Plainsmen go to 2-0 with 44-12 win

Six first-half touchdowns gave the Perkins County Plainsmen all the breathing room they needed Friday as they cruised to a 44-12 victory over the Maywood-Hayes Center. 

The win will provide some positive momentum as they travel to Benkelman to face the defending D1 state champions Dundy County Stratton Tigers. 

Coach Tanner Collins said he saw a lot of improvement from his team but noted there’s still plenty of room to get better. 

“I was happy to see better effort in a lot of places,” he said. 

But he said he team is “still missing some opportunities and missing assignments that need to get cleaned up.”

He said the Plainsmen need to put together four good quarters against DCS, which will be a good test for his team. 

It takes a near perfect game to beat a team like that. 

The Plainsmen and Tigers both enter the game at 2-0. DCS, ranked third in Eight Man-1, defeated Bertrand 28-20 Friday and opened with a 42-14 win over Sedgwick County, Colorado.

Plainsmen go up early

The Plainsmen put two touchdowns on the board in the first quarter. The first came on a 52-yard drive, kept alive by a 4th-and-nine conversion from their own 30.

Nolan Foster got the six-yard carry for the score. 

After trading possessions, Maywood-Hayes Center got the ball to the Plainsmen 10 before a pair of sacks moved the ball back. 

They attempted a 30-yard field goal but the effort fell far short.

Two plays later, Ethan Sihm bolted through the MHC defense and raced 68 yards for the second first quarter score with 2:09 left in the quarter. 

That gave the Plainsmen a 16-0 lead after successful extra -point runs. 

On a third-and-long from their own 25, MHC opened the second quarter with a screen that caught the Plainsmen off guard.

MHC’s Weston Morrow eluded the only two Plainsmen who had a shot at the tackle, going 54-yards for the score less than 30 seconds into the second quarter. 

The Plainsmen snatched the momentum right back when Tony Lyon split the kick coverage, going untouched up the middle for a 66-yard touchdown return. 

That put the Plainsmen up 24-6 after a successful conversion. 

Freshman quarterback Dawson Tjaden got some reps during the remainder of the first half, adding two touchdowns. 

The first came on a one-yard sneak at the 5:10 mark, with the second coming on a scramble after going back to pass, scoring from 35 yards out. 

That gave the Plainsmen a comfortable lead.

Collins said Tjaden performed well when Hite suffered a mild injury that kept him out for a series. 

Even though Hite was ready to go, Collins said he left Tjaden in the game to see how he would react. 

Collins said Tjaden’s performance “definitely put some comfort in his gut,” knowing he has backup for Hite at the quarterback position.

The Plainsmen forced a three-and-out on MHC to open the second half 

Starting from their own 21, the Plainsmen needed just seven plays before Hite took it 20 yards for the touchdown at the 6:34 mark. 

That gave Perkins County a 44-6 lead to initiate a running clock for the remainder of the game. 

Once a team is up by 35 in the second half, the clock only stops for timeouts, a score, penalties, injury and between quarters. 

MHC added a score with 55 seconds left to make the final score 44-12.

Friday, the Plainsmen will find out how well they prepared for Dundy County Stratton. Game time at Benkelman is slated for 7 p.m.

Score by quarters

1 2 3 4 F

PC 16 20 8 0 44

MHC 0 6 6 0 12

Team Totals                 PCS     MHC

Total Plays 47 60

Total Yards 277 205

Passing Yards 12 125

Rushing Yards 265 80

First Downs 12 10

Third Down Conv. 4-9 5-15

Fourth Down Conv. 1-2 0-5

Turnovers 0 0

Fumbles Lost 0 0

Interceptions Thrown 0 0

Penalties 5/23 3/45

Scoring

First Quarter

PC—Nolan Foster 6 Yd Run (Erik Snyder Run For Two-Point Conversion)

PC—Ethan Sihm 68 Yd Run (Nolan Foster Run For Two-Point Conversion)

Second Quarter

MHC—Weston Morrow 54 Yd Pass From Kyler Cox (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

PC—Tony Lyon 66 Yd Kickoff Return (Ethan Sihm Run For Two-Point Conversion)

PC—Dawson Tjaden 1 Yd Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

PC—Dawson Tjaden 35 Yd Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

Third Quarter

PC—Triston Hite 20 Yd Run (Nolan Foster Run For Two-Point Conversion)

MHC—Tanner Sherman 26 Yd Pass From Kyler Cox (Failed Two-Point Conversion)Individual Stats

Passing—Triston Hite, 2/4, 12 yds., 0 TDs, 0 INT; Dawson Tjaden, 0/2.

Rushing—(Att-Yds/TD) Ethan Sihm, 7-110/1; Triston Hite, 9-44/1; Dawson Tjaden, 4-34/2; Mason Toner, 4-26/0; Erik Snyder, 6-24/0; Nolan Foster, 3-13/1; Casey Hanson, 1-7/0; Landon Noyes, 3-7/0

Receiving— (Rec-Yds/TD) Jeb Kohl, 1-6/0; Tony Lyon, 1-6/0. 

Tackles—(Solo/Assist) Hayden Foster, 6/1; Casey Hanson, 4/3; Nolan Foster, 3/1; Eli Busick, 3/0; Triston Hite, 2/0; ErikSnyder, 2/4; JebKohl, 2/3; Austin Meyer, 2/1; Ryder Potts, 2/0; Mason Toner, 1/2; Eli Gaston, 1/0; Jackson Wykert, 1/0; Maddox Lee, 1/0; Will Long, 1/0; Ethan Sihm, 0/2; Tony Lyon, 0/4; Shawn Lyon, 0/2; Casey Uehling, 0/2; Juan Perez, 0/2.