Plainsmen prevail in 20-touchdown game

Touchdowns. Touchdowns. Touchdowns. Not just five. Not just 10. Not 15. Would you believe 20?

That’s how many touchdowns the Perkins County Plainsmen and the Bayard Tigers put up on the board Friday afternoon. 

When the clock hit zeros, the score looked more like a basketball game. Fortunately, it was the Plainsmen who scored 13 touchdowns to Bayard’s seven for the 89-48 win. 

The win moved the Plainsmen to 3-1, but is even more important as a win against a D1-11 district opponent. 

In the opening minutes of the game, it looked like the Plainsmen were just going to have their way.

Triston Hite’s blockers split the seam on the opening kickoff and he ran right through it, returning it 50 yards for an 8-0 lead with just 11 seconds off the clock.

The Tigers then started on their own 15 after one of Hites many touchback kicks in the game. 

The defense forced a three-and-out, with Bayard punting out of their own end zone.

After the return, the Plainsmen took over on the Tiger 28. Four plays later, Hite added his second touchdown. Another successful PAT run put PC up 16-0.

It was another three-and-out for the Tigers but this time it was Jeb Kohl who took the punt back for the touchdown. He fielded the ball at the Tiger 38, slid to the outside and was off to the races. 

That gave the Plainsmen a quick 24-0 lead but it didn’t stay that way long. 

On the Tiger’s next play, Senior Hayden Foster batted a Bayard pass in the air and Kohl ran right under it and took it for the touchdown and a 30-0 PC lead.

Coach Tanner Collins said his team seemed to lose focus for a bit.

Bayard likes to pass the ball and showed why they are good at it. 

After a penalty put them back to their own 10, Bayard’s quarterback Ben Sauer found his receiver behind the Plainsmen defense for a 70-yard touchdown strike—the first of four for the day. 

By the end of the first quarter the Plainsmen tacked on two more touchdowns. 

The first came on an eight play drive with Hite going the last 21 for his third touchdown of the quarter. After Bayard failed to convert a fourth down at their own 25, the Plainsmen needed just five plays before Erik Snyder took it across from the one. 

After the first 12 minutes, the Plainsmen led 45-8.

Collins started getting some playing time for his second offense and defense. 

Over the next 12 minutes, Bayard put up five touch-downs to just two for the Plainsmen to make the halftime score 59-34.

Collins put his first team on the field to open the second half but his starters got burned for another 55-yard scoring strike by the Tigers. 

On the next possession Hite hit Hayden Foster for a 20-yard scoring strike. 

Bayard’s next possession ended with a 15-yard punt from their own nine.

With freshman backup quarterback Dawson Tjaden at the helm, Foster caught another touchdown pass—this one good for 37 yards and a 71-40 lead. 

Bayard took to the air again for another 70-yard scoring strike to give them 48 points for the game. 

The Plainsmen would score early in the fourth for a 35-point lead and running clock the remainder of the game. 

Tjaden added another 21-yard touchdown pass to Ryder Potts to wrap up the scoring in a wild one, 89-48.

While it wasn’t the most points scored by a Plainsmen team, it was among the most. The Plainsmen hung 96 on Creek Valley in the Carlie Wells era. 

Open week this week

Collins said the Plainsmen won’t have a game this week. They were scheduled to go to Kimball but they forfeited the rest of their season due to low numbers. 

He said the bye week will give his team some time to rest and get over some of their bumps and bruises from the first four weeks of the season. 

Then they will get ready for when Hemingford comes to town Oct. 1 in another district game with playoff implications. This game is also the homecoming game for Perkins County. 

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