Westside’s varsity football team is looking to improve to 3-0 when the Warriors go up against the Papillion-La Vista Monarchs this Friday, Sept.10.
Unlike Westside, who is coming off a 39-22 win over Omaha North last week, Papillon-La Vista is looking to find its footing after suffering a tough 30-3 loss at Creighton Prep last week.
Warriors head coach Brett Froendt said that the Warriors have worked on fundamentals this week in order to prepare for Papio.
“Basic game-planning, because our technical and schematic proficiency is not where we need to be,” Froendt said. “So, basically, that means back to the basics to be fundamentally sound.”
Senior Dominic Rezac, who has scored three touchdowns and accounted for 321 yards of total offense through the first two games of the season, said he is going to see how the Monarch defense adjusts to Westside’s offensive plays to determine what happens on the turf Friday night.
“We are really focusing on the small details we won the last two weeks, but they definitely weren’t perfect,” Rezac said. “We have to hone in on the details and what we have to do to get better and play our best football.”
Sophomore Caleb Benning will be returning to the gridiron this week, against Papillion-La Vista, after suffering from a back-injury. After achieving freshman All-State Honors from NeNExtt in 2020, Benning will see some varsity playing time this week.
“Caleb has shown us throughout the summer, before the injury, that he can do some good things,” Froendt said. “He’ll definitely be starting at CB, and get some playing time on the offensive side as well.”
Opposite Benning at cornerback will be sophomore Teddy Rezac, who has two interceptions and a pick- six already this season.
“He’s important because we knew we had some big holes at that position, so it’s great that Teddy has shown some savvy and some technical abilities this summer to where he got up to speed in time for the first game,” Froendt said. “We still have to face the best athletes and the best teams so we have to keep improving like everyone else.”
Tonight’s game will be at Foundation Field on the Papillion-La Vista South campus, with kick-off set for 7 p.m. You can also watch the game live on PLV media.
