Momemtum Builder?

Pirates grab season-opening win; prepare for tough rival.

Lee Stubbs
Citizen Editor

The Platte County football team notched a thrilling, come-from-behind 14-13 win last week against a solid Grain Valley team. That’s a good thing in more ways than one — the Pirates will need all the momentum they can get as they prepare this week for the arrival of the defending Class 4 state champion and top-ranked Kearney Bulldogs.

“I was happy with the way the boys played down the stretch,” Platte County head coach Bill Utz said. “It was good to see them come from behind and get the lead. I also thought they showed a lot of character in the fourth quarter. They did a great job on defense the whole game. The offense ran the ball well, and of course picked up some key first downs to seal the game.

“Kearney is very good. They are very deserving of their no. 1 ranking. They have a strong team with very few weaknesses.”

Kearney, which annihilated Winnetonka 45-0 in its opener last week, has pretty much had its way with Platte County the last two seasons. The Bulldogs won both games between the two teams in 2008 in blowout fashion and thumped the Pirates 42-0 last season.

Platte County’s defense will have its hands full with an explosive Kearney offense, especially senior quarterback Shane Hartzler and senior wide receiver Ryan Rische, who connected for three touchdowns last week.

Platte County defensive coordinator Eric Mitchell said his defense needs to play the way it did last Friday, when it held Grain Valley to 270 total yards and turned in a late-game stand deep in Pirates’ territory to preserved the win.

“I was very proud of the effort of the defense Friday night,” Mitchell said. “They had several big stops on the Grain Valley offense. We will have a good challenge next week as we prepare to face Kearney. We are working towards our goal of improving each week.”

The defense made several big plays against Grain Valley and none was bigger than Trent Sluder’s blocked extra point, which came after Grain Valley took a 13-7 lead with just over one minute to play in the first half. It proved to be the difference.

Defensive back Scottie Wilson also came up big with two interceptions on the night - his second pick came at the Pirates’ 17 late in the third quarter, when it looked like Grain Valley was poised to march down the field and take a two-score lead.