Tigers Gain Revenge, Down Platte Valley to Win Districts

Worth County gained revenge for its only loss, beating Platte Valley 56-20 Friday to win districts. In the first game, four different players were cramping up in extremely hot conditions and several players were pressed into service. Platte Valley fought back from a 14-0 deficit to get a 38-34 win. But in the rematch at Platte Valley, Worth County this time didn’t let up after scoring the first two times, regaining control after Platte Valley had threatened to turn the game into a track meet late in the first half.

For Platte Valley, they looked like they had righted the ship after a 77-22 loss to South Holt and some close calls against East Atchison and Rock Port. But Worth County was able to take control and get the win.

The Tigers will host Schuyler County Saturday. Since they are on the upper half of the bracket, and they have hosted fewer games, they will host Schuyler County. If Worth County beats Schuyler County, they will play the winner of Plattsburg and South Holt on Saturday, November 25th. If Plattsburg wins, Worth County will host Plattsburg since Plattsburg will have hosted three times and Worth County twice. But if South Holt beats Plattsburg, then South Holt would host Worth County, since both the Tigers and Knights will have hosted two games, but Worth County will have hosted a quarterfinal and South Holt did not. If Worth County wins the semifinal, the state championship game will be held on November 30^th at 7:00 pm at Faurot Field in Columbia.

Platte Valley tried an onsides kick to start the game, but Worth County covered it on their own 38. They ran ten plays, all on the ground, and took up just over four minutes off the clock before Landon Wilmes got a block from Lucas Frisch with 7:46 left and Bo Collins caught the extra point pass to make it 8-0. Platte Valley threatened to answer right back after a quick hitter to Leland Otto carried 28 yards to the Tiger 22. But then Kolten Smith dragged down Lucky Ferry for a loss of three and a long run by Aydan Blackford was wiped out by a holding penalty. Bo Collins and Landon Wilmes dropped Ferry for a loss of one, a pass from Blackford was dropped, and Lane Acklin was open on fourth and long, but Blackford’s pass was thrown too far and Worth County got the ball on downs at their own 31.

Tyler New, however, fumbled it right back to Platte Valley at their own 38, and Aydan Blackford converted a fourth and one to the Tiger 30. But then Platte Valley stalled there, and Blackford’s fourth down pass to Brandon McQueen was short of the first down and Worth County took over on its own 23. Grant McIntyre caught an 11 yard pass on third and five to the 39, and then Landon Wilmes caught a 27 yard screen pass to the 14. Wilmes picked up 10 more to the four, and then got a block from Bo Collins and took it to the house with 11:03 left in the second quarter. He ran in the extra points to make it 16-0.

Platte Valley spread it out against King City after running into a big front line the week before, and followed that recipe this time. Blackford found daylight at first, getting runs of 9 and 4 to the Tiger 35. A scramble brought it to the 30. But on fourth and five, a false start moved it back to the 35, and Platte Valley went to the swinging gate, which worked against Worth County in the first meeting. But this time, a bad snap was over Blackford’s head and Tyler New beat everyone to the ball and got the scoop and score with 7:44 left in the second to make it 22-0.

The game started to snowball from there for Platte Valley. A pair of short passes to Lane Acklin got them to the 35, and Brandon McQueen caught a shovel pass into Tiger territory at the 39. Blackford picked up two more to the 37. But on fourth and two, Platte Valley tried the same power formation that Worth County uses with Tyler New, and Elias Alarcon blew it up for a loss of three, giving Worth County the ball at the 40. Tyler New picked up six to the 34, and then Lucas Frisch got a block from Elias Alarcon and picked up seven more. Tyler New got a block from Lucas Frisch and picked up 17 to the 10, and then Landon Wilmes got blocks from Elias Alarcon and Lucas Frisch to the house with 4:51 left.

A chop block penalty put Platte Valley behind the sticks on the next series, but on third and 16 at the 20, Aydan Blackford aired it out to Lane Acklin to the Tiger 24 and a first down. On the next play, Aydan Blackford took a spread draw and ran through the Tiger defenders like they weren’t even there, putting Platte Valley on the board with 2:44 left in the half. Worth County got the score right back when Tyler New took a spread draw 41 yards to the house with 2:35 left to make it 34-6. But then Xavier Middleton took the ensuing kickoff to the house to cut it to 34-12 with 2:23 left.

Platte Valley threatened to come roaring back into the game on the next series, something they did in a similar situation two years ago against East Atchison when they were down 20-0 to the Wolves but came back to win. Lucas Frisch was nearly stripped of the ball at the Platte Valley 30, but the referees ruled the whistle had blown before the strip and Worth County retained possession. A pair of Tiger touchdowns were wiped out by holding penalties and the Tigers were backed up all the way back to their own 38 after they had gotten a first down at the 19. But then Landon Wilmes caught a pass for 25 yards to the 17 to make a manageable fourth and eight, and then Wilmes caught a pass in the end zone with 8.7 seconds over a defender’s outstretched hands for the backbreaker. Grant McIntyre caught the extra point pass to make it 42-12 at the half.

Platte Valley had the ball to start the second half and decided to go back to what they knew, running the ball and sustaining long drives. They converted a fourth and one at their own 30 with a six yard burst from Blackford. But on third and four at the Tiger 38, a false start set them back, and Brayden Stevens broke up a pass and another pass was incomplete, giving the Tigers the ball back on downs at the Platte Valley 38.

Tyler New scrambled eight yards on third and eight to keep the drive alive to the 27, and then he scrambled 15 more to the 12. Lucas Frisch picked up six more to the six, and then Tyler New took it to the four. Then, Tyler followed a big line surge as Ethan Lininger and Carter Chapman got blocks and took it to the house with 4:46 left to make it 48-12 to trigger the running clock.

After Platte Valley converted a fourth and one at their own 31 when Blackford ran it for three, Platte Valley moved into Tiger territory on the ground. They used nine plays to get from their own 22 to the Tiger 26; on third and three, Aydan Blackford was organizing the play when out of nowhere, the center snapped the ball. It was a legal play and the ball was live. The Tiger defender was right there with Xavier Middleton, but he came away with it anyway for a score to kill the running clock. Lucky Ferry ran in the extra points to make it 48-20.

Grant McIntyre got some yardage on the ensuing onsides kick, getting it to the Platte Valley 34. Two carries by Landon Wilmes got to the 20, and then on third and two at the 12, Platte Valley jumped offsides to put it on the seven. A bad snap pinned the Tigers back to the 19, and a short pass to Bo Collins only netted six to the 13. A screen pass lost a yard, but on fourth and goal, nobody from Platte Valley covered Bo Collins and Tyler New threw an errant pass. But Bo made a diving grab in the end zone and Tyler New ran in the extra points for the final score.