Almost time to open some presents and we will take next Thursday off to enjoy a little Christmas with the family. We will be back on Monday with a special story on football and faith we think you won’t want to miss. What else do we have going on? Well, it’s time to introduce you (and those following on social media) to The Season, Year 2.

A special thank you to the Grand Island Central Catholic boys team, the Minden girls basketball team and their coaches Tino Martinez and Taylor Maulsby for allowing us special access to their teams this year. We look forward to sharing their story this season.

Nebraska Prep Girls Hoops Power 20

Some wild results on Tuesday night has our head spinning in taking a second crack at the Prep Girls Hoops Power 20. This was harder than the first and we are 100% sure you will disagree with us. So, if your team thinks you need to be in a different place, there is a simple fix for that. Win some games that make us watch. We are trying this based on a few things: returning players, chats with coaches, early results, and, finally, our gut.

So, here we go. Week two. We’ll take next week off for Christmas, but be back on January 2nd to rehash some holiday tournaments and evaluate the ones that will be in progress.

1 - Omaha Skutt Catholic (5-0): The benefactor of Bellevue East’s win over Millard West on Tuesday night is the Skyhawks who are in the Arizona sun this week. Won their first game in the Nike Tournament of Champions 56-14 over Mesa, AZ. Won the Class A-B Crossover last weekend with wins over Gretna East, Pius and Papillion-LaVista. Last ranking: 2.

2 - Lincoln North Star (2-0): We wish we had better data point on the Navigators, but not going to penalize them for a postponed Millard North game from Saturday. We know the Gators are talented, but we might not really know until January 2nd against Lincoln Southwest. Last ranking: 5.

3 – Bellevue East (2-1): After the opening loss, the Chieftains have bounced back in a big way with wins over Omaha Marian and then, No. 1 Millard West. New coach Eric Lenear has a strong senior class mixed in with, likely, the best sophomore in the state — T’Niyah Wilson-Smith who had 22 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in the Millard West upset. Last ranking: 15.

4 - Millard West (2-1): The Wildcats have no time to sulk after the loss to Bellevue East. Omaha Westside tonight and Pleasant Valley, IA on Saturday before the Metro Conference Tournament over the holiday. Last ranking: 1.

5 - Lincoln Southwest (4-0): The same story exists for the Hawks that does for North Star. All signs point to January 2nd. Survived Kearney 46-45 on Saturday night. Last ranking: 3.

6 - Millard North (3-1): Three straight wins since an opening loss to Millard West. Our next big data point is how the Mustangs play over the holiday break. Last ranking: 4.

7 - Lincoln Pius X (4-1): A 36-33 loss to Omaha Skutt doesn’t discourage us too much, but the Bolts are going to have to keep winning. And doing so convincingly if they can. Last ranking: 6.

8 – Omaha Marian (4-1): A good start for Tom Tvrdy’s crew with wins over Papillion-LaVista and Millard South. Freshman Alivia Kuhn is averaging 21.5 points per contest. Last ranking: 11.

9 – Millard South (4-1): Marian nudges pasts the Patriots with a 48-47 head-to-head win on Tuesday. Last ranking: 8.

10 - Lincoln Christian (5-0): Christian is doing everything they have been asked at this point. We’ll get a deep look at them after the holiday when they host Scotus (January 4) and play Gretna East in the Nebraska Girls Basketball Showcase in Kearney on the 11th. Last ranking: 9.

11 – Kearney (3-1): Might the Bearcats get more confidence off a 1-point loss to Lincoln Southwest than any of their first three wins? Maybe. A road trip out west this weekend for games with Scottsbluff and Cheyenne (WY) Central. Last ranking: 14.

12 – Bennington (5-0): The young Badgers are fully immersed in the Class B party with wins over Elkhorn North last week and Gretna East on Tuesday. Last ranking: 13.

13 - Gretna East (4-2): The Griffins went 2-1 in the Class A-B Showdown before a loss to Bennington on Tuesday. The Eastern Midlands tournament over the holiday break could be an all out war. Last ranking: 7.

14 - Papillion-LaVista (3-3): Monarchs have losses to Marian, Skutt and Millard South. Staying here will require at least the quarterfinals of the Metro tournament. Last ranking: NR.

15 - Omaha Westside (2-2): The schedule gets no easier. Millard West plus West Des Moines (IA) Valley on Saturday. Then, the Metros. They could be out in January or in the top-five. A big couple of weeks for the Warriors. Last ranking: 10.

16 – Lincoln Southeast (2-2): Maybe more impressed with the close losses (North Star and Kearney) than the two wins. The Knights have a chance to string together some wins before a January 10 game with Lincoln Southwest. Last ranking: NR.

17 - Minden (5-0): The Whippets are going to have to continue to win and win big to stay in the top-20. A win over Class C-1, No. 8 Central City (4-1) was a good start to the week. Tonight they host Class D-1, No. 3 Elm Creek (4-0). Last ranking: 17.

18 - Pender (5-0): A case to move the Pendragons up off a 61-33 win over Class C-2, No. 5 Humphrey-Lindsay on Tuesday. But we’ll keep them hungry for now. Our friend Mike Sautter gets a look tonight. Last ranking: 18.

19 - Crofton (3-0): Wins over Class C-2, No. 7 Guardian Angels and Class D-1, No. 10 Cedar Catholic in the last week. Maggie Moon’s Warriors are talented. Last ranking: 19.

20 – Waverly (4-0): The Vikings beat York last Thursday and are off until the Eastern Midlands tournament. Will need at least the semifinals to stay here. Last ranking: 20.

Special Mention (listed alphabetically by class): Lincoln Southeast (2-2), Omaha Central (2-3), Omaha Westview (5-0), Elkhorn North (3-1), Seward (4-1), Milford (3-0), Scotus Central Catholic (5-0), GACC (2-2), Oakland-Craig (4-0), Elm Creek (5-0), Superior (4-0).

Team of the Week: FORT CALHOUN. Holy smokes, edit. Hat tip to Broken Bow coach Kelly Cooksley for letting us know that Eric Jones is the new girls coach at Fort Calhoun, not our favorite Twitter coach Marty Plum (@apenandanapkin). 

The Lady Pioneers grabbed our attention with a 4-0 start. They moved to “team of the week” status with a 45-38 win over defending Class C-2 champion Yutan on Tuesday. Sophomores Ansley Elofson (13.2) and Raeann Massey (11.4) are averaging in double figures for FC.

The Coaches Poll

Each week over on nebpreps.com, we’ll handle compiling the girls basketball coaches poll and the awesome Mike Sautter will lead the boys poll. The boys ratings will drop on Sunday night and the girls ratings on Monday night or first thing Tuesday morning. You can catch the second in-season polls right here. We will have a pre-Christmas rating next week and then take a week off before returning on January 6th. Boys | Girls

The Decision

The greatest runner in Nebraska prep history will make his college decision today at Fremont High School. Juan Gonzalez — fresh off All-American finishes at the Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals (2nd place) — will take his talents to either Oklahoma State or Oregon.

In Pictures