Platte Valley showed that last year's turnaround season was no fluke, beating Mound City 52-28 in week one and Rock Port 54-16 Friday. They overcame a slow start Friday to do it against a Rock Port squad which had won its first game handily over DeKalb.
In the first quarter, Platte Valley could find nothing as Rock Port had Micah Makings shadowing Carter Luke and hitting him one on one. But Platte Valley's kicking game helped turn the game in their favor. Trevor Weir boomed all his kickoffs into the end zone and he usually got his punts inside the 15. His first punt was blown dead at the four and Platte Valley took full advantage, forcing a three and out. This time, Weir shot straight up the middle, flushing the kicker, Micah Makings, out of the pocket on fourth and seven at the 7. Makings' pass was hurried and incomplete, and he was beyond the line of scrimmage anyway, and Platte Valley took over on the Rock Port 7. It took just two tries for Jaxon McCrary to get in with 6:38 left. Silkett cited the special teams play in the win; they emphasize it in practice just as much as they do the offense and defense.
Platte Valley's coach, Johnny Silkett, teaches his teams to take pride in smashmouth football. But during the middle of last year, he threw in the swinging gate to take advantage of quarterback Aydan Blackford and get him isolated into the open field. They have a center eligible play which they can use out of that formation, and they took advantage when Blackford hit the snapper, Trevor Weir, to make it 8-0.
Rock Port, with a new coach this year, is seeking to replicate what Platte Valley did last year. They play the same style of ball, with Makings, Phillip Herron, and quarterback Aidan Burke carrying the load. They have a promising front three which could match up with Platte Valley's huge front line. They steadily marched down the field on the next series, with Herron, Makings, and Burke all going for good gains. But then the Platte Valley players started making adjustments on their technique and doing a better job of getting rid of their blockers, and they tightened up after Rock Port had penetrated to the 24. They were faced with fourth and eight at the 22, but then Burke's quick hitter was stopped short at the 15, one yard short, and Platte Valley took over on downs.
The front three for Rock Port still held strong on their next defensive series, but after Aydan Blackford broke up a pass on third down, Carter Luke finally found daylight and found second level to the Rock Port 35. A false start held them up, and Platte Valley lined up to punt on fourth and 14 at the Rock Port 39. But a defensive holding penalty gave them new life after Weir, the punter, went on a fake punt and threw into a crowd. This time, they gave it to Aydan Blackford and he took it nine yards to the 20 and a first down. Blackford found daylight on the next play as well, taking it 13 yards down to the 7. Finally, Jaxon McCrary bulldozed his way into the end zone with 6:45 left and Blackford ran out of the gate and got into the end zone for the extra points to make it 16-0.
Carter Luke shot through and dropped Makings for a loss on the next series, and Mason Richardson had a good punt return to put Platte Valley in Rock Port territory at the 38. McCrary's plunges and Blackford's keepers finally sprung Luke loose, and he broke a tackle and took it all the way to the 12. Jaxon McCrary took it two more yards to the 10, and then Luke broke another tackle and got in with 3:20 left in the half. Aydan Blackford ran in the extra points to make it 24-0.
Rock Port found some daylight on its next series and got two first downs to its own 39. But with time running out, they attempted a long pass and Aydan Blackford picked it off at the 10. Platte Valley went into the gate and Blackford found daylight for carries of 5 and 13 to the 28 with 51 seconds left. They isolated Trevor Weir on the next play and ran a perfect center eligible play, and Weir took it to the house with 42 seconds left to break the game open at 30-0.
Rock Port was kicking off to start the second half, and they tried a squib kick that was covered and returned to the 31. Platte Valley was set back by a false start, but on fourth and two at the 39, Carter Luke got the sweep, bounced outside, and was off to the races with 9:43 left and Aydan Blackford ran it in to make it 38-0.
A running into the kicker penalty gave Rock Port a chance to go for it on fourth and three at their own 22, but Burke was tackled inches short at the 25, and Platte Valley had a short field to work with. They took advantage as Jaxon McCrary took a quick hitter 11 yards to the 14 and Carter Luke took it on three carries to the house with 5:06 left. Aydan Blackford ran in the extra points to make it 46-0 and trigger the running clock the rest of the way. This year, by rule, the running clock is now in effect for 35 points or more in Missouri eight man games for the second half. The Highway 275 Conference recently abolished the rule that required teams down 45 points or more to call the game. By rule, it is up to the coaches to decide whether or not to continue. The rule was put in place after a wild 94-48 win by Worth County over South Holt, in which South Holt elected to play on, leave their starters in against Worth County's JV, and throw long passes in an obvious effort to pad their quarterback's stats.
Rock Port elected to play on and Herron finally found daylight and took it to the house on the next series and Burke ran in the extra points to make it 46-8. Platte Valley took it right back down the field as Carter Luke broke one for 24 yards to the 25. Leland Otto took some turns carrying the ball and found some daylight, and that set up Jaxon McCrary from two yards out with 10:25 left in the fourth to make it 56-8. Dylan Lair broke a long one in the closing seconds as the reserves took over.
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