Football · Recap · Class A
Omaha Westside 41, Millard South 17: Braylen Warren accounts for 5 TDs as No. 1 Warriors snap Patriots' 33-game streak
Braylen Warren piled up 325 total yards and five touchdowns, Bryce Johnson Jr. and Luke Weiss caught two scores apiece, and Omaha Westside's secondary intercepted Trae Taylor three times in a 31-7 second-half surge at Buell Stadium to lock up the No. 1 Class A seed.
MILLARD — For a half on Friday night at Buell Stadium, the most anticipated regular-season game in recent Nebraska high school football history was the dead-even heavyweight fight everyone expected. Over the final 24 minutes, No. 1 Omaha Westside turned it into a statement.
Senior quarterback Braylen Warren accounted for 325 yards of total offense and five touchdowns, wide receivers Bryce Johnson Jr. and Luke Weiss caught two touchdown passes apiece, and the Warriors' ball-hawking secondary intercepted Millard South star Trae Taylor three times after halftime as Omaha Westside pulled away for a 41–17 victory over the No. 2 Patriots in the Week 9 regular-season finale.
Tied 10–10 at intermission and 17–17 midway through the third quarter, Westside (9–0) outscored Millard South 31–7 in the second half and closed the night on a 24–0 run over the final 15 minutes and 24 seconds. The win completes an undefeated regular season for the Warriors, locks up the No. 1 overall seed in the Class A playoffs, and snaps back-to-back defending state champion Millard South's 33-game on-field winning streak.
Millard South (8–1) had not lost on the field since a 39–25 defeat at Basha (Ariz.) in the 2024 season opener on Aug. 30, 2024, reeling off 32 consecutive victories against Nebraska opponents (and 20 straight officially in NSAA records following a 2025 Week 1 administrative forfeit at Arbor View, Nev.). When Warren hit Weiss for a 26-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, it marked the first time the Patriots had trailed in a game since midway through the second quarter against Omaha North on Sept. 25.
Key performers & game numbers
| Unit / Player | Team | Verified Friday Night Stat Line |
|---|---|---|
| Braylen Warren (Sr. QB) | Omaha Westside | 251 pass yds, 4 pass TDs; 74 rush yds, 1 rush TD (325 total yds, 5 TDs) |
| Luke Weiss (WR) | Omaha Westside | 2 TD receptions for 93 yds (26 yds in 3Q, 67 yds in 4Q) |
| Bryce Johnson Jr. (WR) | Omaha Westside | 2 TD receptions for 58 yds (29 yds on 4th-and-16 in 2Q, 29 yds in 4Q) |
| Westside Secondary | Omaha Westside | 3 second-half INTs (Kor'Dai Richard, Micah Benning, Jacob Obermiller) · 17 pts off turnovers |
| Ty Hanna (K) | Omaha Westside | 2-for-3 FGs (24 yds, 33 yds), 5-for-5 PATs (11 kicking points) |
| Tay Tay Jenkins (Sr. RB) | Omaha Westside | 12 carries, 43 rushing yds in first half as Millard South stacked the box |
| Trae Taylor (Sr. QB) | Millard South | 127 pass yds, 34+ rush yds & 4-yd rush TD in 1H; led 65-second 3Q TD drive; 3 2H INTs |
| Aidan Marshall (RB) | Millard South | 18-yard tying TD run in 3Q (17–17); key carries on 2Q tying TD drive |
| Halftime Team Yardage | Both Teams | Westside 196 yds (114 pass, 82 rush) · Millard South 178 yds (127 pass, 51 rush) |
| Second-Half Scoring | Both Teams | Omaha Westside 31, Millard South 7 (24–0 over final 15:24) |
First half: trick plays, 4th-and-16 magic and a 10–10 deadlock
Before kickoff on Senior Night, Millard South senior quarterback and Nebraska commit Trae Taylor was honored on the field with his official invitation to the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio. Once the ball was kicked, the Patriots wasted no time dialing up fireworks.
On the opening possession, Millard South reached into its bag of tricks for a 51-yard pass to senior wideout Tay Ellis that flipped the field and set up Braiden McClanathan's 33-yard field goal for a 3–0 lead with 10:59 left in the first quarter. Westside answered four minutes later when Ty Hanna knocked through a 24-yard field goal at the 6:34 mark to pull the Warriors even at 3–3.
Millard South's defensive front spent the first two quarters determined not to let Westside senior running back Tay Tay Jenkins take over the game. Jenkins entered Friday averaging 12.3 yards per carry with 23 rushing touchdowns through eight games, and the Patriots held him to 43 yards on 12 first-half rushes. That commitment against the run, however, left one-on-one opportunities outside for Warren, a Missouri commit.
Early in the second quarter, facing a daunting fourth-and-16 at the Millard South 29-yard line into a stiff wind, Westside kept its offense on the field. Warren lofted a strike to the back of the end zone where Bryce Johnson Jr. hauled it in for a 29-yard touchdown with 10:16 remaining in the half, giving the Warriors their first lead at 10–3.
Millard South responded three minutes later. Backed by a 31-yard completion to Landon Schneider and tough interior running from Aidan Marshall, Taylor capped the march himself with a 4-yard touchdown keeper at the 7:12 mark to tie the score at 10–10.
