The Bellevue West Thunderbirds will square off against the Omaha Westside Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Bellevue West is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Lincoln Northeast: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Thunderbirds blew the Rockets out of the water with a 45-6 final score. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 24-0.
Demarkus Robinson
| 10/23/25 @ Lincoln Northeast | 156 |
| 10/10/25 @ Lincoln Southwest | 112 |
| 09/27/24 vs Buena Vista | 56 |
| 10/03/25 vs South Sioux City | 49 |
| 09/12/24 vs Bellevue East | 38 |
Demarkus Robinson had a dynamite game, rushing for 156 yards and two TDs on only 14 carries. Those 156 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Dylan Miller was in the mix too, providing Bellevue West with two touchdowns.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Bellevue West was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 272 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Bellevue West's defense and their four sacks. That dominant display was truly a team effort as four different players picked up one apiece. They got some further help from Easton Monlux: he picked up a sack and made 11 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Omaha Westside faced Papillion-LaVista in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Warriors put the hurt on the Monarchs with a sharp 35-14 win. The Warriors haven't had any issues with the Monarchs recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Omaha Westside's win came from a few key players Bellevue West will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Tay Tay Jenkins, who rushed for 85 yards and a pair of scores. He has been hot recently, having also posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last four times he's played. Mo Purify II was another key player, picking up 95 receiving yards and one TD.
Bellevue West now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Omaha Westside, their record now sits at 8-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game as the two teams have no problem gaining yardage. Bellevue West has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 391.4 total yards per game. However, it's not like Omaha Westside struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 384.2 total yards. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Bellevue West came up short against Omaha Westside in their previous meeting back in September, falling 29-21. Can the Thunderbirds avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
