LINCOLN - The kings have retained their crowns. Top-seeded Wahoo (13-0) warded off third-seeded Sidney (12-1) 20-6 on Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Stadium to capture the NSAA C1 football state championship for the second consecutive season.

"These kids have worked so hard, they're very coachable, they do everything we ask them to do," Wahoo head coach Chad Fox said. "And then to get rewarded with the ultimate reward, right? The ultimate reward is to win a state championship. And to be able to do that back to back is...not typical. It's not normal. It's not common. And our kids know that. And it's hard work to do it. They appreciated the ride to get here, the journey through all of this. It's been a great run, and we're going to miss them, because they're all great kids."

The Warriors entered Tuesday in the midst of an incredibly dominant stretch of success: 25 consecutive wins, including last year's C1 championship. Sidney, meanwhile, had lost in the semifinals in the last two seasons but outlasted Columbus Lakeview in the final four this year to book a spot in the championship game for the first time in team history.

And the Red Raiders nearly scored on their first drive of their first state championship game - but the defense of the Warriors was stout throughout, making life extremely difficult for Sidney. Meanwhile, the Wahoo offense was headlined as usual by lethal tailback Kip Brigham, the top rusher in the state of Nebraska - he ran for 86 yards and two more scores.

The Warriors leaned heavily on their defense in what they knew would be a tightly contested affair. Even though the teams ended up with nearly identical first down and yardage totals, Sidney ran 14 more plays on offense and found it difficult to move the ball consistently. Wahoo's defense tallied three interceptions in the first half and five takeaways in total - defensive back Landon Fye netted a pick and a fumble recovery, while Eli Shada led all players with 12 tackles including a sack. 

Wahoo led 20-0 at the intermission and did not have to score again. Sidney made some personnel changes in the second half and finally got on the board right at the start of the fourth quarter on a rushing touchdown from Rhys Dorcey, but could not make enough headway - Wahoo prevailed 20-6 to win their second straight title.

"Obviously it's bittersweet, you're preparing for a state championship. But some of these kids, you're never going to be on the football field with them again. And you're never going to have this collection of kids together again, and that always makes it a little tougher," Fox said. "But one way to end this thing is with a win, and we did it - so hats off to these kids for doing that."

It was special season from Sidney who had to travel a long ways to get here for the first time ever, but in the end the 2025 season ends with Wahoo on top again: the Warriors are state champions in C1 football for the second season in a row.