millard South out despite a victory.
Key games - Friday: Creighton Prep at Bellevue West, Lincoln Southwest at Elkhorn, Grand Island at Lincoln North Star, Omaha North at Papillion-La Vista South, Papillion-La Vista at Omaha Westside.
Class B
Contenders - Gretna, Lexington, Ralston.
Comments - Beatrice got back on track and vaults back to No. 2 with a 30-13 win over Lincoln Pius X, which tumbles behind two teams it has beaten.
Key games - Friday: Beatrice at Crete, Ogallala at Lexington, Omaha Skutt at Waverly.
Class C-1
Contenders- Bennington, Columbus Scotus, Crofton, Fairbury, Gothenburg, Madison, Mitchell.
Comments - All rated teams won to hold their positions.
Key games - Friday: Hastings St. Cecilia at St. Paul, Pierce at Norfolk Catholic.
Class C-2
Contenders - Aquinas, Elm Creek, Malcolm, Oakland-Craig, Ponca, Thayer Central, West Point CC, Wilber-Clatonia.
Comments - Stanton held off Plainview 20-16, forcing the Pirates to drop three spots. Also undefeated: Elm Creek, Malcolm.
Key games - Friday: Stanton at Archbishop Bergan, Oakland-Craig at Creighton, Kearney Catholic at Elm Creek, Hartington CC at Ponca, Wilber-Clatonia at Malcolm.
Class D-1
Contenders - Axtell, Bancroft-Rosalie, Elwood, Hartington, Overton, Shelby.
Comments - Maxwell stunned Elwood 61-34 to move in. Burwell downed Clearwater/Orchard. Those results allowed Freeman to advance, along with Burwell and Franklin.
Key games - Friday: Maxwell at Eustis-Farnam, Giltner at Axtell, Hemingford at Garden County.
Class D-2
Contenders - Coleridge, Dodge, Falls City Sacred Heart, Pleasanton, Pope John, Sargent, St. Mary’s, Sterling.
Comments - All rated teams won to retain their positions.
Key games - Friday: Anselmo-Merna at Ansley, Shickley at Bruning-Davenport, Pleasanton at Sargent.
“Our last six games are unbelievable. Everyone is good,” said Bellevue West coach John Faiman. “This week is a challenge. Creighton Prep is still No. 1 and they’re big, strong and fast.”
The Bellevue West offense is everything everyone expected with Tyler Seals at the helm. Seals is the leading passer in Class A, with 1,937 yards (An average of 276.7 yards a game), and he’s completed 57 percent of his passes.
“Tyler just picked up from last year. He’s a very consistent quarterback,” Faiman said. “He’s almost to 2,000 yards already. He’s 21-to-3 on touchdowns to interceptions and that’s a heck of ratio.”
But in this killer stretch of the schedule, it’s the defense that has come through.
“Our defense doesn’t get the credit it should. They’re on the field a lot,” Faiman said. “Against Papio South, we had the ball seven minutes in the first half and they had it 17. Our defense has always been bend but don’t break. If you score quickly, you won’t be out there that long.
“We’ve always played as many on just one side of the ball as possible. But you can get tired on defense. Pass rush is harder than responding to (an) off-tackle play.”
Faiman said sticking to a one-platoon policy has served his teams well.
“All through the years, I’ve believed that you’re only as good as you are fresh,” he said. “If you’re not fresh on offense, you won’t perform. Average kids who are fresh are just as good as better kids who are tired.”
Another ratings battle, this one in Class C-1, is also a traditional rivalry. No. 3 Pierce will be on the road at top-ranked Norfolk Catholic.
“We’re trying to take it as a regular game. We know it’s a big game and a big rival,” said Norfolk Catholic coach Jeff Bellar. “It’s been a big challenge for us over the last 10 years.
“But we’re talking to the kids about the fact that there will be a bigger game than this one in the postseason because then, it’s win or go home.”
Norfolk Catholic and Pierce will play in the postseason, so this game is an indicator for the teams, but perhaps nothing more.
“We’ve been through this over the years when we’ve dealt with Battle Creek or Pierce and the team that didn’t win in the regular season maybe went further in postseason,” he said.
Bellar said the Knights are preparing as if Pierce running back Eric Koehlmoos will play, although the all-stater has missed the last two games.
“Healthy, he’s one of the premier players in the state,” Bellar said.
District status
Here is a quick look at how district play is shaping up with two weeks to play.
In Class A ...
District 1 — Grand Island and Lincoln North Star meet for the district championship at 4:30 p.m. at Seacrest Field. The loser has also unofficially qualified. Lincoln Northeast’s game at North Platte is likely for the third playoff spot.
District 2 — Lincoln Southwest can clinch a playoff spot with at win against Elkhorn. Kearney would also clinch with a win over Norfolk.
District 3 — Millard West clinches a playoff spot with a win over Bellevue East and the Papillion-La Vista-Omaha Westside winner also clinches.
District 4 — Millard North is the only team eliminated. Bellevue West doesn’t have a district game this week, but could clinch based on the outcomes of North-Papio South and Burke-Millard North. All but Millard North will likely qualify, with this district providing the team with the best fourth-place finish.
District 5 — Creighton Prep has already clinched a spot. Millard South clinches with a win against Omaha Northwest.
In Class B, the teams are just one game into district play, so there are no guarantees yet.
There are two games that will put the winner in the driver’s seat in their district — Omaha Skutt at Waverly and Beatrice at Crete.
In the other four classes, only the district champion earns an automatic berth and none have clinched district titles.
In Class C-2, Archbishop Bergan can clinch the District 4 title with a win against Stanton and Ravenna can clinch District 7 with a win against Fullerton. The Kearney Catholic-Elm Creek game is likely for the District 9 title.
Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
Post Your Comment
Standards and RulesYour posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.
bunzy wrote on October 14, 2008 8:20 pm:
what wrote on October 14, 2008 10:41 pm: