Emotions were high for a KCI Conference clash between North Platte and East Buchanan on Sept. 19 in Dearborn, but the Panthers leaned into their virtue of belief to overcome doubt cast late in their 34-27 victory.
With North Platte trailing 27-26 and facing a fourth-and-8 from East Buchanan’s 39-yard line with 1:30 left in the game, head coach Jared Quigley called a timeout. As the team huddled to plan how to keep their hopes alive, Quigley deferred his own play call, allowing his players the opportunity to make the call to extend the game.
“I believe in them just as much as they believe in me and in each other,” Quigley said. The Panthers’ theme for this season is believe, a term inscribed on the crown of each player’s helmet. Out of the timeout, North Platte lined up in a single back shotgun formation.
Senior quarterback Dylan Armstrong clapped his hands, hoping to get a false start, but East Buchanan remained disciplined. He eventually received the snap, faked a handoff and followed his blockers’ lead on a run towards the left, stretching out to move the chains on a 9-yard pickup.
North Platte quarterback Dylan Armstrong dives forward to convert the fourth-and-7, keeping the Panthers’ hopes alive against East Buchanan on Sept. 19.
On the next play, the Panthers ran that same play to the right side. This time, Armstrong bounced off a defender behind the line of scrimmage and exploited a hole on a 30-yard touchdown carry.
“The atmosphere,” Armstrong said. “Once I pulled that and went around the edge, the crowd lit up. It just felt amazing running in there.” It was a scene that East Buchanan witnessed far too often for their liking.
Armstrong’s go-ahead touchdown run was his fourth touchdown carry of the evening, this time followed by a successful 2-point conversion on a sweep as junior Ben Horsley carried it in on the right side to put North Platte up 34-27.
There was still work to be done defensively for the Panthers as East Buchanan had 1:04 left to piece together a 51-yard drive to potentially tie it. The Bulldogs were unable to replicate what they had done much of the second half as the North Platte defense secured the victory with a turnover on downs.
“When it came to our backs up against the wall, it’s about the power of belief,” Quigley said. “The power of belief in those fellas getting after it, getting a little pressure on the quarterback and forcing a bad throw.”
The Panthers’ victory was one of great significance following the previous week’s narrow road defeat to Lathop. North Platte also ended a seven-game losing streak against East Buchanan, last defeating them in 2019.
“That right there tells me the power of belief,” Quigley said. “They believed, they bought in. The challenge tonight was to finish and I could not be more pleased with how they finished.”
Armstrong’s first explosive play of the evening came on the first play from scrimmage, decepting the defense with a fake handoff before racing to the right for an 85-yard touchdown carry untouched. East Buchanan answered with an 11-yard touchdown reception before making the point-after kick, putting the visitors ahead 7-6.
North Platte began the second quarter moving the ball quickly upfield, concluding with senior running back Gus French’s 45-yard touchdown carry to the left before a successful two-point conversion made it 14-7 for the Panthers. East Buchanan eventually answered late in the second quarter on an 8-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 before halftime.
North Platte running back Gus French rushed for 100 yards with a touchdown against East Buchanan.
East Buchanan had an opportunity to retake the lead, but their drive came to a premature conclusion when sophomore Hudson Yarc intercepted an underthrown pass, though the Panthers were unable to translate the turnover into points.
The Panthers eventually went up 20-14 when Armstrong’s second touchdown run came on a 28-yard carry through the middle, fending off numerous defenders before racing into the end zone. The Bulldogs drove downfield late in the third quarter and completed the scoring drive on the first play of the fourth quarter, jumping in front 21-20.
After a 10-play drive — including a 20-yard reception and another 29-yard pass to get the Panthers in the red zone — North Platte went back in front after Armstrong’s 2-yard touchdown carry to put them in front 26-21. Once again, the Bulldogs answered midway through the fourth quarter to go up 27-26.
Armstrong’s game-winning drive followed, driving the Panthers 83 yards downfield in about five minutes. It was the perfect conclusion for Armstrong, who tallied 145 of North Platte’s 386 rushing yards on his four touchdown carries alone.
“We believed in each other,” Armstrong said about the big fourth-down conversion. “We have each other’s back; we have belief that each teammate is going to do their job up front and make a good play. That’s what happened.”
“He’s an absolute impact player,” Quigley said of his quarterback, who ended the game with 199 yards rushing and was named as the team’s senior of the week leading up to the game. “Yesterday, I stood up in front of the team and told them, ‘When this kid is on, he can take over a game,’ and that’s exactly what he did tonight.”
The Panthers improved to 3-1 on the season, 1-1 in conference play. North Platte will visit Penney on Sept. 26 for the Hornets’ homecoming game before the Panthers host Plattsburg on Oct. 3.
Members of the North Platte defense celebrate a critical defensive stop to turn East Buchanan over on downs in the final moments on Sept. 19 in Dearborn.