Platte Valley, DeKalb look for first win

By DAVID MERRILL Sports reporter
Platte Valley’s Logan Harlan (32) and Trey Farnan (59) wrap up Mound City’s Austin Pankau during the Aug. 10 matchup between the Panthers and Longhorns.

Something has to give.

Platte Valley (0-6) and DeKalb (0-6) will get another shot at coming away with a victory for the first time on Friday when the two teams meet in DeKalb at 7 p.m. Longhorn coach Dan Collins said this is a great opportunity for both teams.

“Im sure both teams are look at this game as an opportunity to get their first win of the season,” he said. “Both programs are hurting for numbers, which make it tough to get through a season. I feel our kids have been playing hard over the past few weeks and are ready for the task ahead of them this week.”

DeKalb coach Kaleb Wardlow agrees with Collins and said that getting a win would be a big morale boost for his squad.

“It would be beneficial to the players because, as a coach, O know they are improving week to week even though they may think they aren’t because of our record. A win would reward them for not quitting through a rough season.”

Platte Valley lost 54-8 to Southwest Livingston last week and DeKalb is coming off a 52-0 loss at the hands of North-West Nodaway.

DeKalb beat Platte Valley 32-22 last season, but it was 68-44 Platte Valley in 2014. While the teams have split the last two meetings, DeKalb has owned the series between the two teams since 2007.

Wardlow said his team has to make sure not to be too predictable on either side of the ball.

“We have to be able to stop the run and tackle, but at the same time, stay honest for the pass,” he said. “we have to limit the big play and make them drive the length of the field in order to score.”

Aside from that, Wardlow said the focus in practice this week for his team was on not beating themselves.

He remembered simple mistakes being made last week.

“There several times that we had a hole set up, but the back ran the wrong way or missed the whole,” Wardlow said. “There were other times that we would block the play to the wrong side or be moving the ball and fumble. This week, we need to work on the mental side of things and limiting our mistakes as we as focusing on everyone having to play multiple positions.”

Collins’ Longhorns scored 29 points two weeks ago, but saw his offense slip back down to eight points last week. Collins said it came down to just being overmatched physically.

“(Southwest Livingston’s) offensive and defensive line play last week was exceptional,” he said. “They had very good speed up front and were able to get to the second level very quickly. I’m not taking anything away from our guys, but they were a lot better than us up front.”

With that being the case, Collins also said his guys need to get better and recover from the physical game that SW Livingston gave them.

We need to get a couple guys healthy,” he said. “We got beat up a little last week. Assuming we are back to normal, we need to re-establish our offensive and defensive performance we displayed against North Shelby at home. This is a must-win for our guys- not only from a record standpoint, but for our self confidence.”

Platte Valley will take on Stewartsville (2-4)) and East Atchison (2-4) to end the season.