Preview: Papillion-LaVista Monarchs vs. Bellevue West Thunderbirds
Papillion-LaVista is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Bellevue West is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Papillion-LaVista Monarchs will take on the Bellevue West Thunderbirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Papillion-LaVista got themselves on the board against North Platte, but North Platte never followed suit. They really took it to the Bulldogs for the full four quarters, racking up a 41-0 victory at home. Given Papillion-LaVista's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 11th, while North Platte is ranked 73rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Payton Prestito and Isaac Pamaran were among the main playmakers for Papillion-LaVista as the former rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns and the latter picked up 96 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Pamaran's longest reception was for an incredible 83 yards.
Meanwhile, Bellevue West made easy work of Papillion-LaVista South on Thursday and carried off a 49-28 victory. With Bellevue West ahead 27-7 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Cj Gauff had a dynamite game for Bellevue West, rushing for 186 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries. Isaiah Mcmorris was another key contributor, picking up 103 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Their wins bumped Papillion-LaVista to 8-1 and Bellevue West to 6-3.
Papillion-LaVista took a serious blow against Bellevue West in their previous matchup back in October of 2021, falling 63-26. Thankfully for Papillion-LaVista, Lj Richardson (who rushed for 278 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 13.2 yards per carry, and also threw for five yards and a touchdown while completing 100% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
