West Platte’s football team rode a hot start to the finish line in its season-opener, defeating Maysville 35-6 on Aug. 28 in Weston.
A 21-point first quarter was plenty of scoring for the Blue Jays to run away with a comfortable victory.
Blaze Masoner immediately gave West Platte good field position after returning the opening kick to the 40-yard-line. Masoner came up big again with a 35-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage. After several run plays edged West Platte closer, senior quarterback Mark Sanders rushed in the Blue Jays’ first score of the season from the 6-yard line.
After forcing Maysville to punt, it did not take long for West Platte to strike once again. Senior running back Brady McMillan raced down the right side, tip-toeing beside the white paint before crossing the goal line with a 46-yard rushing touchdown as the Blue Jays took a two-score lead inside the first five minutes.
The Blue Jays forced another Maysville punt, which was followed by another score for the hosts on a four-play sequence. After a pair of positive runs from Sanders, he turned to his arm for a 14-yard pass to Cuin Vincent before Sanders punched it in with a quarterback-keeper from the 1-yard line, pushing West Platte ahead 21-0.
Maysville made its first trip to the red zone early in the second quarter, but West Platte junior Isaiah Quintero forced a fumble that Masoner recovered. West Platte eventually turned the ball back to Maysville with a fumble of their own near midfield.
Late in the second quarter, West Platte made it 28-0 after piecing together a 77-yard drive. Masoner had a 26-yard reception before a 21-yard run from McMillan set up Sanders for another quarterback-keeper as the Blue Jays led 28-0 at halftime.
Maysville got on the board late in the third quarter, scoring on a quarterback-keeper on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
West Platte put another strong sequence together to build their final scoring drive of the evening. Sanders eventually found Vincent flashing across the middle for a 14-yard touchdown reception, securing West Platte’s opening victory of the season.
Sanders went 7-for-10 passing with 122 yards and a touchdown, rushing for an additional 83 yards on 11 attempts with three touchdowns. McMillan ran for 100 yards on nine touches while sophomore Oliver Schwartz and Quintero also reached double-digit yardage.
Masoner led all receivers with 91 yards receiving, catching all four targets. Vincent followed with a touchdown and 31 yards on three catches.
Vincent also led all Blue Jays with six tackles, followed by five tackles each for Dalton Burns, Jack Parker and McMillan.
West Platte was perfect on point-after attempts, with sophomore kicker Macklin Bolling making all five tries. Bolling also kicked three touchbacks in six kickoffs and totaled 65 yards from two punts, including one inside the 20-yard line.
The Blue Jays hit the road for a matchup against Crest Ridge on Sept. 4. They return home on Sept. 11 to host North Platte.