CLASS A FOOTBALL: Southeast’s Season Draws To A Close, As Knights Were Eliminated By Omaha Westside

LINCOLN–(KLMS Nov. 8)–A return bout between No. 2 seed Lincoln Southeast and No. 7 seed Omaha Westside turned out to be the opposite of what was expected to be a great battle on the gridiron.

The Knights were shut out by the Warriors, 35-0, in the Class A quarterfinal Friday night at Seacrest Field in a game heard on ESPN Lincoln FM101.5/1480AM.

Westside (9-2) now moves on to face No. 3 seed Millard South next Friday night in the Class A semifinal, while Southeast ends the season at 9-2.

The Warriors avenged their 22-17 loss to the Knights back on Sept. 13 by using a trick play one minute  into the game, where quarterback Cole Payton threw a lateral pass to Grant Tagge, who then found Jake Holmstrom on a 52-yard touchdown pass for an early 7-0 lead.

Westside then made it 14-0, when Payton found Trevor Barajas on a 21-yard touchdown pass.  It was 20-0 early in the second quarter, when Payton ran for a 17-yard scoring strike.  The Warriors went up 27-0 at halftime when  Ben Radicia scored on a 1-yard run with 5:51 left in the second quarter.

Westside’s final touchdown came with 8:22 left in the third quarter when Payton scored on a 7-yard run and Bodie Harrell caught a pass for a two-point conversion.  The clock ran the rest of the way and Southeast could not catch up.

Westside racked up 338 yards of total offense and kept Southeast to just 170.  Senior running back Nick Halleen carried the ball 20 times for 98 yards in the loss.