RECAP: Football clinches playoff berth in Homecoming victory

After a season filled with highs and lows, the Westside varsity football team clinched a playoff berth with two games left to play by beating the Columbus Discoverers, a team playing in Class A for the first time after moving up from Class B, 41-7.

On Homecoming night at Phelps Field, in front of a large crowd and packed student section, the Warriors got off to a quick start and played solid football in all facets of the game to pick up the win.

The Warriors, coming off of a disappointing loss to then-winless Burke, took advantage of two Columbus fumbles inside its own territory on its first two offensive plays to go ahead 10-0, with a touchdown pass from junior Mitchell Hagan to senior KaVon Neelon starting off the scoring and a 34-yard field goal by sophomore Jack Finnochiaro adding on to the lead.

In the second quarter, the Warriors sandwiched a Columbus score, its only of the night, between a senior Mitch Schenkelberg two-yard touchdown run to cap a 78-yard drive and another Hagan to Neelon touchdown to put Westside up 24-7.

The Hagan to Neelon touchdown came when Neelon ran a seam route and found himself wide open deep down field. Hagan hit the receiver in stride to complete the 58-yard touchdown throw.

Late in the first half, a series of odd decisions by Columbus and masterful time management by the Westside coaching staff put Westside up 27-7 going into the half after Finnochiaro hit another field goal, this one from 30 yards out.

With 38 seconds on the clock, Columbus started with the ball inside their 20-yard line after a punt by sophomore Michael Thompson. With three timeouts remaining, Westside managed to get Columbus into a third and seven with 21 seconds on the clock. Here, the Discoverers elected to throw rather than simply run and punt the ball downfield and put Westside out of scoring range. Unfortunately for the Discoverers, senior Forrest McQueen intercepted the Columbus pass, giving Westside the ball at the Columbus 13 with 11 seconds to play, ultimately setting up the field goal.

In the second half, Westside tacked on a junior Xzavier Fort touchdown run in the third quarter and a junior Michael Merical touchdown run in the fourth to take the 41-7 victory and clinch a playoff berth.

With the win, Westside moves to 4-3. Columbus drops below .500 to 3-4.

The game was followed by fireworks for Homecoming. The game was also the first time the new entrance to Phelps Field was ready for use. The new entrance is dubbed the Champions’ Plaza and was funded fully through private donations. It includes new bathrooms and the concession stand, which was finished before the first football game. To find out more about the project, click on the LiveWired video and go to halftime. Westside Wired interviewed Sue Seline, the Westside Foundation Board President, who spearheaded the renovation.

Westside moves on to face No. 1-ranked and undefeated Omaha North in a rematch of last year’s state championship game, which Omaha North won. Check back on Friday for a preview of the game. Westside Wired will be live streaming the game, which will be at Phelps Field at 7 p.m. It will be the Senior Night game.