Jason Lawrence
Special to The Citizen
WESTON — The threat of inclement weather and an efficient running game by Lathrop, the No. 3-ranked team in Class 2, put an early end to West Platte’s chance at an upset against the reigning KCI Conference champions Friday, Sept. 28 in Weston.
Without junior starting quarterback Luke Heili for the second week in a row, the Bluejays (1-4, 0-3 KCI) quickly found themselves at a deficit. After an unsuccessful onside kick attempt to begin the game, Lathrop running back Tyler Paul took the first play from scrimmage 58 yards for a touchdown and the Mules (5-0, 3-0 KCI) never looked back en route to 255 yards on the ground and a 47-0 win in a contest that was called with 10:13 to play in the second quarter.
“It’s frustrating, but it is what it is,” West Platte coach Paul Thomas said of the weather. “It (wasn’t) going to get any better. I think we we’re smart in doing that (calling the game) and getting everybody out of here safe.”
JASON LAWRENCE/Special to the Citizen
West Platte quarterback Dublin Carnahan tries to avoid a tackle by a Lathrop defender during a game on Friday, Sept. 27 in a game at Rudolph Eskridge Stadium in Weston.
On the Blue Jays’ first drive, sophomore Dublin Carnahan, who was taking the snaps in Heili’s place, fumbled when a pitch attempt went awry in the backfield. Ben Crist recovered for Lathrop at the West Platte 1-yard line and quarterback Blake Gordon went up the gut on the ensuing play for a touchdown to give the Mules a 13-0 lead.
“One play,” Thomas said. “Basically all their drives were one play. We weren’t tackling.”
A pair of three-and-outs and punts led to two more first-quarter Mule touchdowns — each coming on the play directly following the punt — the first a 41-yarder by Paul and the second a 39-yard run by Caden Rardon to increase the lead to 26-0 with 5:18 to play in the first quarter.
“It basically comes down to blocking and tackling,” Thomas said. “They did a better job of that than we did. That’s the whole deal, blocking and tackling. It’s a pretty simple game.”
After another West Platte three-and-out, Lathrop attempted its first pass — a trick halfback pass — but it fell incomplete. The lone miscue for the Mules was erased on the next play as Tanner Dalinghaus scored on a 44-yard touchdown run.
Another Carnahan fumble on the ensuing drive was recovered by the Mules’ Drake Chiasm and after a defensive pass interference call against the Bluejays, Gordon found the end zone for the second time, this one a 10-yard keeper to push the advantage to 40-0 as time wound down in the first quarter.
Finally, junior running back Brandon James pushed the West Platte offense forward on the next drive, securing its lone first down of the game with 45.9 seconds to go in the first quarter on a 3-yard run on fourth-and-one following an 11-yard run on third down. The momentum was quickly lost, however, as three more run plays yielded no more yardage and the Jays were forced to punt for the fourth time early in the second quarter.
Paul broke loose on the next play, weaving through the West Platte defense for a 62-yard touchdown run to reach the final margin as officials halted play immediately after due to lightning in the area. The coaches agreed to call the game shortly thereafter.
The Blue Jays now turn their attention to inter-county rival North Platte (0-5, 0-3 KCI) and the Tobacco Stick rivalry. The Panthers fell 41-6 Friday night to Lawson (4-1, 3-0 KCI) with the lone score coming on a 3-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Andrew Hernandez.
After beginning the decade with seven straight victories against the rival Panthers, including a Class 1 District 7 title game victory in 2015, the Blue Jays have lost three straight matchups, falling 18-14 in last season’s meeting.
“We’ve just got to put more time into them (North Platte) and get back to the drawing board,” Thomas said. “They’re (0-5) right now, but they’re a good football team. They’ve got a good quarterback (Hernandez) and coach (Reis) Wright does a good job.
“They like to run the football. That’s bad for us right now. We’ve got to learn to stop the run.”