Football team kicks off season against rival Prep

Westside football is back in business as they take on Creighton Prep at 7 p.m. this Friday at Burke High School.

 The Warriors are coming off of a dominating season that ended in another a state championship birth, making three consecutive appearances. While they fell short against Gretna by a score of 7-3, the 2021 season proved that the team is in great hands.

The future of the team was brought to light when then-sophomore QB Anthony Rezac took over the starting job five weeks into the season. Rezac accepted the task and never looked back, throwing for 19 touchdowns and just one interception while leading Westside on their state title run. A team captain, Rezac looks to head into this season picking up right where he left off.

“The biggest thing for us is continuing the culture we built last season,” Rezac said. “We have a lot of new pieces coming into the program so meshing everyone together is gonna be big for us.”

Joining Rezac as a team captain is junior Caleb Benning. A true “jack-of-all-trades,” Benning can be and is often deployed all over the field. Along with being a skilled ball-hawking safety and strong tackler, he’s a dangerous kick/punt returner who is capable of taking any kick back for six. Benning also provides some safe hands on the offensive side of the ball when needed. After dealing with injuries last season, Benning feels ready to compete for a state title.

“It feels great being healthy and being able to compete,” Benning said. “We return a lot of guys that got as far as you could last year so we know what we are capable of.”

Although returning many players, the Warriors will be without their longtime head coach. Following the retirement of coach Brett Froendt, former Burke head coach Paul Limongi will take over the reins. Limongi has a state championship under his belt in 2018 with the Burke Bulldogs, and has an impressive 106-55 record over his 16 year tenure at Burke.

Culture building is a big aspect to Limongi’s coaching style, and is something he’s enforced amongst the players since he first arrived at Westside.

“I want our players to believe and understand the importance of having E/T [Energy and Toughness] not only on the playing field, but in all aspects of their life,” Limongi said. “We believe it will help them reach their goals and full potential.”

Although losing key seniors like star runningback/safety Dominic Rezac and wide receiver Grant Guyett, there are some new faces on the team who look to make a big impact this season.

Making their way to Westside from Omaha Central are seniors Jaylen Lloyd, and Jeremiah Truitt. Lloyd, a 2x national champion in long jump, is an explosive wide receiver who can play both sides of the ball. Truitt’s skills add a lot to the teams cornerback depth. Sophomores Christian Jones (LB) and Cam Bell (DT), transferred over this offseason, both following their coach from Burke. Jones was recently named the 23rd overall prospect, and the third LB in the Class of 2025 nationally. Sophomore DB/WR Kenyan Cotton also joined the team after starting as a freshman at Papillion La-Vista. 

“The new additions seem to be fitting very well into our culture,” Limongi said. “As long as they believe and follow our standards we think they will have great success.”

Creighton Prep, ranked top five in the state, gave #3 Bellevue West a run for their money in a tight loss opening night. There’s no denying that the historic Westside vs Prep rivalry always brings out strong emotions and high energy, but Westside isn’t going to let that distract them from the season-long goal of winning a state championship.

“I have been involved in high school football for over 30 years now,” Limongi said. “I have come to the conclusion that if you prepare your team as hard as you can, you let the chips fall where they are and then get better the next week.”

With both teams ranked inside the top five in Class A, this is a matchup you’re not going to want to miss.