SCOTTSBLUFF, NE - It’s game week in Scottsbluff. The Bearcats are preparing for their first matchup of the season, a cross-state, inter-class contest with Columbus.

Just over two weeks ago though, the two teams weren’t scheduled to play one another.

"We were in a scramble mode," head coach Judson Hall said. "We were kind of waiting to see what Omaha Public Schools did. Once they canceled their Fall sports, it opened up some opportunities."

Scottsbluff lost two opponents when Colorado decided to move their season to the Spring. The Class A Discoverers fill one of those slots. Columbus also lost a week one opponent when Omaha Public Schools canceled the Fall sports season.

Bearcats head coach Judson Hall says it will be a good early season challenge for his team.

"They're going to be pretty deep at a number of positions," Hall said. "On offense they're going to try to attack the edges and defensively their a very opportunistic defense. They're going to blitz you and come at you from a variety of ways."

In their own class, the Bearcats have found themselves in Lincoln the past two years, but failing to capture an elusive state title.

Coming off a one-point loss in last year’s championship game to Omaha Skutt, Hall says the team is looking forward and right now, all eyes are on Columbus.

"We just take it week-by-week," Hall said. "If we continue to improve, hopefully we're playing our best football come November."

The only reason the Bearcats would look back is to see how they’ve been so successful. After all, they’ve made the playoffs every year since 2010.

So how did they do it? Hall says it all starts up front.

"Our offensive and defensive lines," he said. "That's been a strength of our team since I've been here in Scottsbluff. We're going to continue to rely on those guys."

"We're looking for guys to step up and make plays. There's a lot of guys that have had success at the JV level and now it's their time at the varsity level to step up and make some plays." 

Scottsbluff at Columbus will be televised statewide on News Channel Nebraska. Live coverage starts at 5:45 CDT/4:45 MDT on Friday, August 28th.