Nebraska Class A Playoff Preview: #41 Omaha Westside (NE) Is the Pick, but Millard North Could Change the Rematch
T25PS10/29/20265 min read
Photo: Jack Stephens / Hurrdat Sports; graphic: T25PS
#41 Omaha Westside (NE) has the strongest championship case. The more interesting question is whether #70 Millard South (NE) gets another chance to answer it.
Omaha Westside did more than secure the #1 seed on October 23. Its 41–17 win at Millard South gave the Warriors the best recent result at the top of the Class A field, with three second-half interceptions turning a competitive game into a decisive finish.
That makes Westside our championship pick. It does not make a rematch inevitable. Millard South's half contains two teams it beat by a combined three points, and Millard North has spent the two months since its one-point loss building a convincing case for a different final.
The bracket keeps Westside and Millard South apart until November 23. The football question is whether the Patriots can get through the more uncomfortable half before their passing game gets another shot at the Warriors.
Westside has earned the benefit of the doubt
#41 Omaha Westside (NE) enters 9–0, and its case goes beyond one good Friday. Braylen Warren's posted season line is 1,773 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns and two interceptions. Tay Tay Jenkins has 1,273 rushing yards on 116 carries, with 23 rushing touchdowns and 26 touchdowns overall. Those season records include October 23 game entries.
That is substantial production in both parts of the offense. Warren gives the Warriors a passing game with a strong touchdown-to-interception record; Jenkins has supplied sustained scoring on the ground. Add the defense's decisive stretch against Millard South, and Westside has more than one reason to expect another long November.
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The opener is at home against 5–4 Columbus on October 30 at 7 p.m. Central. Columbus scored 71 and 50 points in its final two wins, so dismissing its offense would be a mistake. Its losses to Bennington, 51–10, and Papillion-La Vista South, 42–20, are the stronger reasons to favor Westside's position in this part of the draw.
A win brings the Papillion-La Vista–Lincoln Northeast winner on November 6. Papillion-La Vista is 7–2 and finished with four straight wins, but Westside already beat the Monarchs 42–20 on September 24. Lincoln Northeast is 8–1, with its lone loss coming 25–7 against Papillion-La Vista South.
Neither possible opponent gives Westside permission to look ahead. Neither has a recent result that outweighs what the Warriors just did at Millard South.
The upper half has a credible surprise team
The semifinal pool on Westside's side contains Elkhorn South, Elkhorn North, Bennington and Lincoln Southwest. Elkhorn South is the team we would watch for a run beyond its #5 seed.
The Storm closed with three straight wins, including a 27–17 victory over Elkhorn North on October 23. Their meeting with Millard North was a 14–13 loss. That narrow margin matters alongside Bennington's 35–0 loss to the same opponent in the regular-season finale.
It is a reason to take Elkhorn South seriously, not a guarantee based on a shared opponent. Bennington is 8–1 and beat Elkhorn North 42–13, Columbus 51–10 and Lincoln Standing Bear 47–0. One poor finish should not erase that body of work.
Those teams occupy the adjoining quarter. Westside would not encounter any of them before November 13, and the fixed bracket means there is no reshuffle that sends Millard South into this half earlier.
Millard South's production keeps the rematch alive
#70 Millard South (NE) is 8–1 and opens at home against 5–4 Lincoln Standing Bear on October 30 at 4 p.m. Central. The Patriots have a clear reason to believe the Westside loss was a setback rather than a verdict on their season: Trae Taylor's passing production.
Taylor's posted totals are 2,583 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns, with six interceptions and 172 completions in 274 attempts. His latest game entry is the October 23 loss. The three second-half interceptions against Westside explain the immediate concern, but they do not wipe away the season that preceded them.
The quarterfinal opponent would be Papillion-La Vista South or Millard West. Millard West won their October 22 meeting 17–14, and Millard South beat Millard West 59–0 on October 2. The more compelling obstacle is in the next quarter, where Millard North and Omaha North could emerge from openers against Creighton Prep and Kearney.
Millard South beat Millard North 35–34 on August 28 and Omaha North 49–47. The Patriots have already shown they can beat both. Those margins also explain why their return to the final is far from settled.
Millard North can change the championship matchup
Millard North has won eight straight since the August loss to Millard South. Its last two results were 42–0 against Millard West and 35–0 against Bennington. That finish, rather than the #3 seed alone, is why we favor the Mustangs to reach Lincoln.
The route still has substance. Millard North beat opening opponent Creighton Prep 42–12 in September, but Omaha North is 8–1 and lost only that two-point game to Millard South. The lower half has enough scoring and enough close head-to-head evidence to resist a tidy prediction.
Taylor is the strongest counterargument to our choice. His 31 touchdown passes are a concrete reason Millard South can win a rematch with Millard North, not merely a reason to keep the Patriots in the conversation.
Our Class A championship call
Championship matchup: #41 Omaha Westside (NE) vs. Millard North.
Champion: #41 Omaha Westside (NE). The 41–17 win at Millard South, Warren's passing and Jenkins' rushing production give the Warriors the strongest combined case.
Possible surprise team: Elkhorn South. Three straight wins and the one-point loss to Millard North make the #5 seed a credible threat to outlast higher-seeded Bennington in the upper half.
