The Class A State Championship is around the corner as it is a rematch of last year’s game. The Omaha Westside Warriors face off against the Gretna Dragons Monday night.
Here is a quick recap of the team’s seasons and a preview of some key players to look out for in the title game.
No. 1 Omaha Westside Warriors (11-1)
Omaha Westside had a dominating start to the season winning their first five matchups including wins against Creighton Prep, Bellevue West, and Grand Island.
Omaha’s only loss on the season came on the road to North Platte 17-21. The Warriors would bounce back from the loss with winning their last three regular season games including a overtime win over Millard South.
Westside would start off the NSAA State Playoffs with wins over Papillion-La Vista and Lincoln Southwest to get to the semifinals.
To get to the state championship the Warriors had to get through a matchup with the No. 4 seeded Grand Islanders. The Warriors would go on and win easily 38-7 to get back to Memorial Stadium.
The Warriors this season have relied on a dominating offense as junior quarterback Anthony Rezac excellence played a big part in that.
Rezac led the offense with 1778 yards through the air on 129/199 passes with 16 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Rezac also led the team on the ground with 974 yards on 125 carries and 17 touchdowns.
In the loss against North Platte, the Bulldogs slowed down Omaha’s offense and that played a big part in why the Warriors lost.
The Warriors look to win their third class A state championship after losing last year 3-7 after coming up one yard short.
No. 2 Gretna Dragons (12-0)
Gretna started the season with two easy wins shutting out both Omaha Burke and Omaha Central with a dominating offensive attack.
The Dragons would then face off against Creighton Prep in a hard fought battle which came down to the fourth quarter with a go ahead field goal for Gretna.
Later in the season, Gretna would have a big Class A matchup against the Bellevue West Thunderbirds. Gretna would be down 30-14 going into the fourth but the Dragons would fight back and win 40-37.
Gretna would go on after a big win and use the momentum and win out against Papillion-La Vista South, Omaha South, and Lincoln East.
To get to the State Championship, the Dragons went through three good teams and now face off against the team they faced last year when they won the state championship.
The importance of this game is immeasurable as Gretna had their state title vacated as they had an ineligible player.
Senior quarterback Zane Flores plays a big part in the success of the Gretna offense as he led the team with over 2,700 yards in the air on 214-322 passes with 28 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Flores distributed passes all around with senior wide receiver Caleb Schnell leading the team in receiving yards with 786 yards on 50 catches and five touchdowns. Tyson Boganowski, senior wide receiver, has the most receptions with 61 for the Dragons, getting 568 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The Dragons and the Warriors will decide the championship at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 21 at 7:15 p.m..
