Drew Aggus
Special to the Citizen
DEARBORN, Mo. — The North Platte Panthers lost their first-round game of the Class 1 District 7 tournament 52-28 to the East Buchanan Bulldogs on Friday, Nov. 1.
Last year, both of these teams were eliminated in the district semifinals.
They met just two weeks ago, and the Panthers won 39-20, but rather than giving the Panthers the confidence that they needed, it allowed the Bulldogs to prepare for their opponent better than they had previously.
The fourth-seeded Panthers got the ball first, but quarterback Andrew Hernandez threw an interception — his first of three — just a few plays into the drive.
The fifth-seeded Bulldogs turned around and scored almost immediately, as Darin Griffin ran in a seven-yard touchdown. In addition, Bulldogs quarterback Tucker White ran it in on the two-point conversion to put his team up 8-0 less than five minutes into the contest.
On the following possession, the Panthers were forced to punt. White then ran in another touchdown for the Bulldogs, and Owen Fortney scored on the two-point conversion, putting his team up 16-0 with just over a minute left in the first quarter.
But the Panthers weren’t going to allow the 16-point deficit to carry over into quarter number two.
On the Panthers’ next drive, Hernandez scrambled around before taking off for the end zone on a 58-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, but the Panthers were finally able to get on the board as the first quarter wrapped up.
Unfortunately, the second quarter is when things really got ugly for the Panthers.
DREW AGGUS/Special to the Citizen
North Platte’s Andrew Hernandez, left, tries to escape the grasps of East Buchanan’s Carson White during a Class 1 District 7 game held on Friday, Nov. 1 in Dearborn. East Buchanan won 52-28.
White scrambled for a few seconds and eventually ran the ball 41 yards on the Bulldogs’ first possession of the second quarter for a touchdown. He also passed it in on the two-point conversion attempt, putting his team up 24-6.
The Panthers got a solid drive going, which included a 52-yard run from Joel Smyser to get his team down to the Bulldogs’ 24.
Smyser recorded 63 rushing yards — most of them on this play — on just three rushes.
But the Panthers turned the ball over on downs, and things just got worse from there.
White ran in another Bulldog touchdown with Fortney running it in on the two-point conversion. The Bulldogs were now up 32-6.
On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs’ defense forced the Panthers to punt the ball. Fortney ran in another touchdown for the Bulldogs, who finally didn’t covert on the two-point attempt, but it still put them up 38-6.
Hernandez threw his second pick of the night on the Panthers’ next drive. Head coach Reis Wright was impressed by his opponents’ defensive preparation.
“They were ready to go; they had a nice game plan,” Wright said. “Once they got up, it kind of got us out of our element, as far as being able to hold on to the ball and keep the ball out of their hands. It got pretty loose, and we had to get one dimensional, and that hurt us overall.”
The Bulldogs’ next drive ended with another rushing touchdown from White. After a failed two-point conversion, the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 44-6 lead, scoring a total of 28 points in the second quarter alone.
However, the Panthers came out in the second half fired up and ready to fight back.
Female kicker Alex Stewart started the half with an onside kick attempt, which was successful. Hernandez then threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Smyser, who also ran the ball in on the two-point conversion.
Smyser led the team in receiving yards, earning 49 on a team-high three receptions. Hernandez would finish the game with 119 passing yards, going 7-15 passing the ball with two touchdowns.
The Panthers were now down 44-14, and Stewart had another successful onside kick.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, this is where their momentum would stop carrying them, as they turned the ball over on downs, and White ran it in again for the Bulldogs. White also passed the ball in to Fortney on the two-point conversion to put their team up 52-14.
White finished the game with 198 rushing yards to go along with five rushing touchdowns. As a team, the Bulldogs earned 342 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.
Bulldogs head coach Kevin Bryan was very proud of the way his team was able to move the ball on the ground.
“We ran the ball exceptionally well tonight, and our front line on both sides of the ball just played really, really well,” Bryan said. “We just got the running game going – the momentum going. You’ve got to give it to our offensive line.”
The Bulldogs’ offensive line played strong all night, allowing just one sack and four tackles for loss.
As the Panthers’ comeback efforts continued to fall short, following another interception from Hernandez, their defense stepped up, executing extremely well for the rest of the night. The Bulldogs were finally forced to punt, marking their first drive without a touchdown after scoring one on each of their first seven drives.
Smyser finished the game with a team-high eight tackles, while Cameron Leophold and Hernandez each recorded seven, as well. In addition, defensive lineman JP Hartigan recorded two of the team’s four TFLs.
Hernandez got the offense rolling early in the fourth quarter, throwing a 42-yard pass to Zach Beatty, who made an astounding catch at the one-yard line with a defender all over him. Hernandez ran in another touchdown for his team on the next play, along with the two-point conversion, to make the score 52-22.
Hernandez finished the game with a team-high 230 rushing yards on 26 rushes.
The Panthers’ defense held strong again, forcing a turnover on downs, and taking over near midfield. Hernandez went on a 22-yard run, which was followed by a 17-yard pass to Blake Gibson for another touchdown. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, and the score was 52-28 — a score that would stand, as the Bulldogs ran out the clock.
Despite losing to this team just two weeks ago, Bryan and his team came in confident and ready to take the victory.
“The first game, we didn’t tackle very well at all, and they made us pay for it,” Bryan said. “Tonight, we tackled a lot better. We just went back to fundamentals, and everybody did their job, and they just did an excellent job of playing the game.”
The Bulldogs finished with 17 different players recording tackles in the win.
As the Bulldogs move on to face the top-seeded Mid-Buchanan Dragons, the Panthers’ season wraps up with three wins in their last five games.
The Panthers lost their first five games this season before turning things around and winning three of four. Despite the season-ending loss, the season turnaround impressed Wright greatly.
“I’m proud as heck of my team,” Wright said. “A whole lot of teams would start 0-5 and just shut it down, and [the players] did the opposite of that. That’s what these kids need to leave proud of. We never gave up — that’s for sure.”
Wright had a lot to say about his seniors and his team, but one thing is for sure: he is well-pleased with his players.
“That’s a great group of kids; they were easy to coach,” Wright said. “They’re a part of my family now. I’ll love every one of them forever.”