By Rich Winter

605 Sports

It’s a big week for the All-Nations Football Conference with eight games serving as the regular season finales. This week’s schedule features crossover games where Class 9A schools play Class 9B schools with bragging rights and playoff seeding points hanging in the balance. 

This weeks games:

Thursday, 10/17 - Lower Brule at Todd County

Thursday, 10/17 - Flandreau Indian at Little Wound

Thursday, 10/17 - Mahpiya Luta at White River

Saturday, 10/19 - McLaughlin at Crazy Horse

Thursday, 10/17 - Pine Ridge at Tiospa Zina

Thursday, 10/17 - Marty at St. Francis Indian

Thursday, 10/17 - Crow Creek at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Tiospaye Topa

Thursday, 10/17 - Winnebago, Nebraska at Omaha Nation

Intriguing matchups:

• Lower Brule at Todd County - Todd County is coming off a 50-14 loss to Pine Ridge and the Falcons lost quarterback Chris Ellert for the season with a broken collarbone. Lower Brule beat Crow Creek last week 78-0 and would love nothing more than to hit the playoffs with a win over a really good Class 9A school

• Mahpiya Luta at White River - No team in the All-Nations football conference has improved more than Mahpiya Luta. The team lost its first five games but is coming off two consecutive wins including last week’s 50-0 win over McLaughlin. White River lost a heartbreaker last week as Omaha Nation scored on the last play of the game to defeat the Tigers, 28-22. 

• Winnebago, Nebraska at Omaha Nation, Nebraska - Bragging rights on the line for the two Nebraska teams in the conference. Omaha Nation withstood the challenge from a very good White River team last week and likely solidified home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Winnebago used three touchdowns from Raiden DeCora and two first-half interceptions from Jon Earth in their 51-0 win over St. Francis Indian. 

• McLaughlin at Crazy Horse - This is the only game of the week that will be played on Saturday. Crazy Horse is 4-3 on the season and a win Saturday would guarantee a winning season for the Chiefs. 

Last week's Class 9B games:

Lower Brule 78, Crow Creek 0 

Tiospa Zina 44, Flandreau Indian 14

Omaha Nation 28, White River 22

Crazy Horse 48, Marty 0

Last week’s Class 9A games:

Winnebago, Nebraska 51, St. Francis Indian 0

Pine Ridge 50, Todd County 14

Little Wound 42, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 28

Mahpiya Luta 50, McLaughlin 0

Huge win for Little Wound last week as the Mustangs earned a 42-28 win over Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Tiospaye Topa. Those two teams are expected to meet in the first round of the Class 9B playoffs with Little Wound likely hosting that game. In last week’s win, Little Wound wide receivers Daelan LeBeaux and Kinyan Luta Catches Enemy both went over 1,000 career receiving yards. 

All-Nations Class 9A standings: 

Winnebago, Nebraska, 7-0, 44.857

Pine Ridge, 6-1, 43.286

Todd County, 5-2, 42.143

Little Wound, 4-3, 40.571

Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Tiospaye Topa, 3-4

Mahpiya Luta, 2-5, 37.857

St. Francis Indian, 1-6, 36.714

McLaughlin, 0-7, 35.143

All-Nations Class 9B standings: 

Lower Brule, 7-0, 44.857

Omaha Nation, Nebraska, 6-1, 43.286

White River, 5-2, 42.143

Crazy Horse, 4-3, 40.571

Tiospa Zina 3-4, 39.429

Marty, 2-5, 37.857

Flandreau Indian, 1-6, 36.714

Crow Creek, 0-7, 35.143