Lincoln North Star ended up with an eight-game schedule when the Nebraska School Activities Association released the 2020 and ’21 football schedules Wednesday, but there’s still opportunities for the Navigators to pick up a ninth.
Nate Neuhaus, NSAA assistant director in charge of football, said it will actively be seeking possible opponents from contingent states for North Star and the other eight Nebraska schools that don’t have full schedules.
Joining North Star in search of games are Hastings in Class B, Schuyler in C-1, Sandy Creek in C-2, Cross County and Laurel-Concord-Coleridge in D-1 and Niobrara/Verdigre, Central Valley and Blue Hill in D-2. While the 11-man classes (A through C-2) play nine games, the D-1 and D-2 eight-man classes have an eight-game regular season.
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“Kansas is just starting to finish up their scheduling (for next year) and Iowa is about two to three weeks behind us in their process,†Neuhaus said.
Another option that might be pursued is to match up North Star and Hastings in what would be considered a Week 0 game the week before the regular season starts Aug. 27- 28. A Week 0 game would probably be played Aug. 21.
North Star’s and Hastings’ bye weeks don’t match. North Star is off Week 7 while Hastings, considered one of the preseason favorites in Class B, is idle Week 8.
Neuhaus said both schools have approached the NSAA about playing Week 0, but added that such a move would need NSAA board of director approval since nothing in the football rules permits it.
Neuhaus says a discussion on the matter may come up when the NSAA board has its February meeting on Wednesday.
Issues such as extending the football scheduling calendar to 10 weeks and practice time are things that would need to considered, according to Neuhaus. Having just two weeks of preseason practice for the schools involved in a Week 0 game could become a safety factor, while allowing the Week 0 teams to start practice a week earlier might be seen as a competitive advantage over everyone else.
“It’s much more involved than just moving a game to a certain date,†he said.
With South Sioux City opting down from Class A to Class B and Schuyler and Nebraska City choosing to go from B to C-1, both Class A (31 schools) and B (25) were left with an odd number of schools, meaning someone would be stuck with an eight-game schedule.
The schools ending up with the eight-game schedule was totally random, Neuhaus said.
“There’s no scientific method to it,†he said. "'Unlucky' for the lack of a better term.â€