The 2025 state football championships concluded on Tuesday, November 25 with championship games in Classes C-1, C-2 and A after Waverly ended a 45-year state title drought with a 42-27 win over Gretna East on Monday night.
Tuesday began with Wahoo winning its second consecutive C-1 championship, third title in seven years, and 38th game in its last 39 tries in a 20-6 slugfest over first-time finalist Sidney.
In C-2, Bishop Neumann won its first championship since 2003 with a 37-15 victory over a Grand Island Central Catholic squad playing in its first final since 1983.
And in Class A, Millard South finished off a season-long march to its second straight championship, scoring all of its points in the first half of a 49-0 win over another first-time championship participant in Papillion-La Vista South.
Below are recaps of each 11-man championship contest.
CLASS A: Millard South Caps Historic Season With Title
By Chris Basnett – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
Not snow nor wind nor any other force — from Mother Nature or otherwise — could stop Millard South.
A season-long coronation ended with a comfortable state championship win in uncomfortable conditions as the Patriots finished off one of the most dominant seasons in Nebraska high school football history with a 49-0 win over Papillion-La Vista South at Memorial Stadium.
“I’m sure everyone has their own opinions, and that’s fine,” record-setting Millard South quarterback Jett Thomalla said. “But I think we’re the best team to do it in the state of Nebraska, ever.”
The Patriots would get little argument from most of the teams they bulldozed in 2025.
And it was more of the same on a frigid Tuesday night. With the wind howling from the north at nearly 20 miles per hour, Millard South (12-1 with a forfeit loss) played offense into the breeze in the first quarter and scored 27 points to quickly extinguish any thoughts of Papio South springing what would have been an all-time upset.
The Patriots scored 22 more points in the second quarter to go to the locker room with a 49-0 lead.
“We told them, even at the walk-through today and then again when we got here and started throwing, there were times when we were going to be a little bit more calculated about when we were going to take our shots,” Mendenhall said. “But… it was just a little breeze for us.”
Thomalla, an Alabama commit, completed 12-of-16 throws for 243 yards and tied his state 11-man playoff record of seven touchdown passes in a game in the first 24 minutes. Owen Zech caught the first three of those scores. Amarion Jackson caught two more. Gabe Prucha and Isaac Jensen had one each, with Prucha adding 83 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Thomalla finished with 288 passing yards, and ended his high school career with nearly every Class A passing record.
“I wouldn’t say I’m the face of the team, but one of the guys who just kind of helps run the team,” Thomalla said. “I just love everyone here. To say this is my last game playing with those guys, it’s really sad, but I had a blast.”
Meanwhile, Papio South went into halftime staring at a 49-0 deficit on the scoreboard and a 370-4 disadvantage in total yards, along with zero first downs. The Titans (11-2) finally got their initial first down on their second play of the third quarter.
Playing in its first-ever final, Papio South was held to 31 total yards and minus-27 rushing yards over four quarters.
If you want to nitpick, Millard South missed two first-half extra points, after making their first 100 of the season. There was also a Thomalla interception. And zero second half points with the 35-point running clock. The Patriots’ 49-0 win is only the second-largest margin of victory in a Class A final, behind Omaha Westside’s 56-0 win over Elkhorn South in 2023.
That Warrior team was the last to claim “best-ever” status in the state. Now, certainly, there is a challenger to the throne.
“These kids poured their heart and soul into Millard South,” Mendenhall said. “They never said no to anything. They always wanted to work. They always wanted to show up. It’s just a spectacular group of seniors, and they’re going to be missed.”
CLASS C-2: Van Slyke, Neumann Power Past GICC
By Tony Chapman – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
If patience is a virtue, the picture in the dictionary may be of Wahoo Neumann’s Jack Van Slyke.
On Tuesday in the Class C-2 state championship game, the culmination all came to a glorious finish for Van Slyke and his Cavalier teammates. The bruising senior scored four touchdowns – including the two clinchers in the fourth quarter – as Bishop Neumann wore down Grand Island Central Catholic, 37-15.
Last year, while playing mostly defense for the runner-up Cavaliers and waiting behind Nebraska pledge Conor Booth, Van Slyke carried the ball three times all season.
It was the first state championship for Neumann since 2003 and fourth in school history with Van Slyke carrying 21 times for 115 yards and quarterback Beau Fujan running 17 times for 110 yards as the Cavaliers used an option attack that opted to not even get to the pitch after halftime.
“I am just super proud of our kids,” first-year Cavalier coach Joe Pavlik said. “We played with great toughness and effort today.”
