Omaha Westside holds off late charging Islanders, 27-24.

A young and aggressive Omaha Westside defense with a great run stuffing game plan, held the Islander ground game to a meager 27 yards and rode the quick, accurate arm of junior QB Mitch Hagen to grab a 27-24 over 3rd rated Grand Island Friday night in GI. Warrior head coach Brett Froendt and defensive guru Justin Haberman devised a game plan not only to shadow ace GI quarterback Pierce Almond, but to keep the pre-season all-state QB from getting to the corners on run plays.

After the curtain came down on this one, the Islander running game could muster only 27 yards on 26 carries, 21 coming on a blast by fullback Kevin Cahoy early in the 1st quarter. So effective was the Westside defense, Grand Island had NO second rushing yardage. Meanwhile junior sharpshooter Mitch Hagen connected on 11 of his first 12 opening half pass attempts for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead Omaha Westside to a 14-10 halftime advantage.

Islander QB Pierce Almond had ample time to throw in that first half, thanks to some great pass blocking by his line, but the Warrior linebackers and defensive backs blanked the GI receivers enough to hold the halftime advantage. Almond had completed 10 of 15 for 95 yards before the Islander bombardier nailed all-state FB/LB Kevin Cahoy for a 55 yard beauty to set up a 4 yard half ending field goal by kicker Juan Cayaz-Juarez.

Westside, who were 0-2 before reeling off wins over Millard South and Lincoln NE, spotted the Islanders a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter when GI put together a 9 play, 80 yard drive culminated by Almond's 4 yard scoring pass to junior SE Keenan Ketteler. It would be the first of 3 TD receptions for the sure handed 155 pound Ketteler. Westside tied things up in the waning moments of the 1st when the quick releasing southpaw Hagen found Kavon Neelon for a 26 yard TD pass.

After misfiring on his 3rd pass attempt, Westside QB Mitch Hagen was on target with his next 10 aerials, which included scoring tosses to Neelon, a 25 yarder to Forrest McQueen and a 5 yarder to Anthony Meeks. That gave the Warriors a 21-10 halftime cushion and proved to be enough of an advantage to hold off the Islanders in the end.

Westside extended their lead to 24-10 when Jack Finnochiaro nailed a 28 yard field goal, the 3rd quarter's only points. Late in that 3rd stanza, Grand Island drove to the Warrior 7 yard line, made a field goal by Cayaz-Juarez, but got another shot when Westside was flagged for an offside infraction. The Islanders decided to take the penalty and had a 4th and 1 shot at the Westside 3 yard line. But the stout Warrior defense stuffed RB Chris Doty on his only carry of the game and averted averted the Islander score.

GI came roaring back after holding Westside deep in the shadow of their own end zone and set themselves up with good field position when Tanner Cook retuned the ensuing punt form midfield to the Warrior 33. On the very next play, the Islanders pulled off a little trickery. RB Tanner Shuck took the ball from Pierce Almond on a reverse, pitched back to Almond, who then found a streaking Keenan Kettler. Ketteler, who was blanked by a Westside defender, lost the jump ball to the defender but regained possession when the Warrior DB tipped the pass back to the Islander split end. Ketteler did a tight rope and held on for the 33 yard reception with 11:30 left in the 4th quarter. That pulled Grand Island to within 24-17.

Omaha Westside added another Finnochiaro field goal of 30 yards with 8:57 left which gave the Warriors a 27-17 advantage. The Islanders bounced right back though with a 70 yard drive keyed by an Almond to Keenan Ketteler 39 yard pitch and catch that went from the Westside 46 to the 7. The very next play Almond again found Ketteler, this time for a 7 yard touchdown. 3:12 remained in the game and the Islanders needed a stop to preserve their undefeated season.

After recovering an onside kick, Westside's workhorse Mitch Schenkelberg coughed up the ball on the 2nd play with the home field Islanders falling on the losse ball. Now GI was in business at the Warrior 42....2:29 left. That's when the Westside defenders Ryan Golden and Grant Jordan came through by sacking QB Pierce Almond for back to back 6 yard losses. On a 4th and 21 from their own 44, Almond let it fly and but Warrior DB Forrest McQueen turned in a senior play by simply batting down the pass near the Westside 30.

Game over, and Westside wins their 3rd in a row and in the process hands Grand Island their 1st loss of 2014 by the 27-24 count.

Omaha Westside's sharpshooting quarterback, Mitchell Hagen completed 18 of 25 passes for 246 yards and 3 Tds in the game. Hard running 190 senior Mitch Schenkelberg led the way for the Warriors with 82 yards on 33 grueling carries. The Warrior defense held GI to only 27 yards on 26 attempts for the contest.

For Grand Island, Pierce Almond was accurate on 18 of 37 passes for 314 yards and 3 Tds. Kevin Cahoy was a standout receiver with 123 yards on just 3 receptions, all of which came at critical times in the game. Keenan Ketteler nabbed 5 Almond passes for 89 yards, 3 of which were touchdowns.

Grand Island will travel to 3-2 Fremont, a 35-3 winner over Lincoln NE on Thursday, while Omaha Westside, now 3-2, will return home to face winless Omaha Burke, who dropped a 21-17 game to Columbus tonight. Both games will be Friday matchups.

Score by Quarters:

......................................1..........2..........3..........4.........T

Omaha Westside............7.........14..........3.........3.........27

Grand Island...................7..........3...........0........14........24

GI - Ketteler 4 pass from Almond................Cayax-Juarez kick........7-0 GI

OW - Neelon 26 pass from Hagen...............Finnochiaro kick..........7-7

2nd Qtr

OW - Meeks 5 pass from Hagen..................Finnochiaro kick..........7-14 OW

OW - McQueen 25 pass from Hagen...........Finnochiaro kick..........7-21 OW

GI - Cayax-Juarez 22 FG.................................................................10-21 OW

3rd Qtr.

OW - Finnochiaro 28 FG................................................................10-24 OW

4th Qtr

GI - Ketteler 33 pass from Almond-----------Cayax-Juarez kick.........17-24 OW

OW - Finnochiaro 30 FG.................................................................17-27 OW

GI - Ketteler 7 pass from Almond................Cayax-Juarez kick.........24-27 OW