Omaha Westside hopes its football fortunes are on the rise after last week's 27-10 upset of then-ranked Lincoln Southwest.

The Warriors were 1-8 in Brett Froendt's first season as coach and lost their 2010 season opener 37-0 to top-ranked Millard South.

“It started with fewer mistakes,'' Froendt said of the win. “We had 10 or 11 penalties that stopped every drive against Millard South. We tightened up and had a great defensive game against Southwest.

“We were able to drive the ball and were more physical. After we saw them play Lincoln Southeast, we thought we matched up better with them.''

Westside went through three running backs against the Silver hawks. Starter Tiras Bolton left the game late in the first quarter with an injured hip flexor, but came back later in the game. His backup, Andrew Nelson, left with a hyperextended knee.

“Mateen Sharif played about half the game, and he hadn't had a rep at running back all week,'' Froendt said. “He stepped it up. He had a great defensive game at linebacker.''

Tevin Griffin and Zach Adler, coming off junior years affected by injury, are playing well on the defensive front, Froendt said. So is major-college prospect Nate Skold on the offensive line. Wyoming offered a scholarship last week to the 6-foot-8, 270-pounder after Tulane offered during the summer.

Kansas, Ohio and Kansas State are among the schools waiting to evaluate Skold on tape.

“He's attracting pretty good attention,” Froendt said. “He's more aggressive and physical, which is what everybody wanted to see.''

Westside's rivalry game with No. 2 Omaha Creighton Prep is Friday at Phelps Field. Froendt said last week's win “validates our feelings that we have a pretty good team.”

“But after going through last year, nothing builds confidence like a win,” he said. “Prep will be a huge test. They're a good team, their defense solid as ever. We're pretty confident we can play well as long as we don't have the mistakes creep back in.''

Shutouts scarce for Schuyler

How rare have shutouts been for Schuyler's defense? Prior to last week's 31-0 home win over York, the last one for the Warriors against a Class B team was in 2004 when they beat Blair 14-0.

The Warriors weren't bad on defense last year, finishing ninth in Class B in yards allowed in a 5-4 season. Nine starters returned from that unit.

“We don't start anybody over 210, 215 pounds, so we're not big, but they fly to the ball,'' second-year coach Seth McCalin said. “Lyndon Beebe, our defensive coordinator, does an outstanding job getting kids in the right spot.''

Schuyler's best player is senior free safety Josh Papa, who tied the school record for career interceptions (17) with one in the season opener, a 50-15 win at Hastings. North Dakota State, which already has Schuyler graduate Kyle Emanuel, is interested in Papa.

Papa splits time on offense between tailback and quarterback. He rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns against York.

“He's off to an outstanding start,'' said McClain, a former Omaha Burke assistant. “It seems like he's everywhere.''

This week's opponent is Ralston, like the Warriors off to a 2-0 start. The Rams are No. 9 in Class B.

“We have a bunch who really like to play football, and we find out this week how good we are,'' McClain said. “Ralston has some road graders up front, some big boys. We hope we can match up well with them and play them tough.''

Molifua's recoveries leading North Star

Lincoln North Star's rebuilt defense encounters its stiffest test of the young season when the 2-0 Gators meet Top 10 No. 10 Lincoln Northeast (2-0) at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Seacrest Field.

Only two starters on defense had much playing time last year, Casey Molifua at defensive end and Alex Romero at linebacker. The defense also has gone to an odd-man front.

“When we get lined up correctly and have the right assignments in coverage, we're pretty good,'' coach Mark Waller said. “We're able to fly around and force turnovers.''

Molifua recovered two fumbles in the season opener against Lincoln East and another in last week's 23-8 win over Omaha Benson.

Waller said on offense, senior quarterback Brady Bolles improved between his first and second games as the starter. He's a younger brother of Northwest Missouri State quarterback Blake Bolles, a former standout at Lincoln Southwest.

Northeast is coming off a 34-0 dismantling of Norfolk. “They're the real deal,'' Waller said. “They have a lot of good size up front and speed at the skill positions, and their quarterback (Derek Hoodjer) looks like he's doing a great job managing their offense.''

Twin brothers coach against each other

Was last week's Central City-Wood River game the first time twin brothers coached against each other in football in the state? Derek Garfield's Wood River team got the best of Darin Garfield's Central City squad, winning 42-7.

Jensen McTavish scored all six Wood River touchdowns, including a 70-yard punt return.

— Stu Pospisil

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