Westside moved into the semifinals with a 35 to 7 victory over Kearney on Friday night, a win that sends the Warriors into a home matchup with Millard South. The night belonged to a physical rushing attack and a defense that kept Kearney off balance for most of the game, and it left Westside with another chance to settle last season’s unfinished business.
Junior running back Tay Tay Jenkins finished with 202 rushing yards and three touchdowns. His first score came in the first quarter on a 16 yard run that put Westside on the board and set the tone. Jenkins added one touchdown in the third quarter and another in the fourth, each one helping to keep the clock moving and Kearney’s offense on the sidelines. Jenkins did not speak after the game.
Junior quarterback Braylen Warren completed 11 of 17 passes for 173 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. Warren spread the ball to several targets but most importantly connected when it mattered, and his efficient night kept drives alive and the Warrios ahead throughout the second half.
Senior wide receiver Bryson Williams was Warren’s primary playmaker in the passing game. Williams finished with three catches for 101 yards and two receiving touchdowns, both of which came in the second quarter and helped Westside build a lead that Kearney could not overcome. Williams also made plays on defense, finishing the game with 13 tackles and playing with a physical edge that showed up all night.
Senior receiver Mo Purify contributed with four catches for 66 yards, giving Warren a reliable target in the intermediate game and helping keep Kearney’s secondary honest. The passing numbers were not gaudy across the board, but the balance between the run and the pass made Westside difficult to defend.
Senior wideout Eli Johnson talked about the team’s focus and the emotional backdrop of this run.
“We’ve been building toward this all year. Everyone remembers what happened last December, and that’s been driving us every single day. We’re locked in now, no distractions, no excuses.” That focus was visible in the way Westside won the second quarter and then controlled the clock through the second half.
On defense senior linebacker JP Ryan described how the Warriors approached the game physically.
“All week we talked about being the more physical team. We knew if we played our style of football, nobody could match our intensity,” Ryan said. “We’ve been improving every single game, and tonight showed how far we’ve come.”
Ryan’s presence and leadership helped the defense limit Kearney to a single touchdown and forced the kind of long drives that allowed the offense to chew clock and keep momentum.
Westside scored first in the game on Jenkins’ 16 yard touchdown in the first quarter. The second quarter belonged to Williams, whose two touchdown catches produced a swing on the scoreboard and gave Westside breathing room heading into halftime. Jenkins’ third and fourth quarter touchdowns finished the scoring for the Warriors and sealed the game.
The defensive performance was a complementary effort. Westside bent at times but did not break, and the tackling that Williams and Ryan helped lead was consistent enough to keep Kearney from mounting any serious comeback.
As Westside advances, the matchup awaiting them is familiar and meaningful. Millard South, led by Alabama commit quarterback Jett Thomalla, sent Westside home last season in the championship game, and now the Warriors have the chance to meet the Patriots again on Westside’s home field in the semifinals. The return matchup carries both revenge and a test of growth, and the Warriors will have the support of their crowd for what promises to be a high stakes game.
Eli Johnson talked about that next step and what it means to his teammates. He said, “We’ve been building toward this all year, and a rematch like this is what you work for. It is different coming back to this stage with a home crowd. We want to finish what we started and give everyone in this program the ending they deserve.”
Ryan kept the tone practical when asked about facing Millard South.
“We respect them and what they bring, but this is a new game,” Ryan said. “We played a complete game tonight by our standards and now it is about getting healthy, sharpening up a few things, and getting ready to play our best football next week.”
Statistically, the night belonged to Jenkins on the ground and to Williams as the big play threat through the air, while Warren managed the offense efficiently. Purify’s steady receiving work and the defense’s ability to limit Kearney to seven points combined to create a complete performance.
For Westside this win is more than another postseason victory. It is an opportunity to rewrite last season’s final chapter with a return to the state’s biggest games as the prize. The Warriors will have a week to prepare for Millard South, and they will do so under the state of mind Eli Johnson described: focused, driven, and determined not to leave anything to chance.
