GREELEY, Neb. — Central Valley enters the 2026 football season with an experienced roster, championship pedigree and an opportunity to make history in Nebraska’s newly created Class D-3.
The Cougars won their first 11 games last season before falling to Wynot in the Class D-2 semifinals. Although most programs would celebrate an 11-win season and a trip to the final four, head coach Chip Bartos said his returning players believe they left something unfinished.
“It was a season that many teams would die to have, being able to make it to the semifinals and win 11 games,” Bartos said. “But I would say that my kids coming back would say that we underachieved as a whole last year just because they knew what their expectations were. That’s definitely driven them over the summer.”
Central Valley also captured a state championship in 2024, giving many of this year’s seniors considerable experience in high-pressure games. Several members of the senior class have started since they were sophomores on that championship team.
Bartos wants the Cougars to draw confidence from that success without assuming it will automatically carry over.
“The kids have had a lot of success, and the biggest thing that we’ve got to drive home with them is to not get too complacent about where we’ve been and what we’ve done,” he said. “Those seasons are in the past, and none of those seasons can be indicative of what this season is going to be. We’ve got to make it ours.”
That approach started in the weight room, where seniors were paired with freshmen and other underclassmen throughout the summer. The upperclassmen were responsible for holding their teammates accountable while demonstrating the program’s standard.
Central Valley’s returning experience has also allowed the team to progress faster during fall camp. Rather than spending as much time installing schemes, the Cougars have been able to emphasize fundamentals and smaller details.
“We’re definitely further along in our preseason than we are in normal years,” Bartos said. “We’re able to review and then focus on a lot of the fundamentals and small details that we’ve got to get ironed out.”
Senior Luke Shoemaker will again serve as a centerpiece of the Central Valley offense after emerging as one of Nebraska’s most productive running backs last season. He will also contribute at linebacker.
Bartos said Shoemaker added strength during the offseason to better withstand the physical demands of both positions. He has also worked to become a more vocal leader.
“He’s one of those quiet, lead-by-example guys, but he’s also one of the hardest workers in the weight room and in practice,” Bartos said. “He’ll be the staple of our offense, definitely.”
Luke’s twin brother, Landon Shoemaker, provides another playmaking option at wide receiver and free safety. Their contrasting skill sets give the Cougars the ability to attack defenses in different ways.
“It’s all about calling plays for your playmakers instead of just calling plays,” Bartos said. “It’s really great to have two guys like that who aren’t the same. One of them can excel in the run game and the other one in the passing game.”
The Cougars also return Lincoln Nekoliczak at quarterback. Bartos expects him to take on greater responsibility before the snap, including reading defensive alignments, changing plays and communicating blocking assignments.
“He has that confidence factor and knows where the ball needs to go and can put it there,” Bartos said. “That’ll be huge for us—to have him be able to run the offense at an even higher level than he did last year.”
William Pokorny returns as a key piece on both sides of the ball, while Kaden Straka and Gunnar Van Osdal provide experience along the offensive and defensive lines.
Defense could be one of Central Valley’s greatest strengths. The Cougars return their entire defensive front, both inside linebackers and their starting free safety. The same three players have lined up along the defensive front since the 2024 championship season.
“We’ve got an interior five and a free safety who have all had multiple years of starting experience,” Bartos said. “It’s going to be very tough for offenses to have success against our interior group. Then you add the defensive backs we’ve added, and I’m not sure I can see too many holes in our defense.”
Central Valley will face a stronger regular-season schedule featuring Archangels Catholic, O’Neill St. Mary’s, Sandy Creek, Twin Loup, Elgin Public/Pope John, Chambers/Wheeler Central, Palmer and Burwell.
The Cougars deliberately sought difficult non-district opponents after determining that last season’s schedule did not consistently prepare them for the challenges of postseason football.
“I would rather have a loss on our regular-season record and make it to the playoffs better because of it instead of beating everybody by 40 points and not realizing we might have some weak spots,” Bartos said.
Central Valley will now compete in Class D-3, which Bartos believes contains many of the programs that traditionally competed at a high level in D-2. Only 16 teams will qualify for the postseason, creating challenging matchups from the opening round.
The new classification also gives the Cougars a unique goal.
“You could care about what class you’re in, but how about we come out and be the first-ever D-3 state champions in the state of Nebraska?” Bartos said. “That would be a pretty special thing to put on your résumé.”
Central Valley opens its season at home Aug. 28 against Osceola.
