Class A Final: Millard West beats Millard South
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BY RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star
Darius Evans gave Millard West the jump-start it needed and then the defense took care of the rest.
After Evans tied the Class A playoff record with his 94-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff, the Wildcats swept to their second Class A state championship Friday with a 21-8 victory against Millard South at Memorial Stadium. The victory completed a perfect 13-0 season for Millard West.
“That kickoff return got things awfully ramped up quickly for us,” said Millard West coach Kirk Peterson. “That was huge. It got momentum on our side. A lot of people were saying they (Millard South) were on such a hot streak, winning six in a row. I thought, ‘well, we’ve won 12 in a row.’
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“These kids earned this tonight in all phases of the game.”
While the Wildcat offense has gotten much of the publicity this season, it was the Millard West defense that asserted itself. The Wildcats limited Millard South to just 69 yards rushing and recorded six quarterback sacks and seven tackles for losses.
“We came together and the linebackers made it so they couldn’t run the ball all that well,” said junior defensive end Matt Longacre. “We ripped through the line. I juke-stepped in and then out and I used my speed to get through.
“We knew our defense was amazing all year. Everybody always talked about the offense but we just decided to come through tonight and show how good we are.”
Longacre led the Wildcats with eight tackles and sacked Millard South quarterback Bronson Marsh three times and shared another sack with sophomore tackle Brandon Yost.
“We talked about playing with emotion and control. Kids do funny things when they get down here,” Peterson said. “They can hurt their jaw looking up at the screen, looking up at the skyboxes, looking round at the stands. Emotional control was what we talked about all week.”
Peterson said he got a glimpse of what was to come when his Wildcats rallied to beat Millard South 15-12 the third week of the season.
Yost, who had another sack for the Wildcats and finished with six tackles, said the defense persevered.
“We just kept pressure on him (Marsh). It sounds simple, but it’s not. When you have people as big as you getting on you a couple at a time, it’s tough,” he said.
The third quarter was pivotal, with the defense keeping Millard South from making up any ground. The Wildcats had four sacks, including one on fourth down by Yost.
“At halftime, we talked about how we couldn’t let them get a first down when they started the half,” Yost said. “That motivated me and we got into it.”
After Evans’ return ignited the Millard West crowd, the defense forced a three-and-out. The Wildcats then marched 59 yards in six plays to take a 14-0 lead. Running back Kohlman Adema-Schulte took a pitch to the right, pulled up and threw to Tyler Niederklein for a 31-yard pickup to the 1-yard line. Adema-Schulte went over the left side for the score.
Jordan Hale intercepted a Wildcat pass to set up Millard South’s only scoring drive. Marsh connected with Vondrae Tostenson for a 22-yard pickup to spark the 15-play, 82-yard scoring drive, capped by Marsh’s 1-yard sneak.
But Millard West answered quickly when Nate Hauptman’s 14-yard pass to Niederklein set up a 2-yard run by Hauptman for a 21-6 lead.
Millard South got a safety in the fourth quarter when a bad snap led to a punt out the side of the end zone. The Patriots then marched to the 8-yard line but Zach Vickers couldn’t stay in the end zone to catch Marsh’s pass.
“We were way too tentative at the beginning,” said Millard South coach Andy Means. “We weren’t aggressive and then we got behind. When we finally said, ‘whatever’ and laid our ears back, we started to play, but it was too late.
“The problem with defending them, as all other 12 teams will tell you, is that they have more than one or two weapons. It all starts up front and at the beginning we were getting pushed around too much.”
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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