Class C1 Top 10 Power Rankings (Spring Edition)

In continuation with my class power rankings, here are my top 10 returning Class C1 squads for 2022. My criteria for this list rely on; players lost, returning players, and how the team finished their season. I didn't factor in schedules because it is still early, and I want to focus on “player power.” After watching which players stand out in camps and which players begin to rise the recruiting ranks, I will revisit these power rankings before the start of summer and then again before the season starts. I encourage all feedback, which prompts some (friendly) discourse and builds up some hype for football season. <hr /> 1. Pierce Bluejays The incoming group of seniors has helped the Pierce Bluejays experience a very successful run over the past few years. They won state as sophomores and came very close to repeating as juniors. QB [player_tooltip player_id="217056" first="Abram" last="Scholting"] and WR/TE Ben Brahmer will look to make it 3 championship game appearances with two out of three championships. They connected for over 1,000 yards last season and should continue this hot connection. [player_tooltip player_id="245896" first="Keenan" last="Valverde"] will be a 2024 running back to keep an eye on as he steps into a bigger role. Defensively, the Bluejays have some PIECES! [player_tooltip player_id="239780" first="Dawson" last="Raabe"], Luke Endorff, [player_tooltip player_id="302763" first="Bode" last="Hoffman"], [player_tooltip player_id="239777" first="Nik" last="Harvey"], and [player_tooltip player_id="227540" first="Tristan" last="Kuehler"] make up a super tough front seven. [player_tooltip player_id="239783" first="Addison" last="Croghan"] is going to be an x-factor on both offense and defense, I'm calling it here. 2. Ashland-Greenwood Bluejays We got Bluejays in the 1 & 2 spots in this edition of the rankings. The Bluejays from Ashland-Greenwood were my favorites to capture the Class C1 championship last year as they cruised to a perfect regular-season record and have one of the most complete rosters. Unfortunately, they fell to Pierce in the quarterfinals. The good news is that they had a really young team that played more like veterans than anything. [player_tooltip player_id="250321" first="Dane" last="Jacobsen"] erupted onto the scene with a very productive and efficient season; posting 1,519 passing yards, 19 touchdowns to 5 ints, and a 64% completion. Nate Upton and [player_tooltip player_id="250440" first="Drake" last="Zimmerman"] were the Bluejays' leading rushers in 2021, returning with a combined 1,500 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. Their biggest losses come to their pass-catcher group where they lose Evan Shepard, [player_tooltip player_id="233715" first="Carter" last="Washburn"], and [player_tooltip player_id="233713" first="Mason" last="Fortney"], all of which are also significant players on defense. AG has some very talented defensive players, most notably star freshman [player_tooltip player_id="305113" first="Thomas" last="Spears"] who emerged as a lockdown corner. [player_tooltip player_id="239150" first="Luke" last="Lambert"], [player_tooltip player_id="239149" first="Logan" last="Sobota"], and [player_tooltip player_id="302768" first="Braxton" last="Buck"] will all be cornerstone pieces to the Bluejay's defense. 3. Aurora Huskies The Class B runner-up Aurora Huskies has been reclassified into Class C1, and teams should be on alert. Aurora looked like one of the powerhouse teams in Class B, with their only losses coming to Class A North Platte and the Class B state champions Bennington twice. They steamrolled everyone else on their schedule, including six playoff teams, before running through Lexington, Scottsbluff, and Skutt Catholic (The only opponent to stay within single digits). The Huskies have a squad filled with playmakers all over the field. Star RB [player_tooltip player_id="217059" first="Carlos" last="Collazo"] will be the focal point of the offense and will open up opportunities for dual-threat QB [player_tooltip player_id="239034" first="Drew" last="Knust"]. [player_tooltip player_id="239030" first="Carsen" last="Staehr"] is one of the most dynamic players in this class that can play on both sides of the ball. They do lose a group of fantastic players in [player_tooltip player_id="151106" first="Mack" last="Owens"], [player_tooltip player_id="151111" first="Gage" last="Griffith"], and [player_tooltip player_id="192724" first="Brekyn" last="Papineau"], but the Huskie's depth should help ease that transition. Kellen Peterson had a great sophomore season and should break out in 2022 with a bigger role. [player_tooltip player_id="239035" first="Britton" last="Kemling"] was their leading tackler in 2021 and should continue terrorizing offenses next season. The Huskies are not too far removed from their perfect '18 season that resulted in them winning the C1 championship. Could history repeat itself? 4. McCook Bison I was unaware of the Bison being reclassified to C1 from Class B. I had them ranked as a top 10 squad in class B. I will just transfer my analysis of them to this article. "McCook returns a really good 2023 class that saw several players take over starting roles during their junior seasons. For starters, they return their QB1, RB1, and WR1, from last year in <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/adam-dugger/">[player_tooltip player_id="239152" first="Adam" last="Dugger"]</a>, <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jacob-gomez-wilson-2/">[player_tooltip player_id="239167" first="Jacob" last="Gomez-Wilson"]</a>, and <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/lucas-gomez-wilson/">[player_tooltip player_id="239147" first="Lucas" last="Gomez-Wilson"]</a>, respectively. Dugger's ability to make plays on his legs will be an additional wrinkle to the Bison offense. <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/eli-kehler/">[player_tooltip player_id="227054" first="Eli" last="Kehler"]</a> is OL/DL to watch this year, and so will tackle [player_tooltip player_id="302770" first="Tucker" last="Martinez-Conroy"], who has great size and a mean streak. The Bison also return 2 of their top 3 tacklers from last year in Alex Anthony and Garrett Kaps, who will continue to be as destructive in 2022. [player_tooltip player_id="302771" first="Eloy" last="Carbajal"] and Layton Bortner will also step into bigger roles and deliver breakout seasons. The Bison have the making of a dark-horse team in Class C1." 