Papillion-LaVista South got up by 13. Papillion-LaVista South running back Drew Klein rushed for 261 yards and three touchdowns. But the sixth ranked Warriors still pulled out the win.

Coming off of a loss at Millard North, Westside got out to a 14-0 lead early, on a 17-yard touchdown pass from senior Christian Hagan, who finished the game with two touchdowns on 16-22 passing for 223 yards and an interception, to senior Jamaal Conway-Smith and on a Hagan 22-yard pass to senior Luke Biggs.

Then, after a fumble by senior running back Lane Yates at the Westside one yard line, Papillion-LaVista South scored on a one-yard run by Klein, making it 14-7 with under a minute left in the first half. The Titans scored again following a Warrior punt when Titans quarterback Gabe Smallwood carried the ball two yards for the score. The Titans failed their two-point conversion attempt, making the score 14-13 with under a minute left in the first half.

Yates, who finished with 90 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, returned a kickoff to the Titans 40. A few plays later, Hagan missed a 36-yard field goal attempt wide right. It appeared as though the field goal try was tipped.

After the half, Hagan threw an interception and the Titans drove the ball down field. Klein finished the drive with a 17-yard run for a touchdown. The Titans missed the two-point conversion, making it 19-14.

The Warriors then went three and out. After moving the ball, Klein punched it in for a four-yard touchdown for the Titans. They completed the two-point conversion, putting the score at 27-14.

But the Warriors found a way to get back in the game.

“We just had to get angry,” said Westside head coach Brett Froendt. “We were the nail for most of the game there and they were coming at us and they overpowered us, they outmatched us, they out-schemed us, and we just had to start playing with some raw guts. A couple kids made a couple plays and that got the spark going and we rallied from there.”

After the Titans got up 13, the Warriors scored four unanswered touchdowns. The first touchdown in the rally was a three-yard  carry by senior Lane Yates making it 27-21 Titans. Following an interception by Zach Lehr using a play similar to the one the Warriors ran against Creighton Prep, Hagan pitched the ball to Yates, who hit a wide-open Pittman for the score, making it 28-27, Warriors with the lead, with 6:48 left in the game.

Fitzmorris scored the last two touchdowns for the Warriors, making the final result 42-27.

During the game, senior Matt Connelly suffered a leg injury which left him on crutches. Froendt said Connelly should be ready to play by next week.

“His ankle is pretty banged up, but he’ll be okay,” Froendt said. “He’s a pretty tough kid. He just needs a week.”

The Warriors, who are now district champions at 8-1 and 4-0 in the district, received a four seed for the playoffs. They face 13 seed Lincoln Southwest at Westside this Friday in the first round of the playoffs. If the Warriors win, they will play the winner of the Creighton Prep vs. Papillion-LaVista South round one game.

Check Westside Wired on Friday for a preview of Westside’s round one game.