Plainsmen 14-4 on season with 4 games left in regular season

By Emmalee Parsley Stevens

Grant Tribune Correspondent

Perkins County Plainsmen boys added two wins to their record accompanied by one loss. Plainsmen began with a game against the Hershey Panthers who they beat previously in the season. Secondly, Plainsmen played Bridgeport Bulldogs who they played previously also. Lastly, the Plainsmen played Chase County Longhorns once again. 

Perkins County Plainsmen wrap up their week with two wins. On January 28th, Plainsmen played the Holyoke Dragons. Plainsmen beat Dragons with a final score of 72-52. Then, on January 30th, they played the Sedgwick County Cougars. In the end the total score was 59-49. Next they will gear up to play Maxwell on February 4th. 

HERSHEY

On January 20th Plainsmen Basketball Team faced the Hershey Panthers at Hershey High School. In the first quarter, Plainsmen fell behind, scoring twelve points versus the opposing team scoring fourteen. Senior Landon Noyes scored four out of the twelve, which was the most of the team. In the second quarter, Plainsmen took back the lead scoring sixteen points while Panthers scored only five. Senior Ryder Potts scored four points to contribute to the sixteen. In the third quarter, Plainsmen continued their lead scoring nineteen, where Junior Rylee Schrotberger scored six. To win the game the Plainsmen scored twenty-three points, making the final score 70-45. 

“Once again, I knew Hershey would show up ready to play because they are well coached and have athletes they can put on the floor.  We got off to a bit of a slow start but once we got our legs under us and set the pace of the game the kids took off to gain a comfortable lead.  We did not shoot well as a team and effort was not always the best on the defensive end of the court, but I also think that’s why we don’t have many Monday games!  It was a good way to start the conference play,” said Head Coach Corey Potts. 

BRIDGEPORT

Next Plainsmen hit the road to North Platte Community College to play the Bridgeport Bulldogs. They fell behind immediately in the first quarter with eight points, against thirteen. Senior Landon Noyes led the team and scored six points.  Plainsmen then took the lead in the second quarter, scoring sixteen points making the score at the halftime mark 24-22. They kept the lead in the third quarter as well but fell to the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter when they scored twenty points whereas Plainsmen scored eight. The ending score was 56-45. 

“This game was hard for me to stomach in the moment and watching it back on film.  The kids did everything they needed to do to win this game so all the kudos to my kids for being prepared and doing their job.  Unfortunately, I did not hold up my end of the bargain for the kids, I got out coached in this game.  Not a fun thing to admit but if I expect the kids to hold themselves accountable then I need to do the same.  I was very proud of the kids and their effort in this game,” said Coach Potts. 

CHASE COUNTY

Despite their loss to Chase County previously in the season, Plainsmen brought their “a game” to the court on January 25th to play the Longhorns. Plainsmen fell behind at first, managing ten points while Longhorns scored fifteen. In the second quarter Plainsmen stayed behind the Longhorns making the score 25-31. Senior Jackson Wykert scored five points.  Plainsmen had a second wind after halftime. They scored fourteen points where Longhorns scored 10. They took the lead in the fourth quarter when they achieved eighteen points. The final score of the Plainsmen versus Chase County game was 57-54. 

“I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this game after a tough one the night before then to turn around and play again at 11 AM.  It should not have surprised anyone that once again the boys showed up ready to play and opened the game up quickly.  This game was back and forth the entire time (Chase probably led for majority of the game), but the boys really hit some key shots along with some big defensive plays in the fourth quarter to take it from them.  This win really shows how competitive of a group we have, after having the #1 seed then having to play for a consolation was really of no concern to them.  They just love to compete!” said Coach Potts.

HOLYOKE

The Plainsmen traveled to Holyoke Colorado to face the Holyoke Dragons on January 28th. In the first quarter, senior Ryder Potts led the team with seven points, contributing to the total 18 points. The team then continued to keep a strong lead in the second quarter, scoring twenty points. Junior, Colton Kroeker, scored six points. When the halftime buzzer sounded, the total was 38-24. After the short break, Plainsmen came back even stronger, scoring twenty-one points when Holyoke only managed nine. Lastly, Holyoke fought to get the lead, with nineteen points, but it was not enough. Plainsmen headed home with the win.

“The boys got out to a fast start which helped to set the tone for the game.  Holyoke made us uncomfortable on the offensive end of the floor and with no shot clock in Colorado we were forced to slow the game down more than normal when our transition wasn’t there.  We changed up our defense quite a few times to keep them guessing since they have just as many athletic kids as we do.  The thing that makes me most proud of this group of boys is the fact that game in and game out when things don’t go their way offensively or defensively there is always one thing they give us, effort,” says Head Coach Corey Potts. 

SEDGWICK

Next, the Plainsmen had a home game against the Sedgwick County Cougars on January 30th. Plainsmen fell behind in the beginning, scoring thirteen while Cougars scored seventeen. They continued to stay behind in the second quarter. They scored fourteen. However, when halftime was over, the Plainsmen came back ready to take their home court back. In the third quarter, they scored seventeen and fifteen in the fourth quarter. Holyoke only managed five points. Once again, they ended the night with a great win. 

“Sedgwick County came to town prepared to leave with a win.  We came out sort of flat in the first half and they did not, so we were lucky to only be down 5 points at half time.  I really challenged the boys at the break and let them know if they were going to get back in this game it was going to take much more effort than they gave in the first half.  The boys accepted the challenge and really worked hard in the second half to get the win,” said Potts.

NEXT ACTION

The Plainsmen competed against Maxwell on Tuesday Feb. 4 and came out with a 84-34 win.

Next Tuesday February 11, the team will take on the 4-13 Bayard Tigers, and Valentines Day will see a home game against the 11-4 Sandhills Mavericks.