Wildcats chase away Warriors in quarterfinal road win
One more week.
That's the kind of phrase that will get any football team riled up when they're playing in November. The Wildcats in white went crazy when it came from head coach Kirk Peterson's mouth.
Behind three touchdowns from senior running back Jackson Wright, fifth-seed Millard West ousted fourth-seed Omaha Westside by a 28-21 score to advance to the Class A semifinals.
A one-handed grab by Jackson Hazen put the Wildcats on the board early, but Westside's Cole Payton found Grant Tagge shortly after to tie the ballgame at seven apiece to cap off the first quarter.
No points were scored in the second quarter after it opened with three combined interceptions in the first four minutes.
Then Wright took over. The 5-11 back scored three second half touchdowns, which included the eventual game-winning score with 2:15 remaining in the game.
"I broke that last tackle and all I saw was the end zone in front of me," Wright said. "I thought, 'if I get in, that's the dagger right there.' Once I scored, I was happy ... we took care of business."
The senior fullback utilized his massive size to muscle his way into the end zone, capping off multiple time-consuming drives.
"Westside played really fast, really hard, they could hit," Wright said. "But I used by size to my advantage and dropped my pad level. It paid off tonight."
The Warriors' season concludes at 8-2 while the 9-2 Wildcats will move onto the semifinals at Omaha Burke on Friday, November 9. Catch that game at 7 p.m.
