Plainsmen off to winning start

Tanner Collin’s Plainsmen football team started the season off on the right foot with a 37-20 win over Maxwell in the opener on Haenfler Field Friday night.

The Plainsmen built a 31-8 lead by halftime and drove 75 yards to open the fourth quarter to put them back up by 23 to ensure the 37-20 win.

It was that drive and touchdown that left Collins feeling really good about his offensive line and running attack. 

“We’ve never been able to lean on our big guys before and it’s nice to be able to do that,” he said following the game. 

That drive helped the Plainsmen regain the momentum after turning the ball over on their first two possessions of the third quarter. 

The second turnover led to a 24-yard scoring strike by Maxwell with 6:23 left in the third. 

Then Maxwell recovered an onside kick that dribbled just over the 40 yard line. 

Maxwell lost 20 yards on a penalty and sack and were faced with a fourth-and-29.

They tried to keep their momentum alive with a fake punt but came up 10 yards short. 

The two teams then traded possessions, with Maxwell pinning the Plainsmen back on their own 5.

Collins kept the ball on the ground with his big men up front dominating the line of scrimmage and I-back Ethan Sihm and fullback Erik Snyder pounding it out—two, three, four, five, six yards at a time. 

A 15-yard run by Sihm was the longest run of the drive that included three third-down conversions and a fourth-down conversion inside the 10.

Sihm, who finished with 82 yards, got the final five yards with 6:50 left to put the Plainsmen back up by three scores, 37-14.

Maxwell came back with another score with 4:18 left, making the score 37-20.

A penalty nullified a 54-yard touchdown run by Sihm, as  the Plainsmen were satisified with running out the clock to grab the 37-20 win. 

Four TDs in first half

The Plainsmen opened up the game by shutting down Maxwell’s first possession inside the Plainsmen 20.

Six plays into the drive, quarterback Triston Hite found Hayden Foster behind the Maxwell defense for a 43-yard scoring strike.

A successful two-point conversion gave the Plainsmen an 8-0 lead six minutes into the game. 

The Plainsmen forced Maxwell to punt on their next possession, setting up their second score. 

Taking over on the Maxwell 31, the Plainsmen needed just six plays before Hite went in from the 1 for a 16-0 lead just four minutes into the second quarter. 

The only real breakdown in the Plainsmen’s defense came right after the kickoff when I-back Tyler Neill outraced the Plainsmen down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown. That allowed Maxwell to pull within eight, 16-8.

The Plainsmen answered right back with a 50-yard keeper by Hite and a 24-8 lead with 6:06 left in the half. 

Following a Maxwell punt, the two teams traded fumbles. 

After recovering a fumble at the Maxwell 37, the Plainsmen needed just three plays for the score, coming on a 34-yard pass from Hite to Jeb Kohl. Hite added the extra point kick for a 31-8 halftime lead. 

Maywood/Hayes Center next

 After watching the film over the weekend, Collins said he saw the kind of mistakes he expected for a first game. 

Turnovers proved to be a menace, with three lost fumbles and an interception. 

The challenge will be to get those mistakes corrected as they go into Friday’s game at Hayes Center against Maywood/Hayes Center. 

Maywood-Hayes Center fell to Leyton 42-0 in their opener.

Kickoff Friday is slated for 6 p.m. MT.

Score by quarters

1 2 3 4 F

PC 8 23 0 6 37

MHS 0 8 6 6 20

Team Totals PCS MHS

Total Plays 68 72

Total Yards 322 320

Passing Yards 93 164

Rushing Yards 229 156

First Downs 17 14

Third Down Conv. 10-16 4-15

Fourth Down Conv. 2-3 2-7

Turnovers 4 1

Fumbles Lost 3 1

Interceptions Thrown 1 -

Penalties 3/23 6/36

Scoring

First Quarter

PC—Hayden Foster 43 Yd Pass From Triston Hite (Two-Point Conversion)

Second Quarter

PC—Triston Hite 1 Yd Run (Erik Snyder Run For Two-Point Conversion)

MHS—Tyler Neill 65 Yd Run (Levi Huffman Run For Two-Point Conversion)

PC—Triston Hite 50 Yd Run (Ethan Sihm Run For Two-Point Conversion)

PC—Jeb Kohl 34 Yd Pass From Triston Hite (Triston Hite Kick)

Third Quarter

MHS—24 Yd Pass From Jack Meyer (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

Fourth Quarter

PC—Ethan Sihm 5 Yd Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

MHS—Tyler Neill 2 Yd Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

Individual Stats

Passing—Triston Hite, 4/7, 93 yds., 2TDs, 1 INT.

Rushing—(Att/Yds/TD) Triston Hite, 23/119, 2; Ethan Sihm, 17/82, 1; Erik Snyder, 12/29, 0; Nolan Foster 6/44, 0; Tony Lyon, 1/(-5), 0.

Receiving— (Rec/Yds,TD) Jeb Kohl, 2/47, 1; Hayden Foster, 1/43, 1; Tony Lyon, 1/3, 0. 

Tackles—(Solo/Assist) Triston Hite, 6/6; Ethan Sihm, 4/7; Tony Lyon, 4/5; Hayden Foster, 3/11; Erik Snyder, 1/7; Nolan Foster, 1/8; Jeb Kohl, 1/9; Landon Noyes, 1/0.