8-man and 6-man football playoffs: The games to watch and players to know

Several rematches this week as teams look to take the next step. Here's a look at what to expect.

Game of the week

(Note: Journal Star rankings are used instead of playoff seeds. All games Friday, all times CST.)

Class D-1: No. 6 Summerland (9-1) at No. 7 Crofton (9-1), 6 p.m.

A Week 2 win over Crofton kickstarted Summerland's season and signaled the Bobcats would be a serious contender in D-1. Now, nine weeks later, here we are with the teams meeting again for a spot in the state semifinals. Summerland quarterback Michael Koenig, who passed for 238 yards and ran for 58 more while accounting for all five Summerland touchdowns in the first meeting, heads into Friday's game with 1,686 passing yards, 566 rushing yards and 40 total touchdowns. Standout Crofton running back Wyatt Tramp had a big game too in the first meeting, won 32-28 by Summerland. Another one like that wouldn't be too bad.

Friday's matchups

Class D-1

No. 8 Shelby-Rising City (9-1) at No. 2 Sandy Creek (10-0), 7 p.m.; Plainview (7-3) at Lourdes Central Catholic (8-2), 6 p.m.; No. 6 Summerland (9-1) at No. 7 Crofton (9-1), 6 p.m.; No. 4 North Platte St. Pat's (9-1) at No. 1 Stanton (10-0), 7 p.m.

Class D-2

No. 6 Howells-Dodge (8-2) at No. 3 Humphrey Archangels (10-0), 7 p.m.; No. 8 Wynot (8-2) at No. 2 Central Valley (9-1), 6 p.m.; No. 5 Riverside (8-2) at No. 1 Sandhills-Thedford (10-0), 5 p.m.; No. 7 Overton (9-1) at No. 4 BDS (10-0), 5 p.m.

Class D-6

No. 1 S-E-M (9-0) at Diller-Odell (7-2), 3 p.m.; No. 7 Red Cloud (8-1) at No. 6 Garden County (9-0), 5 p.m.; No. 5 Arthur County (8-1) at No. 4 Stuart (8-1), 5 p.m.; No. 8 Silver Lake (7-2) at No. 2 Hay Springs (9-0), 5 p.m.

Players to watch

Karter Lingenfelter, Plainview: A Swiss army knife for the Pirates, Lingenfelter does it all on both sides of the ball. As a quarterback he's thrown for 1,441 yards and 13 touchdowns, and his 695 rushing yards are second on the team while his 19 rushing scores lead his squad. When he doesn't have the ball in his hands, he's good at chasing it down — Lingenfelter has seven interceptions, three passes defensed, and 95 tackles, 51 of which are solo stops.

Andrew Haberman, Wynot: Wynot was senior-heavy in reaching last season's D-2 title game. Haberman has helped replace a lot of the lost production. He has 603 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, 40 catches for 540 yards and seven scores, and he's even thrown a few passes, 11 of them, and tossed two touchdowns. On defense, his 75 tackles lead the way for team that has won seven in a row since a 1-2 start.

Wilsie Lobner, Garden County: Lobner does his work in all three phases for the Eagles. His 802 rushing yards are second on the team, with his 17 rushing touchdowns a team-high. He leads Garden county with 13 catches for 302 yards (23.2 per catch) and seven scores. He's also kicked 30 PATs, and remember, PAT kicks are worth two points in the six-man game. He has 70 tackles too, meaning he's just as good at stopping points as he is at scoring them.

Reach the writer at (402) 473-7436 or . On Twitter Love

Assistant sports editor/high schools