The Platte County football team (0-1) opened the season with a heartbreaker as Kearney (1-0) took down the Pirates 21-14 in overtime of the Highway 92 Showdown on August 26.
There’s a long history between the rival schools, while the Pirates had won the last three games comfortably between the former conference foes. After realignment, the Bulldogs and Pirates are no longer in the same division, but that didn’t stop the matchup from being the first one possession game since 2017.
Before taking control in the extra period, Kearney trailed or was tied with Platte County in the entirety of regulation. The Bulldogs matched both of the Pirate touchdowns in the contest with a pair of scores in the third and fourth quarters, capping off the final score of regulation with a one-yard touchdown rush with 7:11 remaining to knot the game at 14.
Platte County’s Carter Salzman brings in catch and takes it 66-yards in the second quarter for the first score of the game against Kearney. in the Highway 92 Showdown on August 26.
The Pirates had one more stellar drive before the clock struck zero, when the defense forced a punt and the offense took over at the Platte County 49-yard line with 3:46 to play. First year starting quarterback Dylan Zimmerman led the Pirates down the field in seven plays before a holding penalty staled the drive on a third and three.
After the violation, senior kicker Aaron Cordova had a chance to give Platte County the lead with a 44-yard field goal try. Cordova’s attempt was wide left with 1:49 remaining and the contest eventually reached overtime.
Kearney took over on offense at the Pirates’ 25-yard line to start the extra period. The Bulldogs scored six plays into overtime with a 6-yard run to take a 21-14 advantage.
The Pirates had a brief and unfortunate offensive sequence with only two plays before their fate was sealed as both teams get one chance to play offense in each overtime period until one team has more points. Zimmerman was sacked on the opening play; then the junior threw an interception on the ensuing play to seal the game off for Kearney.
Coincidentally, this was Platte County’s first overtime game since the most recent defeat against Kearney in 2017 when the Bulldogs won 38-31 in the season finale. This is the second consecutive season that the Pirates lost their home opener as Platte County rattled off nine wins in its next 10 games last year following a defeat to Park Hill South in the first week.
While it was competitive in the second half, it was a grudge match in the opening two quarters until Zimmerman found Carter Salzman for a 66-yard score with 8:43 on the clock in the second quarter to give the home team a 7-0 lead at the break. After Kearney tied the game with 7:39 left in the third quarter, Dayton Doll rushed for a 3-yard score to put Platte County back on top 14-7 with less than two minutes left in the period.
Zimmerman finished his debut by completing 18 of his 31 passes for 212 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Salzman had seven catches for 127 yards and a score, while Cameron Wolfe had an interception and Cameron Dean had a fumble recovery on defense.