As good as Van Slyke was – he finished with 13 tackles to lead the state in tackling this season – it was his punt early in the fourth quarter that turned the tide for Neumann. Clinging to a 22-15 lead, the Cavaliers faced a 4th-and-21 from the GICC 49.
Neumann had only punted once before in the wind at Memorial Stadium. And, Van Slyke’s kick never reached the line of scrimmage. But the second one, behind a tail wind, rolled inside the Crusader 1.
“Jack is an awesome young man,” Pavlik said, “and at the end of the day you make a decision to trust your best player. And, he made a great play for us there.”
Two plays later GICC fumbled and Landon Sund recovered. And, three plays after that Van Slkye was in from the 3 for a 30-15 lead with 6:50 left in the game.
The punt brought GICC coach Jeff Ashby to his knees; his team moving into a 40 mile per hour wind and back against their own end zone.
“We knew the wind was going to play a part in this one,” Ashby said. “They really put us in a no-win situation there. We needed to throw it and we couldn’t. It was just tough. But, I am so proud of our kids, they had a great season.”
The teams were in a classic, despite fighting horrible playing conditions.
GICC led 8-6 at the half after Jack Alberts scored on a 5-yard run that capped a 68-yard drive. Jackson Gangwish ran a conversion as the Crusaders answered Van Slyke’s first touchdown – from 34 yards – two plays after a fumble on GICC’s opening possession.
The second quarter was a mess that included Van Slyke’s negative punt and gave GICC first-and-goal, but the Cavaliers would regain possession at their 20-yard line after stopping the Crusaders in the back field on four straight plays.
“Everything that could go wrong on offense in the first half did,” Pavilk said, “but everything on defense went right. We made some blocking changes at halftime. (GICC’s) defense is very, very good and we couldn’t get to their linebackers. Our line did a fantastic job in the second half.”
The teams then went punch, counter-punch in the third quarter. The Cavs went 12 plays and 80 yards on their opening possession with Van Slyke scoring from the 3. Two plays later, GICC answered with Grayson Sack’s 57-yard touchdown run.
Neumann then got their 22-15 on Fujan’s 63-yard option keeper, before pulling away.
CLASS C-1: Warriors Battle Past Sidney In Defensive Gem
By Tony Chapman – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The strong northwest wind might have disguised how good the two defenses were when unbeatens Sidney and Wahoo faced off in the Class C-1 state championship game.
Just don’t tell the coaches of either team. They both got about exactly what they thought they would. Neither team reached 200 yards – Sidney outgained Wahoo 178-177. There were only 19 first downs. So, what won for Wahoo in their 20-6 win over the Raiders?
Both coaches agree on that, too.
“Just two great defenses,” Sidney coach Ryan Smith. “You can tell our kids really love to play defense. A few special teams plays and a couple of turnovers made the difference in the game.”
Wahoo coach Chad Fox agreed. His Warriors won for the 38th time in 39 tries in corralling their second consecutive state championship.
“We knew that Sidney had a great defense,” Fox said. “Getting yards against them is tough; they are tough to find. They average giving up about 55 yards rushing all season. We knew it would be tough because we wanted to run the ball.
“But hats off to our guys. We scored at opportune times and took advantage of some short fields.”
The Warriors never trailed and took the lead near the end of the first quarter on Kip Brigham’s 15-yard run. It came at the end of a fast moving quarter when Sidney took the opening kick and drove all the way to the Warrior 3 before Jase Kaminski and Eli Shada turned away Rhys Dorcey near the goal line.
Using the wind, Wahoo got one first down and was forced to punt and Kaden Christian – who punted only four times all season – delivered a dandy that went over Dorcey’s head and pinned Sidney at their own 14. The Warriors then forced Sidney back to the 1 in three plays and Fox used timeouts to force a punt into the wind.
“The first defensive stand was huge,” Fox said. “And then when you need (Kaden) to punt, he can punt. He’s legit good.”
Sidney’s punt only went to the Wahoo 28 and Brigham – who took down Battle Creek’s Todd Uhlir as the all time single season scoring leader in the game – scored three plays later.
“Clearly wanted to score that first drive,” Smith said. “We did a really nice job of getting our running game going. You don’t know if that changes the game a little bit, but we definitely would have liked to get that one (in the end zone).”
On their next possession, the Warriors got the longest play of the game and a two score cushion. After forcing a three-and-out, Wahoo faced a third-and-17 at their own 38 when Eli Shada got behind the Raiders and Kaminski’s long ball into the wind hit him in stride.
“The whole game was defense on defense,” said Shada, who led Wahoo with 12 tackles. “Sidney is such a great team.
