Plainsmen stun undefeated Arapahoe 37-28

In the Round of 16 last Friday, the Perkins County Plainsmen stunned the undefeated Arapahoe Warriors 37-28 to advance to the D1 playoff quarterfinals. 

What made the win so big is that the Plainsmen trailed 20-8 early in the second half, but rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to outscore the Warriors 29-7 the rest of the way.

The Plainsmen hit the road the first two weeks of playoffs. That earned them a home game Friday night against the Hitchcock County Falcons, who come in at 9-1. The Plainsmen now stand at 8-2.  

Friday’s win at Arapahoe marked the second consec-utive week the Plainsmen have defeated a higher seed. 

They’ll get the opportunity to do it again Friday night against the sixth-seeded Falcons. 

In the East/West Round of 32, the 10th-seeded Plainsmen took down the seventh-seeded Bertand. 

The bracket was then re-seeded statewide with the remaining 16 teams. The Plainsmen ended up seeded 14th, based on their wildcard points. 

Going into the Round of 16, Head Coach Tanner Collins felt the Plainsmen got a great draw, playing Arapahoe, who came into the game as the No. 3 overall seed.  

He believed his kids could take down Arapahoe if they stepped up their game and played error-free football. 

The defense really came through for the Plainsmen at Arapahoe, Collins said. They look like a whole different team on that side of the ball, compared to four or five weeks ago. 

He said all of the sudden, there are some kids that now “get it.”

Capitalized on big plays

The Plainsmen capitalized on big plays both offensively and defensively en route to the win. 

The Plainsmen’s first big play came on the opening possession of the game. 

Just three plays into the game, quarterback Triston Hite faked the ball to Ethan Sihm and went untouched on a 69-yard keeper. 

Nolan Foster added the two point conversion for an 8-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. 

The two teams traded a pair of possessions, each failing to convert a fourth down and each punting the ball away.

Punting from his own 5 yard line, Hite had to field a high snap and only got off an 18-yard punt. 

Arapahoe took over on the PC 34. Facing a first-and-goal from the PC 10, the Plainsmen turned the Warriors away from the end zone three times. 

The Warriors finally scored on a fourth-and-goal from the 1. The conversion failed, keeping the Plainsmen up 8-6 as the second quarter began. 

Several plays later, the Warriors stripped the ball from Hite, recovering on the PC 23. They completed a pass to the Plainsmen 5 and scored three plays later.

After another failed conversion, Arapahoe led 12-8 with 7:53 left in the half. 

Starting at the PC 15 after the touchback, Foster broke through for a big run, before getting hauled down at the Warrior 24.

A holding penalty crippled the drive, so Collins opted for  a 40-yard field goal. Hite’s kick fell short, turning the ball over to Arapahoe. 

The Plainsmen got one more possession before half but couldn‘t convert a fourth down at the Arapahoe 27. 

Going into halftime, the Plainsmen trailed 12-8.

Down 20-7 early in third

Araphoe got the ball to open the second half. Just three plays later, Arapahoe connected on a 60-yard pass for the score. A successful two-point conversion gave them a 20-7 at the 10:22 mark in the third. 

The Plainsmen began their second half rally when Casey Hanson took the ball on a jet sweep, scoring from 34 yards out.

It was set up by a 26-yard completion from Hite to Jeb Kohl. 

A successful conversion by Foster put the Plainsmen within four, 20-16 with 8:38 left in the third.

After forcing an Arapahoe punt, the Plainsmen capitalized on an interference call to keep the drive alive. Hite then hit Hanson for 17 to take the ball to the Arapahoe 3. 

Hite’s subsequent sneak and PAT kick regained a 23-20 lead for the Plainsmen at the 3:20 mark in the third. 

The Plainsmen would never trail again. 

Arapahoe’s next drive, kept alive by a fake punt, got squelched when Kohl stepped in front of an Arapahoe aerial for the interception at the Plainsmen 22. 

On the very next play, Hanson got the ball on another jet sweep, going 58 yards for the score this time. 

Hite added the kick, putting the Plainsmen up 30-20 one minute into the fourth quarter.After a Hite touchback, Arapahoe started on their own 15. 

Aided by another fake punt and a Plainsmen face mask penalty, Arapahoe scored their only touchdown of the second half. 

A two-point conversion pulled them within two, 30-28, with 5:28 left. 

The Plainsmen added an insurance touchdown With 2:59 left. When Hite was unable to find an open receiver on a broken pass play, he took off.  

His scramble resulted in a 56-yard touchdown run. His kick restored a two touchdown lead, 37-28. 

Hanson locked up the win for the Plainsmen with an interception with 2:08, allowing Hite and crew to run the clock out. 

Offensively, the Plainsmen finished with 410 yards of offense, including 331 on the ground. 

Hite led the way with 152, followed by Hanson with  103. 

Kohl was the leading receiver with 31 yards on four catches. 

Kohl also led the defense with a total of 16 tackles, including nine solos. Juan Perez finished with nine assists while Hayden Foster finished with three solos and eight assists.