Spartans rout Platte Valley in 8-man District 2 opener

The October 26 first-round game of 8-man District 2 went into the third quarter before the South Holt/Nodaway-Holt Spartans accumulated enough of a lead to enact the mercy rule, of a 45 point lead, in their 62-16 win over Platte Valley. That being said, PV didn’t go down without a fight, but SHNH ran a spread offense that just couldn’t be defended.

“With North Andrew next week, I didn’t want to unveil too much of what we’ve got planned,” said SHNH Coach Josh Petersen. “But we took a handful of those plays and just ran with them and it worked for us. Now we were able to get out of this with everyone and look forward to another big matchup next week.”

Just as the week before, the Spartans used a spread offense of receivers like Eric Ottman, Dylan Schuetz and Reagan Morris and putting quarterback Drew Quinlin’s arm to good use. In the win against PV, the sophomore QB put up 327 passing yards and five touchdowns.

Receiving the ball first, SHNH wasted no time getting on the board with the first of many Quinlin/Ottman connections on a 46-yard completion for a touchdown at 11:26 in the first quarter.

The Spartans would score the next three touchdowns to put them up 30-0 over PV: a seven-yard quarterback keep for Quinlin, a 31-yard pass play to Schuetz, and the second of four TD passes to Ottman on a first and goal from the nine.

Just when it seemed PV’s wheels were spinning on offense, a break through by Dalton Luke spurred a 57-yard touchdown in the closing play of the first quarter to make it 30-8. That possession was followed by an interception by Patrick O’Connor in the end zone for a touchback, but PV couldn’t make anything of the turnover.

“Dalton is just one of those kids that doesn’t lead much verbally, but does so by his actions,” PV Coach Cree Beverlin said. “He’s got other kids wanting to lift like he does, play like he does and work like he does.”

Regaing the momentum, a rushing touchdown by Taran Clark widened the gap for SHNH and was followed by a 32-yard touchdown pass to Ottman for a score of 46-8 with just under four minutes left in the first half.

Luke would find the end zone again for the second and final touchdown of the night for PV, this time on a seven-yard carry to finish off a drive from around mid-field. The fourth and final Quinlin/Ottman touchdown pass was made in the final minute of the half to make it 54-16 for the Spartans. But it wasn’t enough for a halftime game which rejuvenated PV who was in a do-or-die situation. This showed in their second half performance as they held off the Spartans in a scoring attempt not once, but twice including stopping SHNH on a fourth and two situation. But after forcing a punt from deep in their own territory, the Spartans used the short field to their advantage, and eventually found the game-winning score halfway through the third quarter on a reverse to Ottman for an 18-yard touchdown play to end it 62-16.

Platte Valley ends their season 2-8 while the Spartans (5-5) take on North Andrew in the district semifinal November 2 at North Andrew. The Cardinals are 5-4 coming into the matchup.