Westside, the best team in Nebraska…ever?

[balsy]

I’m curious what some of you guys who watch a lot more Class A football in the metro think of this team and their place in Nebraska high school
History. (I’m assuming they are gonna roll through the state finals). They were up 56-0 in Kearney and took a knee at Kearney’s 25 yard line to end the first half. 😂. Kearney isn’t great but they are a solid team. It was bad….over at kickoff.
They’ve scored 356 and given up 26.
Four shutouts in seven games and won every game by 30+.

 

[Cornicator]

I think they might be trending that way. But things tend to get interesting in the playoffs. Let's see where they are in 6 weeks.

 

[bgclub]

Have seen them in person twice. They are on a different level than any class A team I’ve seen. If they keep up the pace then I don’t think there is even a discussion about best team in the history of Nebraska football. If you look at the uptick class A has taken over the past 5 or so years, it makes Westside even that more special.

 

[TC53]

What factors do you folks consider when you think about that question?
- dominance over their schedule?
- overall strength of the teams they are beating? (the comment about Class A being on the rise over the last 5 years; what factors do you point out there? I am not sure I see that. I see a division with a much greater top-to-bottom split than in the past, but I don't know if that means the top is better.)
- the best team in the middle of a great run for a school? For example Prep's greatest team of the 80s; LSE's best team of the 90/00s?
- college level that players will achieve?
- Is balance on offense/defense/specials a key or is a dominant platoon on one side of the ball more indicative?
- just an eyeball test?

 

[MargotDeeper]

Interesting that they don't even scratch the top 100 national rankings at MaxPreps.

 

[Llama57]

BUMP!!!

 

[balsy]

Interesting that they don't even scratch the top 100 national rankings at MaxPreps.

Have Nebraska teams in the past? They don’t have a ton of guys with D1 offers, I’d assume that’s how the rankings would work as nobody plays each other. That TE that’s a sophomore, is a monster 😳, he’s gonna have plenty of offers.

 

[MargotDeeper]

Have Nebraska teams in the past?

Good question, I'll bet @Alum-Ni knows the history of any Nebraska HS FB teams being nationally ranked.

 

[Alum-Ni]

Good question, I'll bet @Alum-Ni knows the history of any Nebraska HS FB teams being nationally ranked.

I don't have a great feel on that particular statistic.

I feel like some of the great Creighton Prep and Lincoln Southeast teams of yesteryear were likely nationally ranked

 

[MargotDeeper]

I don't have a great feel on that particular statistic.

I feel like some of the great Creighton Prep and Lincoln Southeast teams of yesteryear were likely nationally ranked

That was my thought too.

 

[ghostert]

Good question, I'll bet @Alum-Ni knows the history of any Nebraska HS FB teams being nationally ranked.

The one that I remember was Omaha Westside in the fall of 1982. They finished #16 in the USA Today national poll. Cincinnati Moeller was named the national champion that year. The Moeller team was coached by Gerry Faust who later went on to coach at Notre Dame. Westside was led by QB Jeff Taylor and was coached by Dan Young. I remember the OWH Herald running an article that speculated on how Westside would fare versus Moeller.

 

[C-Bearsfan]

Not that 8 man is what is being discussed but Hitchcock County ended up ranked 5th nationally last year in the 6-9 man rankings and were the top 8 man team in the rankings. Until Nebraska teams play teams outside the state like the top nationally ranked teams are, the ranking for any Nebraska team will be irrelevant. The top 10 teams nationally are flying around the country playing other nationally ranked powerhouses on espn. Westside was by far the best team in class A this year in Nebraska, we do know that.

 

[saluno22]

That was my thought too.

I want to say Millard North at some point in the late 90s/early 2000s, but I may be misremembering. Or it may have been Millard North beat one of those two teams mentioned who were ranked in the National Top 25.

 

[4xAllConference]

Call me crazy... And someone will definitely need to look into this but I believe the 2007 Pierce team was nationally ranked in the top 100...I want to say somewhere in the 50 range. Not top 25 but top 100.
In 8 man I'm sure Howells and Dodge were both ranked pretty high throughout the years. I think the 2008 Ewing team that won state was ranked top 20 in the country as well

 

[Llama57]

MaxPreps ranking don't mean much IMO.
Just looked & Boone Central is the #2 11-man team in the state. Believe their ranking are done off a formula.
Boone had a good season, but #2 in the state?
Gretna is the #1 ranked softball team from the fall. They didn't even make it to the championship game.
Maybe they do national ranking differently?

 

[mgbreis]

No question Westside had an amazing team. I miss the old days before open enrollment. I don't really know but I assume this has an effect on the disparity we're seeing?

 

[baseball31ne]

No question Westside had an amazing team. I miss the old days before open enrollment. I don't really know but I assume this has an effect on the disparity we're seeing?

Yes it does impact in probably every sport. I tend to follow baseball more and there are certainly schools that stay healthy with open enrollment.

 

[bullhusk]

Definitely not…. It appears the McCool Junction girls are the greatest team ever…. 😉

 

[T...Chafes]

No question Westside had an amazing team. I miss the old days before open enrollment. I don't really know but I assume this has an effect on the disparity we're seeing?

Yes, Westside was able to build an all star team. Many of the stars were not from Westside district and transferred into the school in high school. Same thing with their hoops teams.

Bellevue West and Westside can pull basically any student from anywhere in Nebraska. I know for a fact even Westside was trying to get a stud athlete that lives in Iowa- they were denied so now that student attends Creighton Prep. Hope things get changed in the NSAA because it is creating an unfair advantage in basketball and football in particular. And not only does the school get the athlete, they also get close to $3,000 in district revenue for taking in a student outside the district. Even more I believe if they are a low income student.

 

[Cornicator]

I live in Kansas, about 2 blocks away from the Kansas 6A State champs, Gardner-Edgerton. Its a terrific program with great facilities, excellent coaches, and I can't wait for my children to play for them when they reach that age. My 6th graders are running the exact same offense and defense as the Varsity. Every level is doing the same thing, all the way down to age 8.

But I can say with 100% certainty that the Omaha Westside team I watched in the Nebraska State title game would've beaten Gardner-Edgerton by 40+ points.

In fact, Westside could actually compete and maybe even beat Liberty North, the 6A State champs in Missouri that has 10 D1 players, including Husker recruit Keelan Smith.