Football · State semifinals · Class A · Recap
Omaha Westside, Millard South advance to Class A final
Top-seeded Omaha Westside beat No. 4 Bennington 45-14 and No. 2 Millard South beat No. 3 Millard North 45-28 in Friday's Class A state semifinals, setting up a rematch in the title game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Westside entered 11-0 and is 12-0 after the win. Bennington entered 10-1 and finished 10-2. Millard South and Millard North each entered 10-1. Millard South is 11-1 after the win. Millard North finished 10-2. Westside and Millard South will meet in the Class A final on Monday, Nov. 23, at 7:15 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The final is a rematch. Westside beat Millard South 41-17 on Oct. 23.
Westside beat Bennington 45-14 at Omaha Westside. Omaha Westside handles Bennington, 45-14, and heads to its seventh state title game in eight years. Westside had shut out No. 16 Columbus 59-0 and Papillion-La Vista 35-0. Bennington had beaten No. 13 Lincoln Southwest 42-17 and Elkhorn South 42-14. Published scoring plays from MaxPreps cover the scoring through 38-7. How the game went from 38-7 to the 45-14 final was not reported in the trusted notes.
Tay Tay Jenkins scored on an 8-yard run, and Ty Hanna's extra point gave Westside a 7-0 lead with 8:00 left in the first quarter. Bennington answered with a touchdown pass, and the extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 3:00 left in the first. Braylen Warren hit Mason McKenna for a 21-yard touchdown pass, and Hanna's extra point put Westside back in front 14-7 with 11:00 left in the second. Hanna added a 23-yard field goal with 4:00 left in the second, making it 17-7. Warren found McKenna again for a 4-yard touchdown pass just before halftime, and Hanna's extra point made it 24-7 at the half. Jenkins scored on a 4-yard run, and Hanna's extra point pushed the lead to 31-7 with 6:00 left in the third. Warren then scored on an 8-yard run, and Hanna's extra point made it 38-7 with 5:00 left in the third. Westside scored in the fourth quarter to make it 45-7. Bennington scored to make it 45-14. The 45-14 score stood as the final. The complete scoring list is in the Westside recap.
Millard South beat Millard North 45-28 at Millard South, reaching the Class A final for the third straight year. Trae Taylor scored five touchdowns. Millard South had beaten No. 15 Lincoln Standing Bear 56-7 and Papillion-La Vista South 41-7. Millard North had beaten No. 14 Creighton Prep and then shut out Omaha North 21-0. Millard South won the regular-season meeting 35-34 on Aug. 28. Millard North's only loss this season was that August game. Trusted play-by-play covers all 11 scoring plays.
Millard South won the toss and deferred. Taylor capped a 15-play opening drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, then added a second 1-yard touchdown run after a Millard North three-and-out, and Millard South led 14-0 after one. Austin Ruhter scored on a 31-yard fullback dive, Hudson Hanover scored on a 5-yard run, Logan Grosdidier hit Tory Pittman for a 26-yard touchdown pass, and Kooper Wilkason kicked a 26-yard field goal after a long pass to Margheim, making it 24-14 at halftime. Pittman scored on a 10-yard run, and Millard South led 24-21 at the end of the third. In the fourth, after a Millard North fumble, Taylor found a wide-open Carter Margheim for a 16-yard touchdown pass, making it 31-21. Millard North answered in under 30 seconds on Grosdidier's 42-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Wardlow, cutting it to 31-28. Taylor scored on a touchdown run, his third rushing touchdown of the game, making it 38-28 with 5:11 left. After a fourth-down stop with 3:02 left, Aidan Marshall ran 10 yards for a touchdown with 2:41 left, and the extra point made it 45-28. The 45-28 score stood as the final. The complete scoring list is in the Millard South recap.
Omaha Westside and Millard South will play for the Class A title on Monday, Nov. 23, at 7:15 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Scoring summary
Omaha Westside 45, Bennington 14 published scoring plays, which are marked partial and cover the scoring through 38-7, are listed in the Westside recap. Millard South 45, Millard North 28 published scoring plays, which are marked complete, are listed in the Millard South recap.
Sources
Updates from trusted accounts. Scoring plays from MaxPreps in the Westside recap. Season stats from MaxPreps. Seeds, records and prior playoff results from the NSAA bracket.