Ratings: It wasn't an easy road for Wildcats
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By RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star
Kirk Peterson had some words of advice for Seth Turman, his offensive coordinator, Friday after Millard West won the Class A state football championship.
“I told him when he got home and sat down to try to think about it, he’d still be so emotionally drained and exhausted, he wouldn’t be able to put it in perspective,” Peterson said. “It takes some time for it to sink in and to think about how special it is.”
Although this was Peterson’s first title as a head coach, he was an assistant to Dan McLaughlin when the Wildcats won the 2001 state title.
1. Millard West (12-0) 2
2. Millard South (9-4) 9
3. Creighton Prep (11-1) 1
4. Omaha North (10-2) 3
5. Lincoln North Star (9-2) 5
6. Grand Island (7-3) 6
7. Bellevue West (7-4) 8
8. Omaha Burke (7-3) 7
9. Elkhorn (7-3) 4
10. Kearney (7-4) -
Class B Pvs.
1. Aurora (12-1) 6
2. Beatrice (11-2) 2
3. McCook (11-1) 1
4. Lincoln Pius X (9-3) 5
5. Omaha Gross (9-2) 3
6. Crete (5-5) 9
7. Omaha Skutt (6-5) 10
8. Waverly (8-2) 4
9. Schuyler (9-2) 8
10. Ogallala (8-2) 7
Class C-1 Pvs.
1. Pierce (12-1) 6
2. Boys Town (12-1) 3
3. Norfolk Catholic (10-1) 1
4. Hastings St. Cecilia (10-1)2
5. Syracuse (11-1) 4
6. Chadron (11-1) 5
7. Bishop Neumann (8-3) 9
8. Grand Island CC (8-2) 7
9. Broken Bow (8-2) 8
10. Gothenburg (9-2) -
Class C-2 Pvs.
1. Blue Hill (12-1) 7
2. Archbishop Bergan (10-3) -
3. Stanton (10-1) 1
4. Elmwood-Murdock (11-1) 2
5. Plainview (9-3) 6
6. Hartington CC (8-2) 4
7. Elm Creek (10-1) 5
8. Creighton (8-2) 3
9. Laurel-Concord (7-4) -
10. Aquinas (8-2) 8
Class D-1 Pvs.
1. Howells (13-0) 1
2. Clarkson (10-2) 4
3. Shelby (9-2) 7
4. Axtell (9-4) -
5. Bancroft-Rosalie (8-3) -
6. Freeman (9-1) 2
7. Maxwell (9-3) -
8. Giltner (9-2) 6
9. Burwell (9-1) 3
10. Clearwater/Orchard (9-2) 5
Class D-2 Pvs.
1. Ewing (12-1) 4
2. Humphrey St. Francis (12-1)3
3. Elgin (11-1) 1
4. Hayes Center (11-1) 5
5. Lawrence-Nelson (8-3) -
6. Bruning-Davenport (9-1) 2
7. Anselmo-Merna (10-1) 6
8. St. Mary's (8-3) -
9. Sargent (8-2) 8
10. Pope John (7-3) -
Class A
Comments: The Millard West offense was center stage most of the season, but the defense earned its share of the spotlight in the state final. Bellevue West moves ahead of Omaha Burke after a first-round win, and Kearney replaces Lincoln Southwest because of a playoff win against Omaha Westside.
Class B
Comments: Aurora knocked off defending champion Crete to start the season, then took its place at the top with a 20-14 win against Beatrice. The fact the Huskies avenged a loss to McCook just fueled the fire. Crete moves up despite a first-round loss to Omaha Gross because of the Cardinals' regular-season win against Omaha Skutt, which upended Waverly in the first round of the playoffs. Ogallala, which lost to Alliance, tumbles.
Class C-1
Comments: Pierce survived a soggy victory against Hastings St. Cecilia, which helped pave the way to the title win against Boys Town. Norfolk Catholic, St. Cecilia, Syracuse and Chadron stay in the same order as before the playoffs. Bishop Neumann advances with a pair of playoff wins and a narrow loss to Syracuse. Gothenburg, which picked up a pair of playoff victories, moves back into the ratings.
Class C-2
Comments: Blue Hill rattled off 12 wins after a season-opening loss to Cambridge and avenged that in the playoffs. Archbishop Bergan also avenged regular-season losses to Stanton and Elmwood-Murdock. Laurel-Concord enters after beating Aquinas 15-14, then falling to Elmwood-Murdock 20-12.
Class D-1
Comments: Howells' narrow escape against Clarkson in the playoff semifinals and a tough first half with Shelby are the reason Clarkson and Shelby are rated ahead of state runner-up Axtell. Bancroft-Rosalie's only losses were to Howells twice and to Clarkson. The Panthers needed double-overtime to oust Freeman.
Class D-2
Comments: It seemed likely that this year's champion would come from the D2-6 district, which included defending champion Chambers and runner-up Elgin, Class D-1 defending champ Pope John and Ewing. Now Ewing has the hardware. Lawrence-Nelson returns to the rankings after avenging its two losses, to Bruning-Davenport and Hampton, in the playoffs.
“I just remember that it took a while for it to sink in,” Peterson said.
This year’s Wildcats swept through the season undefeated, although that doesn’t mean it wasn’t without moments of worry and doubt.
“Omaha North was a wall. They were as physical and demanding a team as we played,” Peterson said of Millard West’s 29-19 win in the state semifinals. “They were so physical and not fancy. In this day of everybody talking about the spread offense, Omaha North couldn’t be further from it. They line up with two tight ends and say, ‘We’ll just jam it at you.’
“And Millard South is very, very good. They give you a lot to prepare for and have lots of weapons.”
Millard West concluded its perfect season with a 21-8 win against Millard South in the championship game at Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats and Class D-1 titlist Howells were the only undefeated champions this year.
In Class B, Aurora was 12-1, losing to McCook before avenging that loss in the semifinals. In Class C-1, defending champion Pierce repeated after losing to Norfolk Catholic. Blue Hill lost its season opener, then rattled off 12 wins to win the Class C-2 title. Ewing, with one loss, claimed the Class D-2 title.
For Millard West, improvement in the defensive line was paramount to its success, according to Peterson.
“You can have the best linebackers and secondary in the world, but it won’t matter if you don’t have linemen to get through or block the first level,” he said. “We had such a good defensive line last year and lost most of those players.”
Peterson said the development of the Wildcat line required some individual sacrifices.
“We asked Nate Giffin, who was a linebacker last year, to move back down,” he said. “You know, that’s the true test of how committed players are to their team — to be willing to play something other than what they think is their natural position. There was no backlash from Nate and he did a great job for us.”
Peterson got the same kind of cooperation from Tyler Niederklein. Niederklein was expected to battle Nate Hauptman for the quarterback job but missed fall camp because he was playing with the Millard West American Legion baseball team in the World Series. When he returned, he made the switch to wide receiver and became one of Hauptman’s favorite targets.
“We had kids who made a commitment to this team and the result was the gold medals they received,” Peterson said.
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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