“We don’t practice that play much, but it has happened a few times this year,” he added of the touchdown. “I thought the ball would go crazy (into the wind), but it was a perfect throw.
When Josh Fox – the coach’s son – intercepted Doty on the Sidney’s next possession, Brigham would score four plays later and Wahoo could rely on their defense the rest of the way.
The Raiders, in their first ever state championship game, got 64 yards on 28 carries for Dorcey and were led defensively by Iowa State commit Keian Kaiser with nine tackles. They held Brigham to 86 yards on 27 carries and the Warriors had just nine first downs.
“It’s been a great run with these guys,” coach Fox said. “We are going to miss them because they are all great kids. Our senior group was a special group. It’s bittersweet. Some of these kids will never be on a football field together again. That always makes it tougher.
“But, one way to end it was with a win and we did it.”
CLASS B: Axmann, Waverly End Long Title Drought
By Chris Basnett – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
Nathan Axmann’s first carry in the Class B state football championship ended with the ball on the turf and Gretna East scoring a touchdown the other way.
His next 40 cemented his place in Waverly history and led the Vikings to a long-awaited state title.
Behind one of the great individual rushing performances in Class B championship history — 41 carries, 277 yards, three touchdowns — Axmann and Waverly powered past Gretna East 42-27 to win the program’s first state title since 1980.
With what looked like the entire town of Waverly watching, clad in black just like the team they were cheering on — Monday night’s attendance of 6,314 was 2,300 more than last year’s Class B final — the Vikings shook off years of semifinal disappointments and near misses over the last decade to cap a 13-0 season.
“It’s bigger than just this group. I’ve been here now seven years, and I’ve had so many great groups go through who have poured so much into this and laid the foundation and taught these guys how to act like champions,” Waverly coach Reed Manstedt said. “For them to go and do it says a lot about them.
“They just consistently answer the call. But this is much bigger than just this team. It’s teams past, it’s our community, it’s our school, it’s our coaches. I could not be more happy.”
Waverly was happy to keep giving the ball to Axmann.
Inside, outside, on a 38-yard screen pass that saw the 6-foot, 190-pound senior break multiple tackles. Nine times on a 12-play, 80-yard fourth quarter march that chewed up more than six minutes and turned Waverly’s one-score advantage into a 35-21 lead on Axmann’s 3-yard scoring run with 3:42 left.
And one last time, after Axmann recovered a Gretna East onside kick, when the Griffins’ defense seemed to serendipitously part and leave Axmann with a 53-yard expanse of green field turf to the end zone.
Axmann considered going down so Waverly could run out the clock. He decided to deliver a knockout punch instead.
“We’ve been in the semifinals all these times, and we just couldn’t break through,” Axmann said. “But to do it for (coach) Manstedt, my senior year, it just means so much to me because of all the heartbreaks we’ve had the past couple years.”
It looked for a while like Waverly might roll to gold. After the early turnover and Gretna East touchdown, the Vikings scored 28 consecutive points and at one juncture held a 188-39 advantage in total offense.
But Chase Grow fired four touchdown passes for Gretna East (11-2), including consecutive 28-yard strikes to Caden Annis over the second and third quarters, to cut a 28-7 Waverly lead to 28-21 late in the third period.
Grow threw for 225 yards. Air Force running back commit Connor Sams, Class B’s leading rusher, ran for 111 yards on just 11 carries. Annis finished with four catches for 113 yards and the two scores, with Carver Fritchen and Seth Kraegel also catching touchdowns.
But Gavin McMillan had two touchdowns of his own for Waverly, catching a 19-yard pass from Brockston Teply for Waverly’s first score, and putting the Vikings ahead for good with a 15-yard run early in the second period.
Teply added a 43-yard scoring strike to Connor Schere, and finished 8-for-11 for 138 yards to provide just enough balance to Axmann.
“(Our guys) have been answering the call all year. That’s been what has made us good,” Manstedt said. “This year has been a good balance, with a good defense, and a good offense, and really good special teams.”
Waverly won four one-score games on the way to finishing 13-0, adding an extra touch of sweetness to Monday’s celebration.
“I’m just so thankful, so happy,” Manstedt said. “It’s been a journey. It’s been a long time coming.”
Appropriately, Axmann was the last player to leave the field Monday night. His last carry was to the locker room with the state championship trophy.
He didn’t drop that one either.
Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.
Chris Basnett is a freelance writer based in Lincoln. He has covered prep and college sports for more than 20 years and most recently was the assistant sports editor at the Lincoln Journal-Star. He currently provides content for the Harvest Sports Newsletter.