Plainsmen’s playoff run comes to an end

The glass slipper being worn by the Perkins County Plainsmen during their Cinderella D1 playoff run got shattered on Haenfler Field Friday night. 

The Plainsmen suffered a shocking 58-6 loss in the quarterfinals at the hands of the sixth-seeded Hitchcock County Falcons.

The Falcons built a 34-0 lead deep into the second quarter before the Plainsmen got their lone touchdown of the game just before halftime.

Head Coach Tanner Collins said the outcome of Friday’s quarterfinal matchup was a shocker. “I didn’t expect that,” he said this week, looking back on the game. 

Collins said the Falcons proved to be the most physical team the Plainsmen have faced this season.

He felt the Plainsmen would be able to control the line of scrimmage and take the running game right at them. 

Collins said the focus and intensity of his team going into Friday’s contest wasn’t the same that he’d seen in their first two playoff games. 

The Plainsmen defeated Bertrand in the first round and then up-ended an undefeated Arapahoe team to make the quarterfinals. 

Collins said he became concerned when, on the opening drive, the Plainsmen missed blocking assignments and and didn’t hold their blocks long enough. 

The Plainsmen were forced to punt the ball away on that opening possession and gave up a 51-yard touchdown pass to the Falcons four plays later. 

Following that, the Plainsmen went three-and-out and were forced to punt again.

The Falcons answered with a 45-yard drive, scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

The Plainsmen turned the ball over on downs at their own 30 three plays later, setting up a seven-play Falcon drive for a 20-0 lead just inside the second quarter. 

The Plainsmen then put together an 11-play drive that stalled out at the PC 18 yard line. 

The Falcons ripped off a 20-yard run and completed passes of 13 and 27 yards, scoring on the second one, for a 26-0 lead with 2:36 left in the half. 

Before the half would end, both teams would add touchdowns.

On the final possession of the half, the Plainsmen went to a spread offense, which took some of the defensive pressure off up front. 

Triston Hite completed a 16-yard pass to Casey Hanson, followed by a 21-yard scamper to the Falcon 19. 

Hite hit Hayden Foster for 12 yards then found him again in the end zone for the score with :08 left in the half. 

To open the second half, the Falcons recovered an on-side kick by the Plainsmen. Two plays later, they completed another touchdown pass, this one for 41 yards. 

The two-point PAT enlarged their lead to 36 points, starting a running clock for the rest of the second half. 

The Falcons would add two more scores in the final 13 minutes of the game for the 58-6 win over the Plainsmen.

Proud of his team

As the game wound down, Collins gave each of his seniors a big hug for their accomplishments over the past four years. 

Collins said this group of seniors cut a pathway to success and challenged the underclassmen to step up and continue what the seniors have built. 

Even though they weren’t ready, most of these seniors were forced to assume varsity roles as freshmen when team numbers dipped into the low double digits.

They suffered some hard knocks along the way but persevered into what proved to be the first playoff appearance for the Plainsmen since 2017. 

Collins said they weren’t satisfied with just qualifying for the playoff but instead left a mark they can be proud of.

This was a place they had never been before and stepped up to take on the added pressure and meet the challenge, Collins noted. 

State finals berth in play

Hitchcock County, 10-1, will host 10-1 Cross County at Trenton Friday night at 4 p.m. MT in one of the two Class D1 semifinals. 

Tenth-seeded Cross County (Stromsburg and Benedict) defeated number two-seeded Nebraska City Lourdes Central Catholic 58-52 Friday to get a shot at the Falcons this week.

The other semifinal will pit two undefeated D1 perennials against each other. 

Howells-Dodge traveled to Benkelman and defeated Dundy County Stratton, the defending D1 champion, 44-18 Friday.

Burwell defeated once-beaten Anselmo-Merna 41-18 Friday to advance. Howells-Dodge will get the home field advantage in their semifinal matchup. 

The two winners will face off in the state championship game in Memorial Stadium Monday, Nov. 22.