Postseason wins aren’t something that the North Platte football team (6-5) has been accustomed to in the last half decade, but that changed in a dominant 46-14 district win over Carrollton (1-9) on Oct. 28.
North Platte junior quarterback Colton Kirkham rushed for 140 yards and four touchdowns in the Panthers 46-14 district win over Carrollton on Oct. 28.
Before stepping onto the field at North Platte High School for a first-round matchup with the No. 6 seed in the Class 1 District 8 Tournament, 1,463 days had passed since the Panthers’ most recent postseason victory. At the time, North Platte beat a winless Bishop LeBlond team 42-19 on Oct. 26, 2018, before losing 46-30 to Wellington-Napoleon in the district semifinals.
Ever since then, the Panthers haven’t been known for playoff success, especially in the last two years when they were outscored 105-14 with a pair of early exits in districts to the eventual district champions on both occasions. This fall, the Panthers succeeded in the regular season to put themselves in position to not only host a district game, but to do so against a much lesser opponent.
Coming in with two consecutive wins and as the No. 2 seed, junior quarterback Colton Kirkham set the tone with a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first quarter. North Platte succeeded on both of the 2-point tries, with Kirkham and then Seth Cruz crossing the goal line.
Kirkham ran his way into the end zone once again in the second quarter on a 2-yard run before connecting with Kaden Mullendore for a 35-yard touchdown. North Platte went into the locker room with a huge 30-6 lead.
Cruz added another Panther touchdown to the scoreboard on a 7-yard rush to start the second half and Kirkham ran in from 18 yards out later in the third quarter for his fourth rushing touchdown of the night. The quarterback kept it for both of the 2-point tries, and was successful, as North Platte cruised to a 46-14 win and claimed its first three-game winning streak since 2015.
Kirkham earned his first career postseason win under center with 140 rushing yards on 19 carries, 109 passing yards on four completions and five total touchdowns. Dylan Armstrong was next up on the ground game, finishing with 44 yards – 21 of which were after contact – on 13 attempts.
The North Platte defense forced three turnovers with Liam Shanks and Chance Garber both recovering a fumble on the night and Mullendore coming away with one interception. Owen Stockbauer had 10 total tackles, two tackles for loss and half a sack in the postseason contest.
Unfortunately for North Platte, its top running back Liam Servaes went down with an injury early in the first quarter and the junior has a spiral fracture on his right fibula and will be unable to play for the rest of the postseason. The Panthers will be tasked with taking on No. 2 seed Mid-Buchanan (9-1) on the road in the Class 1 District 8 Semifinals on Nov. 4.
While the Panthers haven’t beaten the Dragons since 2014, they were on the verge of a huge KCI upset in the last matchup on Sept. 30. North Platte led periodically throughout that game before a second half muffed punt gave Mid-Buchanan the momentum to run away with a 48-28 victory.