Westside versus Millard South has been a matchup that has been looming all year for anyone who has paid attention to Nebraska high school football. Both teams are coming in with something to play for. Westside is looking to make it three state championships in a row as they have made it to their sixth consecutive state final game. Millard South on the other hand is looking for some revenge as they had a shot at the Warriors last season but were upset by the eventual runner-up Elkhorn South.
These two teams have played the most complete football this season for all of the state. Westside is coming into the game undefeated at 12-0 and has a 32 game win streak with their last loss coming in 2022 against North Platte, which is the only loss under head coach Paul Limongi. Millard South is coming into the game at 11-1 and on an 11 game win streak with their only loss of the season coming in an out of state game against the Basha Bears from Chandler, Arizona.
“We have to come together as a brotherhood.” Sophomore running back Tay Tay Jenkins said. “We have to not get mad if something bad happens and overcome adversity to be great.”
Both teams have very electric offenses in different ways. Westside has ran the ball more while Millard South has a big passing attack. Westside’s offense has run through Jenkins who has already put up 1879 yard of rushing, set the single season record for most rushing yards at Westside and has 21 rushing touchdowns on the season as well. Even if the ground game is not working for Westside they have a solid passing game starting from quarterback Braylen Warren who has come into his starting role this year firing for 2053 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. He has lots of weapons in the reciever primarly Keynan Cotton who has 688 yards and 11 touchdowns and Eli Johnson who had 500 yards and 10 touchdowns of his own. Westside can mix and match between the two parts of the game. Westside keeps their opponents on their toes which works in their favor.
Millard South has put up 49 or more points in every game except for one their one loss to Basha. The Patriots have an air raid attack and they don’t disappiont, quaterback Jett Thomalla has passed for 3444 passing yards which is the most in Nebraska and 28th in the nation along with 44 touchdowns and two interceptions. His main target has been Florida State commit Chase Loftin who has hauled in 54 receptions for 811 yards and 12 touchdowns. Along with Loftin the Patriots have three other receivers with over 500 yards in Amarion Jackson, Issac Jensen, and Aamir Hill. Even with the air attack you cannot underestimate the ground game Patriot running back Gabe Prucha who has rushed for 853 yards and 17 touchdowns of his own.
“We have to go out and match their offense,” Warren said. “Our defense has to do their part and I think we have the guys to come out on top.”
Both defenses have also been very dominant and have their work cut out for them for both high powered offenses. Westside has only allowed 99 points on the defensive end this season with the most they’ve gotten scored on was 21 against Bellevue West. Westside thrives off the turnovers causing 24 turnovers on the defensive end 14 interceptions led by Quinton Warren who has four and three of those were defensive scores. They have also forced 10 fumbles with Bryson Williams having the most recoveries at four. The defense has been the most dominant for the Warriors down the strech only allowing an average of six points per game in the last seven they played including a couple of shutouts in the playoffs. The defense is led by four star Nebraska commit linebacker Christan Jones who is second on the team in tackles for loss and tackles in general and safety Reid Mcintyre who leads the team in tackles with 98 and has a couple of fumble recoveries as well.
“This is our standard,” Jones said. “We need to go out there and play with the same standard we have had all season.”
Special teams has been an improvement with both Jenkins and Cotton having two kickoff return touchdowns each and a kicking and punting game that has been getting better as the season progresses.
Millard South plays a very high pressure defense forcing bad plays and capitalizing on turnovers. The Patriots have 35 sacks on the season, one of the highest totals in the state led by Soloman Baker with six. Eight players have multiple sacks this season. They also are dominant in the turnover department forcing 11 fumbles and interceptions on the season. The defense has allowed 149 points on the season with a couple of shutouts but the rest of the games the defense has given up ten or more points. But the Patriots will beat you behind the line with a whopping 154 tackles for loss which have propelled the defense to causing turnovers and forcing offenses to play behind the sticks.
“We have to come study and play our ‘A’ game,” Jenkins said. “We need to come out and play our best game of the year.”
This game will be a classic to remember between two of the best offenses not only this season but of all time for this level of football. With the state championship coming in November weather will always be a factor and the temperature is looking likely to be in the 30s at kickoff which would favor Westside’s ground game and Jenkins goal of 2,000 yards. But if the weather is a bit warmer it might favor Millard South and their passing attack. Either way it will be a great game between two best teams in the state this season at Memorial Stadium come the Nov.25.
