Braylen Warren spent Friday night in the kind of game Nebraska fans will remember for a while, and not for the reason they would have liked.
In Omaha Westside’s 41-17 win over Millard South, the Missouri commit outplayed Nebraska pledge Trae Taylor in a matchup that had been hyped as a battle between two of the state’s top quarterback prospects. The game was tied 10-10 at halftime, but Westside pulled away after the break, and Warren was a big reason why.
Taylor and Westside traded punches early, and the showdown initially looked like it might go right down to the wire. Instead, Warren and the Warriors took control in the second half, while Taylor had a night he’d rather forget. He threw three interceptions after halftime, and Westside turned those mistakes into a comfortable win.
The turning point came early in the third quarter. After Kor’Dai Richard picked off Taylor at the Patriots’ 29, Westside answered with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Warren to Luke Weiss for a 17-10 lead.
Millard South responded to tie it back up at 17-17, but the momentum swung again after another defensive stop and Taylor’s second interception. Warren then guided Westside into the end zone for a 24-17 advantage, and the Warriors never looked back.
Warren kept rolling from there, adding two more touchdown passes and helping Westside finish the job with a field goal to close out the scoring.
For most of the season, Taylor had looked like the state’s top high school quarterback, and Millard South had been piling up points with ease. Friday was different. It was the first time since he arrived at Millard South that he really struggled, and the atmosphere seemed to get the better of him.
The result also reopened a familiar conversation for Nebraska. Matt Rhule and his staff have now missed on another in-state quarterback, after Jett Thomalla ended up at Alabama last year when the Huskers took Dayton Raiola instead. Still, there’s a reason Nebraska went hard for Taylor in the first place: he’s one of the best recruits in the 2027 class, and one rough night doesn’t change that.
And one rough night certainly doesn’t make Warren the clear better quarterback, either. What Friday did show, though, is that Nebraska is producing elite quarterback talent in its own backyard, and the Huskers can’t afford to lose sight of that.
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