The Plainview Pirates got all they could handle in the first round of the Class D1 state playoffs against Hartington-Newcastle on Thursday, Oct. 19.
The Pirates and Wildcats had met once this year prior to Thursday’s contest. In just the second game of the year, Plainview handled the Wildcats with ease, cruising to a 42-6 victory over the Wildcats. But playoffs have always proved to be a different story, and Thursday’s game was a much different tale than the contest early in the season.
In the first half, neither team was able to get much going defensively, with both offenses doing seemingly whatever they pleased.
Both teams were able to pick up two touchdowns in the first quarter, making the score 14-14 heading into quarter number two.
The second quarter was a close, as both offenses continued to slash through the defenses. Plainview was able to put up three touchdowns compared to the Wildcats’ two, giving them a 35-28 lead at the half.
In the second half, both defenses finally showed up to play, as both teams were only able to score twice in the entire second half. Luckily for Plainview, thanks to their seven-point lead at halftime, all they had to do was continue matching the Wildcats in the second half, which they did perfectly.
Plainview would outscore the Wildcats by just two points in the second half, but that’s all the squad would need to secure their victory and move on to the second round of the playoffs.
The Pirates went on to win by a score of 49-40, and while they may have gave the home fans a game that was too close for comfort, the Pirates did what they came to do, which was survive and advance.
The Pirates kept the ball to the ground most of the evening, only completing two passes for nine yards total. Leading the way on the ground was quarterback Gage Walton, who kept his nose to the grindstone for a hard earned 180 yard and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Following closely in his footsteps was Spencer Hille with nine carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns, Jacson King with 17 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns, and Ty Diedrichsen with four carries for one yard.
Defensively, numerous Pirates would put up big numbers in the tackles category, with Karter Lingenfelter leading the way with 16 total tackles, followed by Diedrichsen with 13, King with 12, Walton and Hille each with five, Brendan Weber with four, Xander Albin, Harrison Thor and Hayven Stewart each with three, Lenyn Ickler and Wyatt Doerr with two, and Kohen Lingenfelter, Corben Kment, and Rece Frahm with one each.
With the victory, the Plainview Pirates advanced to the second round of the Class D1 playoffs, where they were re-seeded into the six seed. On Friday, Oct. 27, the Pirates will take on the 6-2 Elkhorn Valley Falcons, who the Pirates defeated earlier in the season on Oct. 12 by a score of 27-12.
Karter Lingenfelter (at right) had a number of long saves to help keep the Wildcats
from scoring.