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Quarterback Triston Hite looks for an available receiver at the game in Bartley on Friday night.

Plainsmen roll over Southwest 50-24

Across the board, Plainsmen Head Coach Jonathan Hunt liked the improvement he saw in his team Friday at Southwest. The Plainsmen got Hunt his first win as a head coach, 50-24.

“We were able to line up and pretty much do what we wanted,” Hunt said. 

Southwest was coming off a bye week so this was their first game of the season. 

Hunt said his linemen fired off the line faster than Southwest and did a good job of holding blocks. 

That proved key for the running game with Alex Patrick racking up 300 yards with another 38 from Tanner Burge. 

Add another 58 yards and three touchdowns passing by freshman quarterback Triston Hite and the Plainsmen finished with 412 yards of total offense. 

While Hunt said his team showed great progress in every phase of the game, he said they can still do much better going forward.

They will be looking for their second win Friday, just like their opponent Hitchcock County (HC). 

After an opening season 30-16 loss to Wauneta-Palisade (W-P), HC came back with their own 58-20 win over Rawlins County, Kansas. 

The W-P Broncs notched a 30-26 win Friday over Dundy County, the team that handed the Plainsmen their first loss last week. Based on that, Hunt expects a tough game with HC Friday. 

Plainsmen strike first

To open the game Friday, Alex Patrick nearly broke the kickoff to set up the Plainsmen’s first score. On his first carry, he got 24 of his 300 yards to move the ball inside Southwest’s 15.

Three plays later, Burge went over from the 1 with Patrick adding the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. 

Southwest answered just three plays later when halfback Kaden Guerrero turned the corner on a sweep for a 59-yard touchdown. A failed conversion left the score at 8-6.

After a three-and-out by the offense, the Plainsmen defense had to make the first of two stands with their back up against end zone. 

Southwest got down to the PC 12 but the Plainsmen defense didn’t yield, sacking their quarterback on fourth down to kill the threat. 

From there, the second quarter belonged to the Plainsmen. Before half, they would put up three more touchdowns for a comfortable 30-6 halftime lead. 

The first came on a 34-yard run by Patrick after beating the defense to the corner.

Three plays later, Southwest mishandled a snap and the Plainsmen recovered on the SW 25. After a penalty sent the Plainsmen back five, Hite found a wide open Burge in the end zone for a 30-yard strike. Patrick added the conversion for a 16-6 lead. 

The Plainsmen then gave up a 68-yard play with Guerrero taking a pass in the right flat down inside the Plainsmen 10. 

But again, the defense stuffed the Southwest offense and took over inside the 5 yard line. 

After 15 straight running plays, the Plainsmen moved the ball inside the Southwest 20 as time was ticking down in the first half. 

Three plays later, Hite found Burge again for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left in the half. A failed conversion left the score at 30-6.

Southwest got back on the board on the first possession of the third quarter with a 51-yard run by Guerrero. A failed conversion left the score at 30-12.

The Plainsmen would answer with eight straight running plays before Hite found Hayden Foster in the end zone from 10 yards out. 

At the 6:36 mark in the third, the score stood at 36-12. 

Southwest scored their second third-quarter touchdown on a 36-yard run by Guerrero. 

In the fourth, Patrick added a 45-yard scoring run and PAT for a 44-18 with 9:52 left to play.

Patrick set up his final touchdown on a 45-yard cutback run, aided by downfield blocking from his teammates. 

The game was well in hand with 6:08 remaining when Patrick went in from five yards out. 

Southwest did add a late touchdown to make the final score 50-24.

Return home Friday

The Plainsmen will return home Friday night for their final non-district game on the schedule. 

Kickoff with Hitchcock County is set for 6:30 p.m. at Haenfler Field. 

 

The Grant Tribune-Sentinel

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