The Westside football team has not won a playoff game since 2006 when the team was the state runner-up. In 2006, the current senior class was in fifth grade, and the current freshman class was in second grade. 2006 was before Westside head coach Brett Froendt took over the head coaching duties from retired coach Marty Kauffman. Needless to say, it’s been a long time.

Tonight, the No. 4 seed Warriors will look to break that streak against the No. 13 seed Lincoln Southwest.

The district champion Warriors are coming off of a 42-27 win over Papillion-LaVista South in which the Warriors outscored the Titans 28-0 in the fourth quarter to take the win. Lincoln Southwest is coming off of a 35-22 loss against Lincoln East.

Lincoln Southwest is a big team with a power style of football. This *run-heavy style of offense has given the Warrior defense trouble in the past two games, as Millard North quarterback Clay Fisher rushed for over 300 yards and Papillion-LaVista South running back Drew Klein ran for 261 yards. Froendt said the key for the Warriors to win will be the defense and slowing the Silver Hawk rushing attack.

“Our defense has to play a lot better than it has in the last couple of games, and that’s pretty much the key,” Froendt said. “They don’t have the explosive back [other teams] have had, but they’ve got a pretty well balanced offense.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Westside football team will need its top playmakers, including senior quarterback Christian Hagan, senior running backs Lane Yates and Drew Fitzmorris, and senior wide receivers Jamaal Conway-Smith and Malek Pittman, to step up.

Hagan and Conway-Smith have helped make the Westside passing game one of the top in the state, as Hagan has thrown for 1345 yards on 68.4 percent passing with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions while Conway-Smtih has caught 42 passes for 684 yards and six touchdowns.

For Lincoln Southwest, head coach Mark King said the Silver Hawks will need to slow Westside’s run game, which has been strong this season with Ftizmorris and Yates combining for 1119 yards and 21 touchdowns. Lincoln Southwest’s main focus will be on stopping the Warrior running backs from finding cut-back lanes.

King said his team is young and is still trying to find consistency, so even with the shift into the playoffs, King is trying to keep his team in the same mindset they’ve been in all year.

“We play good football in spurts, but we haven’t put together really a solid 48 minutes of football yet, and that’s what we’re working on doing,” King said. “Our vibe is the same as it has been all year long, to continue to improve.”

Froendt is looking for more vigor from his team.

“[The mentality going into playoffs is] more intensity, hopefully more focus,” Froendt said. “But playoffs everybody plays better and everybody steps up their game, so we have to do the same thing.”

The game is at 7 p.m. at Phelps Field. The winner of the game will go on to face the winner of the Papillion-LaVista South vs. Creighton Prep football game.

The temperatures for the game will be in the low 50s and upper 40s, with the sun setting at 6:19, 41 minutes before kickoff. Check out Westside Wired’s video pre cap with Nika for information on the theme, tips on what to wear and a weather report from KETV meteorologist Kyle Gravlin.

Game Predictions

Kate Stegman, Wired Sports Editor: 38-14, Westside, because Wednesday night’s team dinner was solid.

Olivia Beier, Wired Sports Editor: 35-7, Westside. Defensively Westside will capitalize. Fitzmorris will shut down their offensive game. Offensively for the Warriors their passing game may suffer due to weather, but Yates will run for over 100 yards.

Tyler Siegel, Wired Editor-in-Chief: 35-14, Westside. A balanced offense by Southwest will not oust the Warriors. The last two games the Warriors struggled against the run, not the pass. Fitzmorris will shut down their main receiver because that is what he does (see Prep game). I have do doubts that our offense will prevail and our defense will hold up. Warriors will win.

Aren Rendell, Wired Copy Editor: 28-7, Westside wins. Lincoln Southwest may be without their starting running back and middle linebacker, and without him, the Southwest rushing attack will struggle mightily. Offense will have a big first half and Lincoln Southwest will be playing catch-up all night.

Tim Graves, the Lance Sports Editor: 38-0, Westside. Yates and Fitzmorris will both go over 100 yards rushing. Also Conway-Smith will have 125 yards receiving and 2 TD’s. The defense will generate 3 turnovers and hold Lincoln Southwest scoreless.

James Buckley, the Lance Sports Staff Writer: 42-6, Westside. It’s playoff time, and anything can happen. Yates will run for at least 100 yards, and Hagan will get 150 passing yards. The defense will recover two fumbles and one interception, making a big first playoff win for the team.

Stats:

Westside:

Christian Hagan (QB, K, P) #7: 104-152, 1345 Yds, 13 TD, 6 INT

Lane Yates (RB) #13: 126 Car, 716 Yds 12 TD

Drew Ftizmorris (RB, S) #28: 61 Car, 478 Yds, 9 TD

Jamaal Conway-Smith (WR, DB) #25: 42 Rec, 684  Yds, 6 TD

Malek Pittman (WR) #20: 18 Rec, 284 Yds, 5TD

*Notes: Reliable source told the football coaches that Lincoln Southwest’s starting running back and middle linebacker will be out with a leg injury.