The North Platte football team (0-1) had a rough start to the season when Gallatin with Tri-County (1-0) came to town and won 51-16 on August 26.
The Bulldogs wasted little time giving the Panthers a deficit, scoring a touchdown 46 seconds into the contest. North Platte junior Colton Kirkham only had one interception in the game, but it occurred in the first quarter and the Bulldogs returned it for another score with 10:04 remaining in the period.
Gallatin scored one more touchdown without converting on the point after try with 6:12 on the first quarter clock. The Panthers scored their first touchdown of the fall two minutes later with a Dylan Armstrong rush, followed by successful a 2-point conversion pass from Kirkham to Chance Garber, and narrowed the gap, 18-8.
The rest of the first half was one-sided with the Bulldogs scoring 21 unanswered before the break, including a touchdown with 13 seconds left. Gallatin outscored North Platte six to zero in the third quarter and the Panthers got back on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when Westin Snook completed a pass to Kaden Mullendore and Liam Servaes rushed in for the 2-point conversion.
North Platte freshman Dylan Armstrong had North Platte’s first touchdown of the season on August 26.
Kirkham rushed for 87 yards on 14 carries and completed four of his eight pass attempts for 13 yards before going down with an injury and was replaced by sophomore Snook. The reserve completed both of his pass attempts for 34 yards and one score.
Four Panthers caught at least one pass, but Mullendore led the way with three receptions for 35 yards. On the ground, Servaes rushed for 35 yards and freshman Dylan Armstrong ended with 38 yards on only two carries.
Defensively, Garber was one of the top performers as the junior had nine tackles and one sack, while Mullendore and Servaes had seven tackles. North Platte will look to bounce back when it takes on Maysville with Winston (1-0) on September 2.