10-2
That is the final record for the Creighton Prep Jr. Jays varsity football team. This was the best record since the 2014 season, the same season we lost to Omaha North in the final. After a very successful season, the Jr. Jays lost in the semifinals to the Papillion-LaVista South Titans
Starting at mid season Prep took on the Papillion La-Vista Monarchs down in Papillion. This was a personal game for the Jr. Jays as new coach Tim Williams was head coach at Papillion just last year. Even before the game started there was pushing at midfield. Angelo Walker put on another performance with each of Prep’s three touchdowns and the Jr. Jays took down the Monarchs 21-10 for their first district win of the season.
Prep’s next game against Central, is one of the most important of the season. This game decided who would be second in the district behind Westside. Central was coming off a huge 31-28 win against Westside breaking a home winning streak dating back to 2019. But this game was a little different for the Eagles. Walker had another big game with another three touchdown game and 93 rushing yards. Prep’s defense had maybe their worst game of the season allowing Central quarterback B.J. Newsome threw for 141 yards and Central to have a combined 104 yards on the ground. But it didn’t matter as the Jr. Jays get another huge district win taking the Eagles down 31-16 taking the #1 district spot.
After escaping the trap game against Fremont the Jr. Jay took on the Westside Warriors. This was Prep’s biggest challenge yet. The Warriors got the scoring started early with 21 points in the first quarter. After giving up 263 passing yards to Fremont quarterback Will Schleicher, Prep’s defense struggled against the run against Westside. Giving up 254 yards to Westside as a team and 196 of those to Tay Tay Jenkins. The Jr. Jays pushed a little but Westside’s defense held strong holding Angelo Walker to 89 yards and a season low one touchdown. The Warriors kept on the pressure all game and handed Prep’s first loss, final score being 52-20 Westside win.
After bouncing back against Norfolk with a 35-13 win the Jr. Jays were the overall second seed heading into the playoffs with their first game being against Lincoln Southeast. Prep beat the Knights 31-10 earlier in the season and this game was no different. After a 177 passing yard game against Norfolk, sophomore quarterback Ben Lesley became the official starter. Prep dominated both sides of the ball holding the Knights to 87 rushing yards. Walker had his best game of the season with 212 rushing yards and another 3 touchdown game. Prep dominated Lincoln again winning 31-3 for their first playoff win of the year.
After a huge first round victory the Jr. Jays are pitted against the 7-3 Lincoln East Spartans. The game started hot with Walker scoring on Prep’s first drive. But the rest of the game was slow with both defenses having dominant games. Prep’s defense held the Spartans to 64 passing yards. But the defense struggled against the run without junior middle linebacker Mike Novero, allowing 166 total rushing yards. The next score was late in the fourth quarter with a Lesley pass to Brody Austin to go up 14-0. The Spartans got a late touchdown for the final score being 14-6 for a Prep win and they moved onto the semifinals.
Prep’s semifinals game was against 10-1 Papillion-LaVista South Titans. This was a very even game for both teams with sophomore Jake Kearny getting Prep on the board early. The Titans responded in the second quarter with a 63 yard rushing touchdown from senior Logan Arch. Walker got a pair of touchdowns in the second and third quarter and that was it for Prep’s offense. Prep’s defense could not stop the Titan rush allowing 214 yards (195 of those to Arch). They also struggled against the pass giving up 151 yards on only 11 completions. Prep’s offense tried to fight back with Walker having 161 yards and 2 touchdowns but could not keep up with the Titans offense. Prep was handed their second loss of the season in a 24-21 loss and the season was over.
Prep’s season was extremely successful and unexpected. Coach Johnk’s motto being “Prep has Nobody,” was a nod to what he heard other coaches say around Omaha. Here are my awards for the 2025 Varsity football season.
Offensive Player of the Year:
Angelo Walker is the offensive player of the year for Prep. He averaged 128.8 yards per game and a second high in Class A 25 touchdowns. Walker carried Prep’s offense this year. He was also a very impactful defensive player with 50 tackles and a sack as a linebacker.
Defensive Player of the Year:
This is much harder than the offensive player of the year. There are many options from Nico Kocmich who was tied for third in interceptions in Class A or Mike Novero who led the team in tackles until he got hurt. But in my opinion the defensive player of the year is Preston Woodward. He led the team with 90 tackles good for 7th in Class A, had 4 interceptions and an impressive 6 pass breakups.
Lineman of the Year:
Jake Brock is my lineman of the year. He played both ways with being a center and a nose-guard and dominated on the offensive line, really leading that o-line to what it was. But his biggest contribution to the team was his defensive play. Brock led the team with 6.5 sacks while playing on both sides. He led this d-line to be one of the best in the state.
Special Teams Player of the Year:
Nico Kocmich is my special teams player of the year. He had 258 punt return yards and 352 combined yards between kickoffs and punt returns. He was fifth in class A for average punt return yards and seventh in combined yards. Kocmich also had 2 punt return touchdowns. He was also tied for third in interceptions in class A with 5 on the season.
Underclassman of the Year:
Jake Kearney and David Heine are my underclassmen of the year. Both were extremely impressive on different sides of the ball. Kearney had 430 yards with only 82 carries, averaging 5.2 yards a carry, only .4 yards behind Walker. He also was second on the team with 4 touchdowns. Heine had 62 tackles this year. That was good for fifth on the team in only 9 games. Having the third highest tackles per game on the team and tied for fifth in tackles for loss.