5. Columbus Lakeview Vikings Lakeview was a team that started a little slow out of the gate in 2021 with a 1-2 record after three weeks, before turning on the burners and never turning back. The Vikings would go on to win their next 10 in a row and secure their first state championship. They were winning off of the strength of their defense and how the explosiveness of WR/ATh [player_tooltip player_id="193835" first="Adam" last="Van Cleave"]. The Vikings lost a valuable group of seniors, but there will be a great group of players on the roster ready to take over. Junior QB Brendan Sloup is the presumed new QB1 and will have Turner Halvorsen and Braxton Borere to throw to. Owen Bargen will likely see the lion's share of the RB1 snaps. One player that I think is a sleeper is linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="302781" first="Landon" last="Ternus"]; he is a flyer that plays with tons of effort. 6. Chadron Cardinals Chadron was a team on a mission throughout the regular season. They ran rampant through their schedule to a 9-0 record and an average margin of victory of 31 points, Unfortunately, they saw an early exit from the playoffs and will lose an outstanding core of players like [player_tooltip player_id="233661" first="Justus" last="Alcorn"], [player_tooltip player_id="191156" first="Jarek" last="Anderson"], [player_tooltip player_id="191157" first="Dawson" last="Dunbar"], [player_tooltip player_id="240955" first="Cody" last="Hall"], etc. However, they come back with several great players ready to avenge last season's ending. The duo of [player_tooltip player_id="227055" first="Xander" last="Provance"] and [player_tooltip player_id="239992" first="Seth" last="Gaswick"] is going to be one of the most electric in the state. They are both long and athletic two-way starters at receiver and starting safeties. They are great at the point of the catch and can sniff out an interception from a mile away. Gage Wild was a surprise sophomore for the Cards as he accumulated 49 tackles and nine tackles for loss. He will be able to wreak havoc with Rhett Cullers, who is the returning leader in tackles with 66. If they can play defense like they did last year, they should be right in the thick of playoff contention. 7. Auburn Bulldogs Auburn had a sneaky good defense last season, and it looks like several key players will be coming back. [player_tooltip player_id="302785" first="Wyatt" last="Rowell"] and Austin Lavigne developed into quite the handful in the trenches, they were consistently making plays in the backfield and combined for 16 tackles for loss. Blake Allen, Maverick Binder, and Braden Gerdes are all players that will be huge contributors in the second level. Ryan Boellstorf and Nixon Ligouri bout emerged as top-tier defenders in the secondary, with Ligouri only being a freshman. [player_tooltip player_id="245905" first="Tate" last="Hug"] will be a workhorse on both offense and defense. On defense, Tate can play different roles in different schemes and does a good job laying the wood. Offensively, Tate is like a swiss-army knife that can do several jobs. He rushed for 526 rushing yards, which should go up, and he also lined up in the slot and caught out of the backfield. With a great group of players returning with more experience, this could be one of the stingier defenses (teams in general) in class C1. 8. Ogallala Indians Ogallala could emerge as a huge spoiler in class C1 with a very young and talented roster. Ogallala was able to reach the playoffs behind the play of dual-threat QB [player_tooltip player_id="250324" first="Harry" last="Caskey"] who showed tons of potential as only a sophomore. He is a big, tall QB with a big arm that will settle into the offense and have more time with some of his pass-catchers. Speaking of pass catchers, the Indians will get back deep-threat WR [player_tooltip player_id="239993" first="Race" last="McClure"] who caught 11 catches for 257 yards at a 23.4 yard/catch average. McClure will also be the returning leader in tackles. [player_tooltip player_id="239994" first="Merritt" last="Skinner"] and Jaden Fanning will also be tackling machines for the Ogallala defense. Cole Stokey and [player_tooltip player_id="250655" first="Mario" last="Bush"] are some up-and-coming prospects to watch out for. 9. Roncalli Catholic Crimson Pride Roncalli is another team that is on the move from Class B. The Crimson Pride ended their 2021 season on a hot streak, winning 4 of their last five games to secure a playoff spot. They will have some growing pains as they adjust to having a young squad, especially along the offensive line where they lost several starters. [player_tooltip player_id="239912" first="Ethan" last="Pleshek"] Humpal will be the cornerstone of the offensive line with opportunities for players like Sam Lee and Wallock Wal to step into starting roles. Brady McGill was QB1 and showed that he could move the chains through the air or on his legs. [player_tooltip player_id="239906" first="Wyatt" last="Yetter"] and Sean Fenoglio will be great, versatile pass catchers for McGill. The biggest area of strength lies in the LB unit, with Charlie Mausbach, Clay Shafer, and Jacob Camp are, some hard-hitting 'backers that can fly around the field. The move to Class C1 could be beneficial to the Crimson Pride if they iron out some inexperience. 10. Columbus Scotus Shamrocks The Shamrocks were a team that was finding ways to win week in and week out during the 2021 season. Although I am not entirely familiar with this roster, they are hot off of a nine win season and retain some critical players. At the top of the list is QB [player_tooltip player_id="239798" first="Trenton" last="Cielocha"], who played very well and showed lots of poise during his junior year. He will have wideout Drew Faust who emerged as a reliable target. For the most part, this seems like a young team that could see some struggles but they should be primed to make a run at Memorial with the pieces they have. 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