OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Football season is officially here in Nebraska as 12 of the state’s high school teams will take the field Friday night for Week Zero of the 2022 season.
Its existence is to help balance out the schedules for each class with odd numbers. The rest of the prep teams in Nebraska will kick off the season next Friday, August 26.
“It’s a unique opportunity because you get to play a game, and there’s only a handful of them in the state of Nebraska this week,” Creighton Prep Football Coach Tim Johnk said. “So you really get the spotlight and get to showcase your program.”
Four local teams will open the season in Week Zero.
One of the six games pits two of Class A’s top five rated teams against one another—Bellevue West and Creighton Prep.
Last year, the Thunderbirds won the matchup 28-22. Both teams expect a highly contested game again this season.
“Well, I want to know what they’re serving in the cafeteria over there because they’re huge,” Bellevue West Football Coach Michael Huffman said. “We’re going to have our hands cut but we got some really good skill kids on both offense and defense, and we’re hoping our speed can at least offset some of their size. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
“I have a lot of respect for Bellevue West. They’ve been a traditional Class A power here for a number of years,” Johnk said. “It should be a great football game.”
The game will kickoff Friday night at 7 p.m. at Burke High School.
You can find all six games below. Tune in to 3 News Now Tonight at Ten to catch the highlights and scores.
Week Zero (08/19/2022)
Bellevue West at Creighton Preparatory School (Burke High School)
Columbus at Fremont
North Platte at Papillion-LaVista South
Summerland at Riverside
Alma at Superior
North Platte St. Patrick's at Bridgeport
