Cole Payton’s memorable performance led Omaha Westside to first Nebraska state title in 38 years
OMAHA, Neb. (BVM) — Cole Payton will likely play in bigger games on a bigger stage during his college football career with perennial Division I FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. But no matter what the talented dual-threat quarterback accomplishes at the next level, the performance he delivered in his final game as a Westside Warrior will be remembered for a long time.
“He finished his career with one of the best performances I think ever at our school and certainly in the annals of state titles,” Westside head coach Brett Froendt said.
In the NSAA Class A state championship game, Payton rushed for 139 yards, threw for 218, and accounted for all five touchdowns the Warriors scored — three on the ground and two through the air — as they defeated Elkhorn South 37-21 to cap a 12-0 season and capture their first state title in 38 years.
While grateful to be partly responsible for every TD in the dominant performance, Payton shares the credit with his entire team, which includes several other future high-level college players who played big roles in helping Westside end its long title drought.
“It felt great, but it wouldn’t happen without my teammates and coaches and everyone else supporting me,” Payton said. “Coaches put me in a good position and I just did my thing.”
Payton did his thing over three seasons as the Warriors’ starting signal-caller. The lefty gunslinger — who’s also been a standout pitcher for Westside’s baseball team — threw for 1,704 yards and 22 TDs and rushed for 1,029 yards and 17 TDs in his final season before heading to Fargo, N.D.
“The impact he had on that (final) game was deserved because of the way he trains and prepares every day,” Froendt said. “It was exciting that he had his best game at the end, a game that we had to have him show up in a big way and he did. It’s just a testament to how he prepares. It doesn’t matter if it’s baseball season or football season, the kid trains every day to win and he wasn’t going to allow anything less to happen on championship night.”
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As a team, the Warriors were determined to not let anything stop them from winning it all this season, especially considering how last year ended. Westside was beaten by Bellevue West 35-0 in the 2019 Class A state final. The Warriors returned this year with loads of talent along with the experience and drive needed to make a serious run back to the championship.
“Our mindset, especially mine, was that we were going to leave it all on the field,” Payton said. “Ever since last year, we’ve had a bad taste in our mouth. We knew we had the right pieces to get back to the state championship. We just went in with so much determination and grit and it paid off.”
The championship is the Warriors’ first since earning back-to-back titles in 1981 and 1982. They also reached the title game in 2006 and 2013 and expectations have remained high every year since. They were never higher than this season, which Westside began as the No. 1-ranked team in the state by MaxPreps. But the pressure never got to the Warriors.
“We embraced the concept that pressure was a privilege,” Froendt said. “The conversation never really came in about being No. 1 or No. 2 or seedings or things like that. They stayed focused on the week-to-week preparation which for high school kids is pretty unique and pretty special.”
And it was thanks to a pretty special performance from their QB that the Warriors were finally able to hoist the championship trophy again.
“It means everything,” Payton said. “Not only was it for us as a team but it was for the community and it took a whole lot to get here, so I’m just very grateful and I’m very excited to be able to get it done.”
