The North Platte football team (3-3) was on the verge of taking down the third ranked team in all of Class 1 on the Panthers’ homecoming before a second half surge by Mid-Buchanan (6-0) ended in a 48-28 victory for the Dragons on Sept. 30.
North Platte hasn’t beaten Mid-Buchanan since 2017 and has been outscored 233-19 in the meantime, but the Panthers didn’t let the odds phase them and put up a fight. The Dragons took the opening kickoff to the house and North Platte failed to put any points on the board on its first possession, but the Panthers refused to let this game get out of hand like in the past.
North Platte quarterback Colton Kirkham (#3) pitches the ball to Liam Servaes (#25) in the Panthers 48-28 homecoming loss to Mid-Buchanan on Sept. 30.
On Mid-Buchanan’s first offensive possession, Panther freshman linebacker Dylan Armstrong intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown to cut the lead to 7-6 with right under five minutes left in the first quarter. The Dragons answered with a score and were up 14-6 by the time the first quarter ended.
Early in the second quarter, Colton Kirkham took the snap at the 10-yard line, rolled out to the left and lobbed up a jump ball for Kaden Mullendore. The senior used his athleticism to leap for the ball and he came down with a catch in the end zone.
After the North Platte defense made a big stop, Liam Servaes broke loose for a 49-yard rushing touchdown to give the Panthers a 21-14 margin with 6:27 left in the half. Mid-Buchanan rattled off 14 straight points in the next five minutes to go back up 28-21, which was the score at halftime.
Mid-Buchanan struck first in the second half to extend the lead to two possessions, then Servaes continued his impressive night with another rushing touchdown – this time from 8-yards out – with less than a minute left in the third quarter. After trailing 35-28, a special team’s miscue was the catalyst for the Panthers’ downfall.
North Platte muffed a punt in the opening 16 seconds of the fourth quarter and Mid-Buchanan recovered the fumble and ran it in for a touchdown. That was the turning point in the contest as the Panthers were unable to climb out of the two-possession deficit that late in the game.
After a failed scoring drive on the ensuing possession, North Platte forced a punt, but the ball was downed at the 1-yard line. Mid-Buchanan put the nail in the coffin by adding to the scoreboard with right over three minutes left and Kirkham had a desperation pass get intercepted in the closing minutes to seal the game.
North Platte will have three more games left in the season, starting with a conference road game against Lawson (4-2) on Oct. 7. The Panthers are currently ranked third in the Class 1 District 8 seedings, only trailing Mid-Buchanan and East Buchanan (5-1).