A pair of turnovers proved to be fatal for North Platte as they suffered a 41-34 senior night defeat against West Platte to close out the regular season on Oct. 24 in the annual Battle of the Tobacco Stick matchup.
A fumble late in the second quarter allowed West Platte to tie the game up before halftime and a late-game interception sealed the Blue Jays’ victory. West Platte has now earned hosting rights throughout the district tournament as the No. 1 seed, while North Platte fell to the No. 2 spot.
Both teams utilized the ground game effectively as both teams rushed for more than 7 yards per carry. North Platte quarterback Dylan Armstrong scored five rushing touchdowns to rush the majority of the Panthers’ 435 rushing yards, while West Platte was less run-centric but still had 248 yards between quarterback Jhett Chandler and running back Brady McMillan, who both rushed in triple-digit numbers.
“It’s not so much the win, we knew it was going to be a tough game,” West Platte head coach Taylor Gallagher said. “There was a possibility it could go either way, but it was kind of the way in which we were able to grind it out and find a way was kind of the more impressive thing for us.”
The conditions also had an impact as chilly temperatures and rain showered the field for the entire first half, which began with an early West Platte turnover when North Platte sophomore lineman Heston Brockbauer caught the tipped pass near midfield. The Panthers took advantage of the early turnover as a 16-yard reception for Ben Horsley allowed Armstrong to punch it in on a quarterback-keeper from the 1-yard line.
West Platte answered back through McMillan, who scored on a pitch from a quarterback option for a 40-yard touchdown. North Platte had a big play of their own in response as Armstrong turned a third-and-10 play into a 60-yard touchdown with his legs as the Panthers carried a 14-6 lead after the first quarter.
After a quiet start to the second quarter, action changed rapidly late in the half, beginning with Armstrong’s second score of the night on a 22-yard carry to put the Panthers ahead by 14 points.
“We can’t quit,” Chandler said of his team’s mindset while trailing 20-6. “That’s one thing we know is we can’t quit.”
With 1:25 remaining in the half, West Platte needed an answer and got one as Chandler scrambled to his right and released the ball before taking a big hit, but finding Joe Blake in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass to get back within a score.
It appeared that North Platte was preparing to run the clock out, but some trickery backfired when the snap was fumbled and recovered by West Platte with 10 seconds left in the half. The Blue Jays cashed in on that turnover as Chandler found Mark Sanders over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown to tie the game up 20-20 at halftime.
“We talked in the locker room how we need to get at least one stop in the second half and that’s what it took because both teams were scoring every time they had the ball,” Gallagher said.
West Platte running back Brady McMillan averaged 13.2 yards per carry, rushing for 132 yards on just 10 carries.
After the rain drew to a halt and a West Platte defensive stop, a third-and-long completion to Blake set the Blue Jays up with a fresh set of downs to begin a second-half shootout as McMillan scored his second touchdown of the night from a 68-yard run on an option play down the left side to give West Platte its first lead of the night. North Platte got its lead right back when Armstrong ran in his fourth score of the night, followed by a successful 2-point run from Jonathan McCracken.
West Platte answered back, beginning when Blaze Masoner high-pointed the ball for a 30-yard completion, which was followed by big third-down conversions by Blake and a pass from Alex Kinslow to Masoner, from which Chandler ran in from the 1-yard line to take a 33-28 lead. North Platte kept with its dominant run game as Armstrong put the hosts back in front with a 1-yard touchdown carry to the left as they carried a 34-33 lead going into the final five minutes.
Following a third-and-8 conversion, the Blue Jays marched into Panther territory before Chandler went over the top to find Masoner for a 48-yard touchdown. West Platte’s lead was extended to seven after Chandler completed the 2-point conversion with a pass to Cuin Vincent, putting the visitors ahead 41-34.
With more than three minutes left to play, North Platte still had time to answer. After the Panthers picked up a pair of first downs, West Platte’s defense stepped up with back-to-back tackles behind the line of scrimmage to force the Panthers to pass.
Facing third-and-13 from their own 45-yard line with just over a minute remaining, Armstrong scrambled to his right before firing a pass. The throw was off target as Chandler stepped in for the interception, securing the Tobacco Stick and, more importantly, the No. 1 seed in the district tournament for West Platte.
Jhett Chandler threw for 214 yards with three touchdowns, rushing for 110 yards on the ground to lead West Platte to victory against North Platte on Oct. 24.
“It means a lot,” Chandler said of his interception. “It stops their drive and gives us the ball; we got the victory. It means everything to do it here and do it right.”
Gallagher said Chandler is the heartbeat of West Platte’s team who can do a little bit of everything. Chandler, who passed for 214 yards with three touchdowns and ran for 110 yards with another touchdown, was praised for his leadership, emotion and toughness.
“We’ve got to keep riding this high train and keep on our horses,” Chandler said. “We’ve got to keep getting better every day, it’s our motto.”
North Platte quarterback Dylan Armstrong rushed for 321 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in a defeat to West Platte on senior night.
Both top-seeded West Platte and No. 2-seeded North Platte get a first-round bye. West Platte will host the district semifinal on Nov. 7 against the winner of No. 4 Penney and No. 5 Maysville/Winston, while North Platte will host the winner of No. 3 Gallatin/Tri-County and No. 6 Plattsburg.
“Right now, it’s just one game at a time,” Gallagher said. “Try and use a little bit of time to get healthy and then get back at it. Not going to look too far ahead because we’ve got things we’ve got to get better at.”