Cancellations piling up on Nebraska football fields

With a slew of additional football cancellations across the state this weekend, the number of games that have been postponed, canceled or replaced continues to rise.

Fairbury canceled its Friday game with Class C-1 No. 8 Auburn late Thursday night, bringing the total number of Nebraska high school football games affected by COVID-19 to 126. Of those, 45 have been in Class A, thanks in large part to Omaha Public Schools canceling fall sports for its schools.

Classes B and C-1 have had the fewest games affected, with 10 apiece. Class C-2 has had 18 games called off due to the virus.

In eight-man football, Class D-1 has seen 17 games canceled, while there have been 15 cancellations in Class D-2.  Comparing those number to some of the larger classes, there are 57 teams in Class D-1 and 52 in Class D-2, while Class B has just 25.

Nebraska’s lone six-man class has had 15 cancellations this fall.

The playoffs are expected to start next Thursday for Nebraska’s two eight-man classes, as well as Class A. In all other classes, the playoffs begin Oct. 30. Class A’s playoffs start a week earlier than normal this season. Due to the cancellation of all OPS schools’ seasons, all Class A teams will participate in the playoffs

Football cancellations have spread to the college ranks in the state, as well. Peru State, which started its season later than originally scheduled due to COVID-19, postponed its game against Clarke University this weekend. Chadron State is expected to begin its season on Saturday against South Dakota Mines, but fellow state school Wayne State saw its entire fall slate canceled by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Nebraska Wesleyan also had its entire fall slate canceled by its league, the American Rivers Conference.

And of course the state’s most recognizable team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, have had an on-again, off-again fling with the 2020 season. The Big Ten announced a revised 10-game schedule on Aug. 5 before announcing the season would be moved to the spring six days later. On Sept. 16, the Big Ten announced an Oct. 24 return date. The Huskers will open the season next weekend at reigning Big Ten champion Ohio State.