The West Platte football team (3-7) made some huge adjustments between a pair of matchups with Penney (4-7) but in the end, the result was the same.
In the last two games of the fall for the Blue Jays, they hit the road to take on the Hornets. After a 46-8 regular season loss on Oct. 21, West Platte was eliminated in the first round of districts by Penney, 20-15, on Oct. 28.
The rematch went down to the wire in the final minutes as the Blue Jays trailed 20-9 entering the fourth quarter. Kane Cogan ended a 56-yard scoring drive when he completed a touchdown pass to Peyson Chandler from four yards out to cut the deficit to 20-15 with 1:32 left in regulation.
“The two-point conversion was no good and with only one timeout in our pocket, we had to go for the onside kick,” West Platte head coach Jim Newsted said. “Alex Allison had a beautiful onside kick that caused the Penney front line to muff the ball a bit, but in the end, they recovered the ball sealing the deal for a Hornet win.”
The Blue Jays never got the ball back from that point and the clock eventually hit zero with a 5-point margin in the Hornets’ favor. The West Platte defense stepped up and the team put up a fight.
“Penney had many drives on offense that came easy but at other times our defense became stingy, holding the Hornets out of the end zone and even causing some punt situations. We knew going into practice last week that we would be hard pressed to stop both Penney’s run and pass games,” Newsted said.
In the regular season finale, the Hornets had 575 yards of offense, with 370 of those yards on the ground and 223 yards being in the air. In the postseason matchup, the Blue Jays’ defense held the Hornets to 324 yards of total offense with only 17 yards of passing and no touchdown passes.
“With all the big plays in the air last week, we thought if we could eliminate those plays and fight our hardest on their running game with less kids in the box, we might have a chance. If we could cut their scoring in half in districts, our offense might be able to compete with that number,” Newsted said.
West Platte got on the scoreboard first with a 21-yard field goal by Allison midway through the opening quarter before Penney ran in for a 50-yard score to take an 8-3 advantage. Allison added a pair of 21-yard and 23-yard field goals in the second quarter and the Blue Jays trailed 14-9 at the break.
“We got in the red zone three times and freshman Alex Allison ended the half three for three, drilling three field goals. It was a lot easier getting motivated for a second half of football only down by five points,” Newsted said.
Penney added a touchdown within four minutes of the third quarter on a 2-yard run to extend the lead to two possessions. The Hornets scored 34 second half points in the last game, so the Blue Jay defense focused on limiting their opponent’s points after the break in the district matchup.
“Unlike last week, we rallied and kept them out of the end zone the rest of the game. Hats off to Brett Swope (defensive coordinator) and his defense, it was a remarkable second half,” Newsted said.
Ultimately, the Blue Jays came up short but played better than the week prior. Penney outgained West Platte 324 to 242 in total offensive yards on the night as the Blue Jays’ season came to an end.
“These boys made it fun to come to work each day and made it easy for us to fight for each opponent. They were a constant reminder of why I chose this profession; character is what we fight for on the field of football and wins are just a catalyst to this fight. The senior class will be missed, and their character will never be forgotten,” Newsted said.