Nebraska Team Rankings Update: Sept. 12

<p>It's still early enough in the season that there is quite a bit of volatility in the weekly rankings, so here is a quick breakdown of changes in each of the classes as well as some things to watch for.</p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Class A</span></p> <p>Millard West strengthened its grip on #1 by winning the Millard North Invite over the weekend and getting wins over Skutt Catholic, Millard North, Millard South and Omaha Concordia, among others. Millard South also got a big win in the tournament over Skutt but couldn't capitalize on it in the rankings because it also lost to Omaha Concordia. Millard South and Millard West meet this week in a big match, as are the matches between Papillion-LaVista and Millard North as well as Skutt and Lincoln Pius X. The big action is this weekend at the Lincoln Public Schools Invite which features Lincoln Southwest, Omaha Marian, Papillion-LaVista, Papillion-LaVista South and Elkhorn South.</p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Class B</span></p> <p>Skutt stays at #1 despite its four losses - all of which have come against ranked Class A teams. Gretna is now breathing down Skutt's neck, though, after its win over Grand Island Northwest at the Kearney Invite over the weekend. Gretna's only loss is to Class A #1 Millard West. Elkhorn drops a little bit after its head-scratching loss to Battle Creek and Ralston enters the rankings after its win over Norris. Beatrice takes on Omaha Duchesne in what could be an interesting match - Beatrice is playing well. Elkhorn hosts Elkhorn South in a key battle this week while the Grand Island Northwest at Kearney match could be interesting as well. Seward at Ralston this week will be key, as will the Seward Invite this weekend with the host school, Duchesne, Omaha Concordia and Bennington.</p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Class C-1</span></p> <p>Lincoln Lutheran's win over Malcolm was the biggest result from the weekend and while the case can be made to move Lutheran straight to the top of the rankings, that would be a slight to other really good undefeated teams such as Grand Island Central Catholic and Wahoo. Lincoln Lutheran gets its shot at GICC a week from tonight anyways, so let's let them determine who is best on the court.</p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Class C-2</span></p> <p>It would be hard to find a team in the state with a more impressive start to the season than Hartington Cedar Catholic. At 11-0. The Trojans already have three wins over Tier 1 teams  and own a sweep of Battle Creek (which beat Elkhorn), and 2-1 wins over Class C-1 powers Bishop Neumann and Columbus Scouts. The big showdown comes this weekend for the Trojans at the Stanton Invite. Battle Creek, Freeman and Ponca all make their way into the rankings this week.</p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Class D-1</span></p> <p>Not much new to report in the class that has somewhat become Johnson-Brock, Meridian and everyone else. Johnson-Brock's win streak is now at a state-best 15 matches. The Eagles' next big challenge comes at Freeman next week while Meridian will have some tough matches coming up this week in the MUDECAS tournament. Keep an eye on fast-rising Blue Hill, which has lost just twice (Meridian and Grand Island Central Catholic) and scored impressive wins over Class C-1 schools Kearney Catholic and Adams Central last week.</p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Class D-2</span></p> <p>A strong argument could be made to make undefeated Red Cloud the new #1 over Exeter-Milligan, but for now I'm sticking with the Timberwolves. It's hard to punish a team for a pair of losses to Meridian and one to BDS (which it later avenged). How Exeter-Milligan does in the MUDECAS tournament this week coupled with the upcoming Red Cloud-Blue Hill match next week will determine who sits on the D-2 throne.</p>