The Creighton Prep Junior Jays ended their football season with a 54-6 loss to Omaha Westside. Although a losing season looks rough on paper, especially when you compare that to a Creighton Prep team that went 8-4 and had a state semifinal appearance the year prior, this year was not a failure. Going from 1-4 to the playoffs is an achievement, no matter how you put it.

Westside dominated the game from start to finish. Quarterback Anthony Rezac carved up the Junior Jay defense for 228 yards and 4 touchdowns. Rezac also added 86 rushing yards. The Warriors dominated on the ground as well, as running back Jahmez Ross ran for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns, earning him Time42C Player of the Game. Although Prep quarterback Elijah Cannon found tight end Michael Burt for a late touchdown, the game was out of reach. 

The most obvious gap between these two teams was in the trenches. The Warriors’ offensive line dominated the Creighton Prep defensive line. Both Rezac and Ross averaged over 10 yards per carry. 

On the other side of the ball, Prep running backs Jacob Ruby and Angelo Walker struggled to find space. Quarterback Tony Coniglio (who left with an injury) and Cannon were only sacked twice, but it felt like they were running for their lives every play. 

However, this game against Westside, who is widely considered the best team in the state (by a large margin), does not represent this Prep team as a whole.

This Creighton Prep football team showed incredible resilience. After a 1-4 start, the Junior Jays were in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in decades. Instead of giving up and letting this start to derail their season, they fought back to 4-6, second place in the district, and secured a playoff spot. The offense gained their footing after a slow start. In the first half of the season, the offense averaged 17.2 points per game: they nearly doubled that to 31 in the second half of the season.

I see a lot of potential next year for this Creighton Prep team. This team has a lot of players returning next year. Both Cannon and Coniglio will return for their junior and senior seasons, respectively. 

Leading rushers Angelo Walker and Jacob Ruby will also be returning for their junior and senior seasons. Center CJ Costello is the only member of the offensive line who won’t be returning for next year. This offense will develop more chemistry and hopefully return for a strong season next year. 

Unfortunately, the defense suffered a few more losses. Zac McLeay, Ryan Uhl, and Michael Sall, the three who led the team in tackles, will all be graduating. Fortunately, the defensive line stays mostly intact, hopefully able to swarm opponent quarterbacks next year. 

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting this team to make the playoffs. The Junior Jays lost a lot of players from last year, most notably all-state running back Marty Brown. This team defied my expectations. This team didn’t win state, but the fact is they fought hard and made the playoffs: a remarkable achievement considering their 1-4 start. 

Thank you to all the coaches, players, and staff for making this season possible. This season wouldn’t have been the same without your efforts day in and day out. I see a lot of potential in this team and hope next year is just as fun.