There are big goals ahead for the No. 2 seeded Omaha Westside Warriors. The team has been one of the top two teams in the state since last season. They made it to the state championship game last season. Westside finished as the runner up last season but this year would like to finish the job.
The Warriors’ 2020 playoff run started with a home game against Grand Island on Friday afternoon. Powered by Husker defensive back commit Koby Bretz, the Warriors took the game 45-3. Despite injuries, Westside was sharp coming off a bye week.
“The kids executed the plans really well and stuck with the game plan,” coach Brett Froendt said. “We did well up front and our kids came out hot. We were kind of banged up. We got a few starters sitting out tonight. We were kind of concerned about a few spots. But our kids stepped up and played pretty sound fundamental football.”
Bretz was all over the field during the game. He’s the team’s best wide receiver in addition to being a menace in the defensive backfield. He played a terrific game including a sequence on defense where he made a nice play in the run game before picking off a pass the next play.
“Yeah, Koby’s stepped up his game,” Froendt said. “He was ready. He had a good week of practice. He’s bringing a lot of positive leadership to the team. That’s really helping us get energy here this week and going into playoffs. So, we were expecting to have him play well, tonight and he did. But we got to get him even more involved because he’s a good playmaker. We got to make it happen more often.”
It’d be wise to keep getting Bretz involved offensively. He had three receiving touchdowns on the night, though only one counted due to penalties.
Got video of this right before my radio spot with my guys in Wisconsin. https://t.co/O6DiDqY8ZC pic.twitter.com/T11nvxX3Zy
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithHV) October 30, 2020
Coming out of this second-round playoff win the Warriors will play Lincoln East, which is coming off a 42-0 win. Froendt has his team thinking one game at a time. He’s concerned with getting his team healthy.
“We’ve got a couple more banged up and another one tonight,” Froendt said. “We got to get healthy, figure out who we play next and start our game plan. Just go with the process. We’re just looking for the next game.
“We’re not looking down the road. We’re not looking to Lincoln, because we have one game to win at a time and that’s what our kids are bought into that and that’s how we get back to where we were last year.”
>> Westside’s defense is athletic, fundamentally sound and athletic. It’s led by a pair of Big Ten defensive backs, Bretz and Minnesota commit Avante Dickerson. Senior lineman Cade Haberman is fantastic up front. Linebacker Ben Radicia was all over the field. North Dakota State quarterback commit Cole Payton also plays defensive back for the team.
>> The key to a potential Westside title run could be the play of junior running back Dominic Rezac. The tough back showed good vision and power during the game on Friday. Westside has a lot of weapons on the outside so if Rezac is also hurting defenses, this offense is tough to stop.
>> It was a tough night for Grand Island to end its season. They have a good football program led by coach Jeff Tomlin. They were overmatched in this game but you never got the sense the Islanders would beat themselves. That’s a testament to how well coached the team is. Congrats to Grand Island on another good season.