OMAHA — In a game that appeared virtually even on the final stat sheet, big plays made the difference for Millard West.
Leading 10-7 after the first quarter, the No. 7-rated (Omaha World-Herald) Wildcats scored 21 unanswered points to post a 31-7 victory over Grand Island Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Class A state playoffs at Buell Stadium.
The win advanced Millard West (9-2) into next Friday’s state semifinals. The Islanders ended their season 6-5.
“They’re just a really solid club and then you add in a good kicker and an outstanding punter, who can flip the field, and that made a big difference in the game,” Grand Island coach Jeff Tomlin said. “Our congratulations to (Millard West), they’re a real solid team — they’re definitely a final-four team.”
Grand Island didn’t commit a turnover and outgained the Wildcats 362-330 in total offense. However, the Islanders converted just 4 of 14 third-down opportunities, were 1 of 4 on fourth down and had seven drives end in Millard West territory that resulted in no points.
Four of those possessions penetrated inside the Wildcats’ 25 yard-line. Grand Island’s final drive was perhaps a microcosm of the game as it failed to score, despite running two plays from the Millard West 1.
“We struggled on the third-down conversions and that type of deal, but good defenses do that to you,” Tomlin said.
The Wildcats took a 10-0 first-quarter lead on Cameron Spicer’s 32-yard field goal and Bobby Joseph’s 2-yard touchdown plunge.
But the Islanders got back into the contest when sophomore running back Nelsyn Wheeler broke free for a 79-yard scoring run. Thatcher Panowicz’s point-after kick cut Millard West’s lead to 10-7 with 2:32 remaining in the first quarter.
“Nelsyn has a lot of ability and used his speed to our advantage,” Tomlin said. “It gave us some momentum — a good punch of energy there — and our defense kind of fed off of that.”
But Millard West was able to regain control, scoring on the final possession of the first half on quarterback Brody Peterson’s 1-yard run and again on the opening drive of the second half. Peterson’s 44-yard TD pass to Jackson Williams gave the Wildcats a 24-7 lead with 9:06 remaining in the third quarter.
Then, Joseph all but iced the win, shaking loose for a 73-yard TD run to give Millard West a 24-point advantage with 3:57 to play in the third. Joseph finished with 151 yards rushing, including two TDs, on 19 attempts.
“We still felt pretty good at halftime, although they got that one (touchdown) late,” Tomlin said. “We just had to defend them too many times. You put the ball in that caliber of running back’s hands that many times, sooner or later, they’re going to get a block that springs them.”
Peterson finished an efficient 8 of 10 passing for 129 yards and a TD for the Wildcats. Williams had six receptions for 105 yards and a score in addition to three punt returns for 58 yards.
Wheeler ended with 99 yards rushing with a TD on six carries for Grand Island. Senior quarterback Bode Albers was 15 of 30 passing for 128 yards and also rushed nine times for 59 yards for the Islanders.
Grand Island tight end Riley Holling had four receptions for 73 yards and wide receiver Kobyn Bolton had four catches for 40 yards, including a 27-yard halfback option pass from Caleb Richardson.
Tomlin said he was proud of the Islanders and their senior class for battling against a difficult schedule to reach the Class A quarterfinals. Grand Island’s losses came to No. 1 Omaha Westside, No. 3 Elkhorn South, No. 4 Omaha North, No. 7 Millard West and to Kearney during the regular season — the Bearcats were rated No. 5 at the time.
“They’ve been warriors,” said Tomlin, whose team beat Kearney 29-19 in the first round. “They’ve followed our process. They worked extremely hard — winter, spring and summer — darn near every day, training in the weight room with Coach (Pat) Doyle and then watching film.
“With all the stuff they do, it’s not easy and they’ve been troopers the whole way. They’ve represented our program and our school with class.”
Millard West 31, Grand Island 7
Grand Island (6-5)
7
0
0
0—7
Millard West (9-2)
10
7
14
0—31
First Quarter
MW—Cameron Spicer 32 field goal, 5:30.
MW—Bobby Joseph 2 run (Spicer kick), 3:23.
GI—Nelsyn Wheeler 79 run (Thatcher Panowicz kick), 2:32.
Second Quarter
MW—Brody Peterson 1 run (Spicer kick), :19.
Third Quarter
MW—Jackson Williams 44 pass from Peterson (Spicer kick), 9:06.
MW—Joseph 73 run (Spicer kick), 3:57.
GI
MW
First downs
17
16
Rushes-Yards
31-207
36-201
Passing Yards
155
129
Att-Comp-Int
16-31-0
8-10-0
Total Offense
62-362
46-330
Return Yards
0
58
Kickoff Returns
4-136
1-16
Fumbles-Lost
1-0
0-0
Punts-Avg.
4-28.5
4-45
Penalties-Yards
6-58
10-106
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—GI, Wheeler 6-99, B.Albers 9-59, Richardson 13-39, Coslor 1-4, Booth 1-1, Team 1-minus 5. MW, Joseph 19-151, Peterson 10-46, Blackman 4-10, Williams 1-6, Amenyah 1-minus 5, Johnson 1-minus 7.
Passing—GI, B.Albers 15-30-0 128, Richardson 1-1-0 27. MW, Peterson 8-10-0 129.
Receiving—GI, Holling 4-73, Bolton 4-40, J.Albers 2-17, Morris 1-11, Wyatt 1-6, Hostetler 1-5, Richardson 2-4, Wheeler 1-minus 1. MW, Williams 6-105, Osborne 1-21, Dahlhauser 1-3.
