Platte Valley notches second-straight win
LACY RILEY/THE FORUM
Platte Valley senior Lucky Ferry bursts through the DeKalb defense on Friday night in Barnard.
BARNARD, Mo. — It was a banner night in the history of South Nodaway’s football program as Platte Valley defeated Dekalb 44-16 Friday night in Barnard.
The win counts as South Nodaway’s 150th 8-man win with the Longhorns earning 107 of those victories and the Platte Valley co-op accounting for the last 43.
Senior running back Lucky Ferry set the tone for the 44-16 win over DeKalb with five touchdowns.
“It helps the team be able to believe in my running game, and it really boosts my confidence,” Ferry said.
The game started out slow for both teams. DeKalb received the ball first, but Platte Valley didn’t let them get far. They took over on the 32-yard line, and Ferry got started early with 21 yards for a first down.
DeKalb recovered a bad snap leading to a touchdown from Blake Norton, and a good two-point conversion with 2:04 left in the first quarter. The score stayed 8-0 for the rest of the quarter.
To start the second quarter, Ferry came out quick with a touchdown from 10 yards out, but the two-point conversion no good.
A false start from DeKalb and a tipped pass by Mason Holaday gave the ball back right back to Platte Valley.
First, it was Ferry with 12 yards, then to Holaday for eight, and lastly, Jayden Sturm for three yards and a touchdown. Ridge Clements rushed in for the two-point conversion to get Platte Valley ahead for the first time, with 5:44 left in the first half.
Following the Platte Valley defense forcing a punt, Sturm, Clements and Ferry moved the team down the field, capped by another Ferry touchdown, with the two-point good from Clements.
“We came together, we blocked, played better offense and defense,” Clements said. “All around — just played better.”
DeKalb responded with three seconds left in the half, with Landon Crockett scoring a touchdown, and Kyle Funk running in for the two-point conversion — bringing the score at half to 22-16 in favor of Platte Valley.
To start the second half, Ezra Morris recovered the onside kick for Platte Valley at the 34-yard line. Ferry scored his third touchdown on a 30-yard run, and the two-point conversion good from Clements.
After the kick return, DeKalb got called for a false start and Blaine Clements sacked the quarterback, which earned Platte Valley the ball back. Platte Valley couldn’t get started though, and DeKalb took back over on the 30-yard line.
After a false start against the Tigers, and a big stop by Blaine Clements, Platte Valley senior Jayden Sturm recovered a fumble and Platte Valley took back over on the 25-yard line with 2:52 left in the third quarter.
The home crowd was fired up all night, cheering and hyping up Platte Valley wich provided a spark for Platte Valley.
“It makes us want to do good in front of our hometown,” Ferry said. “You don’t want to fail in front of people you know.”
Ferry carried the ball again for a big 56-yard touchdown, and the two-point conversion was good by Ridge Clements. DeKalb couldn’t respond before the buzzer rang, and at the end of the third quarter the score was 38-16.
After a slow start offensively to the fourth quarter, Ferry would find the end zone one more time with 7:50 remaining in the game.
DeKalb would try to respond with a big run from Crocket, but Platte Valley recovered the ball after a fumble. Platte Valley would hold on for the 44-16 victory.
Platte Valley has won the last two games and is hoping to carry that momentum into a tough away game next week against No. 1 ranked Rock Port.
“They’re a solid, good team and we just got to go into next week with the right mentality,” Ridge Clements said.
