Each Nebraska high school football season, thousands of players work hours every day to suit up and represent their schools on the field. However, these past few seasons have been filled with a lack of competitiveness and have shown a need for change. 

Throughout this season, the top-ranked teams have dominated at an unprecedented rate. #1 Westside is undefeated while #2 Millard South’s lone loss comes to Basha High School, Arizona’s top-ranked team. Even against high-ranked Nebraskan opponents, they dominate. The Warriors took down #4 Elkhorn South 45-7 in week 7 and the Patriots defeated #3 Kearney 52-3 early in the season. Millard South has outscored their Nebraskan opponents by an average of 45, while Westside has outscored their opponents by an average of 36. 

At the same time other Class A teams have also struggled at unforeseen rates. Omaha Benson is 0-18 in their last two seasons. Over that span, they’ve scored 1.5 points per game. Omaha Northwest is 1-17 in the past two seasons. Their lone win was a 30-6 victory over Benson. 

One common explanation for the decrease in competition has been transfers, which have benefited high-ranked teams greatly.

Westside’s Tay Tay Jenkins, a sophomore transfer from Creighton Prep, finished the regular season second in Class-A with 1163 rushing yards. Millard South’s leading receiver is tight end Chase Loftin, a transfer from Elkhorn North. The Florida State commit finished second in Class-A in touchdown catches and third in yards. 

Players transferring schools have also caused teams to fall to new lows. Before their 0-18 run, Benson had 17 players transfer to Omaha Central following a coaching change. 

The rise in football transfers results from a change in the NSAA bylaws that now allows students who have delivered all transfer forms by May 1 to bypass the 90 school-day ineligibility period. Without this deterrent, football athletes have pursued transfer opportunities at a much higher rate.

Option enrollment has also been a major factor in the lack of competition. Option enrollment allows students to attend a public high school outside of the district they reside in. The main issue resides in the fact that many schools cannot support this option enrollment program for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of materials, teachers, or a maximum capacity. Benson and Omaha Northwest are two schools that don’t support option enrollment. 

This issue took the spotlight when Gretna High School, whose district does not support option enrollment, had their 2021 state championship trophy vacated due to playing an ineligible player. This player did not have documentation proving his residence in Gretna’s district. Their opponent in the finals, Westside, supports option enrollment and had players from all over the metropolitan area. 

Something needs to change. 

The lack of competition isn’t a dig at Westside or Millard South’s football programs. Their squads this year are some of the best Nebraska high school football has ever seen. A potential championship matchup between these two would have game-of-the-year potential and would have fans from all over Nebraska watching. 

However, the lack of competition is harming the sport.

Firstly, many teams are struggling to field a team each week. For example, Omaha Benson forfeited their final two games this season due to a lack of participation. Lincoln High also forfeited at the half against Millard South due to a lack of players.  Players feel it’s pointless to spend time practicing to get blown out during games. It’s unfair for players who are passionate about football and desire to play to be unable to. 

Creighton Prep athletic director Dr. Dan Schinzel sees the lack of players as a major cause of the lack of competition. 

“The big thing with football is numbers,” Schinzel said. “There’s no sport where numbers make as big a difference as they do in football.”

Another issue with the lack of competition is that it can decrease team motivation. There’s less incentive for players to try their hardest if they’re sure they’ll win or lose come game time. This decrease in motivation can translate to practice as well, where athletes may have little to no motivation to improve their skills. 

This lack of competition can decrease spectatorship as well. Many fans don’t want to attend a game confident their team will win or lose by 40 or 50 points. They’d rather spend their evening doing something else. There is much less interest from spectators, even from top teams.

Schinzel agrees that something needs to change in Nebraska high school football. 

“We got to do something about the movement of kids within the state,” Schinzel said. “There’s talk of eliminating the May 1st list.”

Overall, the lack of competition poses a major threat to the state of Nebraska high school football. If this lack of competition continues, it can harm the motivation of athletes and fans to participate in an already declining sport throughout the nation. If we want to improve Nebraska high school football, something needs to change, whether it’s transfer rules, open enrollment, or something else entirely.