Omaha Westside’s in holding down the unstoppable Millard South attack for most of Monday’s Class A state championship game. Millard South’s in the second half, when it came to winning time.

The No. 1-ranked Patriots fulfilled a season-long destiny Monday night, pitching a second-half shutout while holding No. 2 Omaha Westside to 31 yards of offense after halftime in a 27-10 win in front of 5,322 at Memorial Stadium.

“It wasn’t our prettiest performance, but they all count the same,” said Millard South coach Ty Wisdom, hired in 2022 to replace longtime Patriots coach Andy Means. “And I was just proud. They gutted it out and found a way.”

All season, Millard South and Westside stood head and shoulders above the rest of Class A. Their November meeting became more certain with each passing week as one, then the other took turns dominating their in-state competition.

Millard South’s competitive season-opening loss at national power Basha (Ariz.) was the only blemish on either team’s record. The Patriots went on to score 49 or more points against every Nebraska team they played.

Meanwhile, almost overshadowed by Millard South’s dominance, Westside simply kept turning out wins, along the way breaking the Class A record for most consecutive wins. That streak reached 32 before ending Monday.

“I’m just ready to celebrate with all these boys,” Millard South quarterback Jett Thomalla said. “This couldn’t have been done with all of them, coaches, just everything we did this whole season. I’m just ready to celebrate with these boys and cherish this moment.”

In its sixth consecutive state championship game, Westside (12-1) was in position to win its third straight title.

The Warriors, with a Class A-record 32-game winning streak, two straight titles, and three championships in the last four years, led 10-6 at halftime. Their defense had held Millard South to minus-22 rushing yards. The Patriots had an 80-yard touchdown drive, and 80 total yards in the first half.

Then things began to turn. 

The Patriots went in front for good with an eight-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that was capped by Thomalla’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Aamir Hill with 3:13 left in the third quarter.

The march came after Omaha Westside had returned a punt into Millard South territory, but couldn’t do anything with the field position.

By then, Millard South’s defense had figured Westside out. 

Westside quarterback Braylen Warren was cut down for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-2 after the Warriors elected to go for it from their own 28-yard line. Millard South scored three plays later on Thomalla’s 11-yard pass to Hill.

Following the touchdown, Millard South sacked Warren three consecutive times — part of a four-sack night for the Patriots’ defense — before Hill delivered the type of lightning bold Millard South had become known for.

Facing third-and-13, Hill broke free up the Millard South sideline for an 81-yard touchdown run that sent his bench and the Millard South crowd into hysterics.

Hill mugged for a camera in the corner of the end zone. His teammates danced up and down the field.

And a few minutes later Millard South had its trophy.

“We knew we were the better team, and we just had to start executing again,” Thomalla said. “And that’s when we started clicking.”

Thomalla threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns, completing 19 of 29 passes. Hill ran for 100 yards on seven carries and caught eight passes for 64 yards and two scores. The senior took on a bigger role after big-play threat Amarion Jackson sat out the second half with a leg injury.

Tay Tay Jenkins ran for 122 yards for Westside, accounting for the Warriors’ only score with a 63-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Westside had just 102 yards of offense outside of Jenkins’ big run.

Westside played without its head coach. Paul Limongi, the architect of the current Warrior dynasty, was hospitalized with an undisclosed medical condition and did not attend the play.

Assistant Damon Benning, the former Husker running back and current radio analyst, served as the interim head coach. Benning was Omaha Northwest’s head coach from 2009-2011.