Carter Luke struck for Platte Valley right off the bat as he took it to the house on their first play from scrimmage after they set up shop at their own 27. Justin Miller caught the extra point pass from Aydan Blackford with 11:43 left in the first quarter to make it 8-0.
Kendall Noland had been the heart and soul of South Holt's depleted roster, which had only 13 players dressed out Saturday. After the Knights were buried at the 15 by Trevor Weir's kick, they were faced with third and eight at their own 17. Weir's shoestring tackle kept him from getting a first down and the Knights were forced to punt. The kick was shanked, and Platte Valley had a short field to work with at the Knights 36. Carter Luke ripped off a 12 yard gain to the 24 after getting a block from Brandon McQueen and then Jaxon McCrary took it the rest of the way with 9:39 left to make it 14-0.
South Holt tried to go on the ground, but Jaxon McCrary and Wyatt Miller met Jayce Jackson and dropped him for one yard. The Knights finally started moving the ball as Cade Kurtz caught a short pass and a draw from Noland got the first down to the 32. Cole Medsker's catch and run made it to the 40, and a pitch to Jackson made it to the 36. They were temporarily set back by an illegal formation, but a pass to Jackson made it to the Platte Valley 29. Noland's draw made it to the 21, and on third and 9 at the 20, the Knights rescued it with a 13 yard pass to Medsker to the 7. But then Noland was met at the 6 by Carter Luke, and Noland was under a heavy rush and could not complete any of his three pass attempts and the Knights gave it back on downs. It only took Platte Valley one play to take advantage as Carter Luke took a sweep down the left sideline, the same play that he scored on earlier, for 74 yards to the house. Justin Miller took a big hit, but hung on to Blackford's pass to make it 22-0 with 4:13 left in the first.
Jayce Jackson picked up 11 yards and a first down to the 26, but on the next play, the Knights caught a short pass, only to fumble it away at the 23. There were a lot of big hits that afternoon, resulting in a lot of fumbles on both sides. Two plays later, Jaxon McCrary seemingly broke one for a long gain, only to take a solid shot and fumbled it right back at the 2.
Unlike Rock Port, which folded against Worth County the night before, South Holt kept right on fighting the whole game despite getting punched in the mouth early on. Noland scrambled for a first down to the 14. A sack from Wyatt Miller dropped South Holt back to the 11, but Jayce Jackson caught a short pass to the 22 and an offsides penalty gave them a first down at the 27. A short pass to Jackson put it on the 34. A blitz dropped Medsker dropped them back to the 31, but another pass to Jackson got a first down to the 39. On the next play, Trevor Weir came through unblocked and flushed Noland out of the pocket, but he somehow got away and uncorked a long pass to Cade Kurtz to the Platte Valley 10. But once again, South Holt could not get in as Brandon McQueen picked off the next pass on the 8.
South Holt tightened up on defense, but Platte Valley still moved the ball to the 19 after Aydan Blackford scrambled for a first down. A bad snap pinned Platte Valley back to the 9, where they faced third and 20. On the pass, both Carter Luke and his defender tangled up with the official and the pass fell incomplete. But a costly penalty occurred as the Knights were flagged for Roughing the Passer and the drive stayed alive and Platte Valley had a first down at the 34. On the next play, Carter Luke got a block from Justin Miller and got free all the way down to the Knight 17. Two carries by Jaxon McCrary put it on the 1, and Aydan Blackford ran it in to make it 28-0 with 4:17 left in the half.
Platte Valley had a chance to add on to their lead after Trevor Weir batted down a pass on fourth and eight at the Knight 30, but on fourth and one at the 21, Platte Valley fumbled it right back to the Knights at the 27 with 51 seconds left in the half. South Holt got as far as the 29, but a sack by Leland Otto and Trevor Weir and a grounding penalty killed the drive and Platte Valley went into the half up 28-0.
Once again, Trevor Weir boomed a kickoff into the end zone and the Knights were buried on their own 15. The Knights overcame a sack by Justin Miller as Jayce Jackson caught a 10 yard pass to the 30 for a first down. But on fourth and three at the 37, Medsker met Justin Miller and Platte Valley took over on downs at the 38. This time, they took advantage of the short field as Carter Luke ripped off 15 yards to the 23 and Leland Otto picked up 9 more to the 14. Jaxon McCrary picked up two for a first down to the 12, and then Brandon McQueen was all alone for a pass from Aydan Blackford with 6:11 left. Platte Valley lined up in their swinging gate formation and Trevor Weir caught the pass on the center eligible play to make it 36-0.
Previously, South Holt had run down the clock to keep the Platte Valley offense off the field. But this time, they picked up the pace and went no huddle after Weir boomed another kickoff into the end zone. The move seemed to pay off as Medsker caught a short pass over the middle to the 25 for a first down and Cade Kurtz caught a 16 yarder despite maximum pressure on Noland from Justin Miller. Medsker's catch and run netted 11 to the 23, and the line gave Noland an eternity to throw and he found Medsker again at the 8. Noland scrambled to the 3, and then Tylynn Prussman caught one in the back of the end zone with 9.7 seconds left in the third to make it 36-6. It didn't help that Wyatt Miller was hurt in the third quarter and sat out, which hurt Platte Valley's pass rush.
Carter Luke got a block from Trevor Weir and ripped off 18 yards after Platte Valley set up on their own 21, and the Knights marched right back down the field again. The Knights, who were loading the box to try and stop the run, nearly pulled it off and Platte Valley was faced with fourth and nine at the 40. But then Aydan Blackford got a block from Brandon McQueen and scrambled down the right side for a touchdown with 9:50 left in the fourth for a badly needed insurance score to make it 42-6.
Mason Richardson dropped one of the Knight return men at the 13, but it didn't matter as Kendall Noland completed four straight passes, bringing the Knights to the Platte Valley 15. On third and 11 at the 16, Medsker caught a pass over the middle and his catch and run took it to the house with 6:49 left to make it 42-12.
There was a heartstopping moment on the ensuing onsides kick attempt as the black shirts seeming had it recovered, but it didn't travel the necessary 10 yards, and Platte Valley was awarded the ball at the South Holt 39. But on fourth and four at the 33, Aydan Blackford was dropped at the 36, and the Knights overcame a Leland Otto sack on fourth and six as Jayce Jackson's 12 yard pass to the 28 kept the drive alive. South Holt nearly fumbled the ball but it rolled out of bounds at the 19. Noland scrambled his way on two plays to the 13, but a dropped pass and a good tackle by Brandon McQueen on Jackson set up fourth and 10 at the 14. But on the next play, Noland had forever to throw and he found Cole Medsker in the end zone with 2:26 left. Noland was slammed into the fence while scrambling for the extra point, but he broke the plane and that made it 42-20.
Things threatened to become interesting on the next series after Justin Miller pounced on the ensuing onsides kick at the Platte Valley 35. With South Holt selling out to stop the run and force a turnover, Aydan Blackford dropped back to pass, only to throw a strike to Tylynn Prussman in front of the Platte Valley sideline. But as Prussman tried to set up a return down the right side of the field, he fumbled the ball and Carter Luke returned it to the South Holt 26. On the play, a blind side block was called during the return and enforced on South Holt despite the change of possession, putting the ball on the Knight 13. Platte Valley only needed two plays to put the dagger in South Holt's heart, getting a seven yard carry from Luke and a 6 yarder from Jaxon McCrary to the house with 2:01 left. Trevor Weir caught the two point pass to make it 50-20, and a sack by Leland Otto on fourth down gave the ball back to Platte Valley, and they were able to run out the clock.
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