North Platte hung strong early but simply never generated the offense needed to stay close.
Lathrop scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and pulled away for a 46-0 win Friday, Sept. 23 at North Platte High School in Dearborn, Mo. The Panthers committed three turnovers and generated just 64 yards of offense in a KCI Conference loss that came on the heels of a thrilling win over rival West Platte one week earlier.
BREANNA L. CHEADLE/Special to The Citizen
North Platte defensive lineman Bart Owens (76) drags down Lathrop running back Josh Saling on Friday, Sept. 23 at North Platte High School in Dearborn, Mo.
North Platte (2-4, 1-3 KCI) dropped to No. 6 in the latest Class 1 District 7 standings, percentage points back of No. 5 Plattsburg (1-5) and No. 4 West Platte (1-5). The Panthers don’t play Plattsburg until the regular season finale.
Before then, North Platte faces tough matchups with East Buchanan (4-2, No. 2 in District 7) and state-ranked Hamilton (6-0).
Held scoreless in the first quarter, Lathrop took a 21-0 lead into halftime and put on a running clock early in the fourth quarter, prompting North Platte to use its backups late. The Panthers were unable to move the ball with junior quarterback Austin Snook going 7-for-14 for just 35 yards — three of the completions going to senior Tony Martin for 14 yards.
On the ground, North Platte managed just 29 yards total on 35 tries with Remington Wilson totaling a team-high 14 yards on the ground. Ben French added 11 on 14 carries.
Wilson and French tied for the team lead with eight tackles each.
Lawson 42, West Platte 6
The Bluejays faced a running clock for the entire second half Friday, Sept. 23 against Class 1’s No. 3-ranked team.
Hamilton scored five touchdowns in the first half, including two of three rushing touchdowns for Brock Swindler (196 yards on just six carries). He added his third on a 60-yarder early in the third quarter for the Hornets’ final score.
West Platte threw for just 30 yards with quarterback Nick Miller finishing 4-for-17 for 30 yards — all four completions to senior fullback Kyle Tabaka. Miller led the Bluejays in rushing with 29 yards, 20 coming on a fourth quarter touchdown run for their lone points.
Tabaka ran eight times for 8 yards in the loss.
The two teams have now met six times in the past four seasons with Hamilton holding a 5-1 edge, including a pair of victories in the Class 1 playoffs (2013 and 2015). West Platte’s lone win in that span came in the 2014 regular season.