Plainsmen fall in 2 OT
by Diane Stamm
Grant tribune-sentinel
The Perkins County football team lost its second game of the season Friday night, a double overtime, slobber knocker to Sandhills Valley.
“It was a great hard-hitting game for the spectators. Everybody definitely got their money’s worth Friday night,” Head Coach Tanner Collins said.
The Mavericks took the lead on their first possession of the game.
PCS was scoreless in the first quarter, but quickly got on the board in the second quarter when Dawson Tjaden stepped up in the pocket and found Mason Toner open for a 55-yard touchdown on the quarter’s second play.
SV threw for 91 yards on the night and 54 of those yards came on the Mavericks’ responding drive.
The Plainsmen strung together a 16-play drive to tie the game at 12-12 on a Nolan Foster touchdown reception from Tjaden.
The first half was far from over. SV moved down the field with nine-straight running plays, but scored on a four-yard pass. With the two-point conversion, PCS trailed 12-20.
Collins said going into half time PCS was pretty beat up.
“You could see doubts creeping into the kids’ eyes. At the half I just challenged them to fight even harder, to not tap out. Instead of quitting, the guys came out and matched their physicality the entire second half and fought until the very end,” Collins said.
The teams went back and forth at each other in the third quarter. The Plainsmen scored the only second half touchdown near the end of the quarter on a third down, 13-yard pass from Tjaden to Ryder Potts. The all-important two-point conversion tied the game at 20.
PCS had a chance to take the lead on its first possession of the fourth quarter. A poor SV punt set PCS up on the Mavericks’ 25-yard line, but the drive stalled at the one-yard line.
The Plainsmen had the ball first in both overtimes, advancing to the one-yard line at one point, but was unable to score.
An SV receiver was able to catch the pylon in the second overtime to hand PCS a 20-26 loss.
“We made a ton of mistakes that cost us the game, but I couldn’t be more proud of the way our kids battled and fought every second of the game. Even though we lost, I count Friday night as a win for our program moving forward. This team learned that they can push past their limits and keep going. Excited to see how the rest of the season plays out,” Collins said.
Up next
“Maxwell is a solid team that we have to properly prepare for. With homecoming going on and no school on Wednesday, it is important for our guys to block out the noise and stay focused all week,” Collins said.
Class D1 Point Standings:
1. NPSP (7-0), 45.7143
2. LCC (6-0), 44.5000
3. Thayer Central (6-0), 44.0000
4. Stanton (6-0), 44.0000
5. Palmyra (5-1), 43.6667
6. Clarkson/Leigh (6-0), 43.5000
7. Sandhills Valley (5-1), 43.1667
8. Riverside (5-1), 43.1667
9. Neligh-Oakdale (5-1), 42.6667
10. Elmwood-Murdock (5-1), 42.6667
12. Perkins County (4-2), 41.3333
32. Maxwell (3-3), 38.0000
40. Sutherland (2-4), 35.6667
D1-10 district in bold.