PREVIEW: Football prepares to battle for district title
Senior Austin Boltin sings the Westside fight song after the football team’s 42-14 loss against Omaha North Friday, Oct. 17. Westside will look to bounce back from that loss to win a district championship tonight. Photo by Sarah Lemke
The Westside football team (4-4) is 0-3 in non-district games. But tonight, the only thing that matters is its 4-1 district record. With a win at Fremont (3-5), Westside can win its district for the second year in a row.
Coming off of a 42-14 loss to No. 1-ranked Omaha North, Westside will need to slow Fremont’s run-heavy offense, which is averaging 172 yards per game on the ground, to get a victory in Fremont.
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“[We have to] stop the run,” varsity football head coach Brett Froendt said. “That’s going to be our emphasis.”
Froendt added that Westside would look to blitz Fremont, and focus on showing the Tigers different looks. He said the Tigers will play well in the trenches, which
“I know one of the linemen from last year, he’s back, and some of our players said he was one of the best linemen we faced all year [last year],” Froendt said. “Their running back’s a real tough running back. He’s real fast and tough kid. So we’re looking forward to a battle again.”
That running back is Sean Lambert, a 175-pound back averaging 105.4 yards per game while scoring eight rushing touchdowns on the season. But Westside boasts its own powerful rushing attack, led by senior Mitch Schenkelberg, who is averaging 118 yards per game since junior Logan Duryee suffered a jaw injury in Westside’s week four victory over Lincoln Northeast. Schenkelberg was one of the top performers for Westside in its loss to Omaha North last week, running for 93 yards on 22 carries.
Loading ...Schenkelberg’s performance tonight will be a key factor in whether the Warriors can bounce back from their fourth loss, which Froendt said shouldn’t be difficult mentally because of the high stakes for tonight’s game.
“The loss was not fun, but we took some positives out of it,” Froendt said. “So it’s easy to bounce back. [Tonight’s game]’s for a district championship and it’s for momentum into the playoffs, and that’s what we’re looking to accomplish.”
Westside won its district last season on its way to making it to the state championship game, and winning the district championship tonight would meant the team can accomplish one of its goals.
“[A district championship]’s an achievement,” Froendt said. “Any time you have an achievement, that’s a positive.”
The game is in Fremont at 7 p.m. The theme for the game is “Camo.” Check out Jay Bridgeman in the Precap video above for information on what to wear.
Westside Wired will have live updates of the game @westsidewired on Twitter. Check back here for a full recap of the game. We’ll also have information on Westside’s seeding for the playoffs, which start next Friday, Oct. 31. Westside will be away for its first playoff game.
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