RECAP: Westside falls in first round of playoffs

In a season of ups and downs, the Westside football team ended on a down Friday, Oct. 31, losing 37-13 against the Millard West Wildcats in the first round of the NSAA Class A Football State Tournament.

“[The season was] up and down,” head coach Brett Froendt said. “That’s kind of the theme. We had some really good ups, but we couldn’t stay consistent, and it hurt us tonight.”

Millard West opened up scoring on the first drive of the game, needing 12 plays to go 52 yards for a touchdown. The Warriors nearly stopped the drive three times, almost sacking Millard West quarterback Logan Anderjaska on third down of the Wildcats’ first set of downs, but each time, Millard West found a way to convert. Millard West running back Thomas Russell finished the drive in a three-yard touchdown run with 5:21 remaining in the first quarter, putting Millard West up 6-0 after a missed PAT.

The Warriors went three and out on their next drive, and Millard West returned junior Michael Thompson’s punt into Westside territory. Seven plays later, Millard West made it 13-0.. Millard West running back Dylan Hughes capped the drive with a six-yard run to put the Wildcats up 13-0 with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, junior Logan Duryee, back for the first time since fracturing his jaw in the fourth week of the season against Lincoln Northeast, got the Warriors inside Wildcat territory. But the Westside drive stalled at the Millard West 35, and the Westside punt rolled into the end zone. Millard West used five plays to go 80 yards on its next drive, going up 20-0 on another Russell touchdown with 8:15 remaining in the first half.

After the Warriors went three and out, the Westside defense would pick up its first stop of the game, forcing Millard West to punt from the Westside 31. But Millard West’s punt put Westside at its own one yard line, and the Westside drive would end after four plays.

Millard West went up 27-0 two plays later, as Russell scored his third rushing touchdown of the game.

The Wildcats would pick up a field goal before the end of the half, sending the Warriors to the locker room down 30-0.

After the half, Millard West would finish its scoring for the night on its first possession of the half, as Anderjaska completed a 19-yard touchdown throw to Millard West wide receiver Preston Humphrey with 8:17 remaining in the third quarter.

Westside would not score until the fourth quarter. After senior Kieran Carter took over for junior Mitchell Hagan at quarterback, the backup led the Warriors on two scoring drives in the quarter, one ending in a three-yard Carter carry and the other ending in a three-yard carry by running back senior Mitch Schenkelberg, putting the final score at 37-13.

“We gave it what we could, and we just didn’t play well,” Froendt said.

The handful of fans who braved the cold (temperatures dipped below freezing) chanted, “Thank you seniors!” after the game. Froendt also had thanks for the Class of 2015’s football players.

“To the seniors, obviously, they gave us a lot,” Froendt said. “They gave us a lot of effort and sacrifice, and we appreciate that beyond anything else.”

The 37-13 loss puts the Warriors at 5-5 to end the season. Millard West moves to 7-3, and they go on to play Grand Island in the round of eight.

Craze Magazine’s Post Game Report