A third consecutive state championship fell out of the Warriors’ reach Monday night. Westside could not handle the Patriot attack as they fell in the state finals 27-10. Westside finishes their season at 12-1 which is the fourth season in a row they have finished with either an undefeated record or one loss.
Westside started out the game rock solid on defense but not on offense as both teams were held scoreless in the first quarter. Then a long drive for Millard South capped by a 10 yard pass to Dallas Gaius gave the Patriots an early 6–0 advantage. Some drives later Westside got the ball back in their own territory and handed it to Tay Tay Jenkins who went the distance for a 63 yard touchdown which was Westside’s only touchdown scored in the game. “Our inside zone really worked for us today,” Jenkins said “We had some nice quick passes as well, but once we had the long pass plays we couldn’t hold the line.”
Westside got a 38 yard field goal toward the end of the half to make 10-6 going into halftime.
“The start of the game we pressured the quarterback,” Linebacker Christian Jones said. “Our inside zone also worked well and we just had to keep outworking them.”
The second half began as the first did for both teams as there was still no scoring on each team’s initial drive. After a beautiful Owen Wright punt pinned the Patriots at their own one yard line, they went eight plays and 99 yards finished by an Aamir Hill 36 yard touchdown reception to put Millard south in front.
In the fourth, Westside had a tough call to make whether to go for it on fourth down on their own 25 yard line. They went for it and got stuffed on a designed quarterback run. That was the turning point that tipped the edge to Millard South. A few plays later Patriot quarterback Jett Thomalla bought himself a lot of time in the pocket and found Hill in the endzone for his second touchdown of the game. Westside couldn’t convert on the next drive and the Patriots only needed to run down the clock for the victory, but Hill had one more score in the tank as he took a 76 yard run to put the final nail in the coffin as the Patriots beat the previously unbeaten Warriors 27-10.
Westside was out gained 343-166 during the game and only managed to put up 52 passing yards to Millard South’s 237. The ground game was also a bit off for Westside with a near season low of 129 rushing yards. Jenkins himself had 114 rushing yards on the day. Millard South’s second half is what propelled them to victory as they shutout the Warriors and put up three touchdowns which led to the final score.
Millard South’s pass rush was huge for the Patriots as they pressured Warrior quarterback Braylen Warren many times into difficult throws or a sack. On a key final drive for Westside to get back into the game, the Patriots had two sacks to stop a Westside comeback. Hill was the big key for the Patriots as he put up eight receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns receiving and 100 yards rushing with a touchdown on the ground.
“We had to finish through more tackles,” Jones said. “I had to keep my head up more and we just had to make the first initial tackle more often.”
Jones finished his last high school at his future home of Memorial Stadium as the Nebraska commit had 7 tackles and an interception in the game. He was the defensive captain all season and the four star prospect is one of many seniors that are graduating at the end of the year, many of them on the defensive end.
“I mean I’ve been very blessed. I met very, very good people,” Jones said “I’m very excited to get down to Lincoln and start the next chapter of my life.”
There are still lots of good things to take away from the Warriors season even though they didn’t win it all. They have lots of big pieces returning in some sophomores and a good amount of juniors that will take the helm next year. Head coach Paul Limongi knows how to remake a football team with most seniors graduating, and Westside is looking forward to next season and hoping to make a seventh consecutive state final appearance.
