The third ranked Westside varsity football team will hit the field at home with the Lincoln Pius X Thunderbolts on Friday, October 26, 2017, at 7 p.m. for their first playoff game of the 2017 season. With a 38-7 win over Norfolk on the road in the final week of the regular season, Westside improved to 7-2 on the year. They earned themselves the eighth and final host seed for the first round this year.
In the week nine win, the Westside defense gave up 297 yards and one touchdown. The defense was led by two interceptions, one from Trevor Barajas in the Westside end zone and one from Stegman. Additionally, Westside allowed just 89 yards on the ground with 49 of those coming from the Norfolk quarterback. Against a Pius team that has earned 405 yards on 85 attempts in the last two weeks for an average of 4.8 yards per carry, the Westside defense should shut down the run.
Lincoln Pius X is coming off a 28-14 win over previously top-ranked Omaha North last week. The win ended a 22-game regular season win streak that the Vikings held. That streak dated back to October 23, 2015, a week after Westside had defeated the Vikings. Pius runs a multi-quarterback offense which can easily throw off a defense. While their attack on the ground has been decent in the last few weeks for the Thunderbolts, they’ve picked up 271 yards on 22 completions for an average of 12 yards per reception in the last two weeks of play. Pius X coach Ryan Kearney said that he’s excited for the matchup.
“We are very honored to share this part of the season with Westside, their players, coaches, fans, and community and look forward to a great experience Friday night with both teams displaying the greatness that high school football represents,” Kearney said.
The Warriors will look to fend off the Thunderbolts at 7 p.m. at Phelps Field. The game can be viewed live on Westside Wired beginning 20 minutes before kickoff. Follow @westsidewired on Snapchat and Twitter for live in game updates as well.