Westside drove back inside the Patriot 5-yard line in the closing seconds of the half, but a 21-yard field-goal try sailed wide right with 19 seconds left, sending the teams to the locker room deadlocked at 10–10. At the break, Westside held a slim 196–178 edge in total yardage (114 passing and 82 rushing for the Warriors; 127 passing and 51 rushing for the Patriots).
Second half: three interceptions and a 31–7 Warrior avalanche
The game's decisive swing came from a Westside secondary we highlighted in our pregame showdown preview. Taylor had thrown just three interceptions across 244 attempts in his first eight games. On Friday night, the Warriors picked him off three times in the second half alone and converted those three takeaways into 17 points.
Kor'Dai Richard started the takeaway surge early in the third quarter, stepping in front of a Taylor pass at the Millard South 29-yard line. Three plays later, Warren found a wide-open Luke Weiss for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 8:20 left in the third quarter to put Westside ahead 17–10.
Millard South delivered one final counterpunch. Needing just four plays and 65 seconds, Taylor hit Ellis for 17 yards and connected with tight end Carter Margheim for a 40-yard gain down the seam to set up Marshall's 18-yard touchdown run at the 7:15 mark, knotting the score at 17–17.
From that moment on, it was all Westside. Micah Benning notched the Warriors' second interception of the quarter and weaved 26 yards on the return down to the Millard South 26-yard line. Warren cashed in the short field with a 4-yard touchdown keeper at 3:24 of the third quarter, restoring a 24–17 lead the Warriors would never relinquish.
Westside delivered the knockout blows in a 58-second span early in the fourth quarter. First, Warren connected with Johnson Jr. for another 29-yard touchdown pass with 9:46 remaining to make it a two-score game at 31–17. After Westside's defense forced a Millard South punt, Warren rolled right on the very first play of the ensuing series and hit Weiss in stride along the sideline for a 67-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 8:48 left, blowing the margin open to 38–17.
Jacob Obermiller sealed the night midway through the fourth quarter with Westside's third interception of the half, setting up Hanna's 33-yard field goal with 4:12 to play for the 41–17 final. Warren finished the night with 251 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air, plus 74 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
Complete scoring summary
| Qtr / Time | Team | Scoring Play | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Q · 10:59 | Millard South | Braiden McClanathan 33-yard field goal (set up by 51-yard trick-play pass to Tay Ellis) | MS 3, WS 0 |
| 1Q · 6:34 | Omaha Westside | Ty Hanna 24-yard field goal | Tied 3–3 |
| 2Q · 10:16 | Omaha Westside | Bryce Johnson Jr. 29-yard pass from Braylen Warren on 4th-and-16 (Hanna kick) | WS 10, MS 3 |
| 2Q · 7:12 | Millard South | Trae Taylor 4-yard run (McClanathan kick) | Tied 10–10 |
| 3Q · 8:20 | Omaha Westside | Luke Weiss 26-yard pass from Braylen Warren (Hanna kick; 3 plays after Kor'Dai Richard INT at MS 29) | WS 17, MS 10 |
| 3Q · 7:15 | Millard South | Aidan Marshall 18-yard run (McClanathan kick; 4 plays, 65 seconds after 40-yard pass to Carter Margheim) | Tied 17–17 |
| 3Q · 3:24 | Omaha Westside | Braylen Warren 4-yard run (Hanna kick; after Micah Benning 26-yard INT return to MS 26) | WS 24, MS 17 |
| 4Q · 9:46 | Omaha Westside | Bryce Johnson Jr. 29-yard pass from Braylen Warren (Hanna kick) | WS 31, MS 17 |
| 4Q · 8:48 | Omaha Westside | Luke Weiss 67-yard pass from Braylen Warren (Hanna kick; 1 play after Millard South punt) | WS 38, MS 17 |
| 4Q · 4:12 | Omaha Westside | Ty Hanna 33-yard field goal (after Jacob Obermiller INT) | WS 41, MS 17 |
What it means for the Class A playoff bracket
With a 9–0 finish and a head-to-head victory over first-division Millard South, Omaha Westside locks up the No. 1 overall seed in the 16-team Class A state playoff bracket and home-field advantage through the semifinals. Elsewhere in Class A's top-four shakeup on Friday night, Millard North (8–1) rolled past previously unbeaten Bennington (8–1) by a 35–0 final, leaving Westside as the lone undefeated team in Class A.
Millard South (8–1), Millard North (8–1) and Bennington (8–1) will round out the top four seeds when official NSAA wildcard point averages and first-round pairings are released Saturday ahead of the Friday, Oct. 30 playoff opener. Depending on how final opponent-record points settle between Millard South, Millard North and Bennington for the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, a postseason rematch between Westside and Millard South would wait until either the Class A semifinals on Nov. 13 or the state championship game at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 23.
Sources
- Alex Stem (@astem00) live Buell Stadium play-by-play and full-game stat summary ↗
- Stu Pospisil (@stuOWH, Omaha World-Herald) live game updates and halftime stats ↗
- Chris Basnett (@Chris_Basnett79, Hurrdat Sports) live game coverage and final report ↗
- NE Next (@NENextt) highlight and interception updates ↗
- NEBPrepsLive Game Center: Omaha Westside at Millard South ↗
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