Second quarter dooms Coyotes

Thirty seconds into Friday night’s confrontation, both visiting South Platte and Potter-Dix had big plays and points on the board.

For a moment, it appeared as if the game might turn into one of those freewheeling eight-man affairs. Apart from the first half minute and a one-sided outburst in the second, however, this was a defensive struggle. But the outburst—24 unanswered points for the Knights—settled the matter, as the visitors overwhelmed Potter-Dix, 40-20.

“We couldn’t stop them when we needed to,” Jake Johnson explained. “They controlled the clock.”

Indeed, South Platte gained nine of their 15 first downs in the second. They logged 66 plays from scrimmage during the game, compared to 45 for the Coyotes. In the critical second period, their work was even more complete, as they held the ball through 22 snaps. Potter-Dix managed only nine over the same span.

The start promised a much more riotous night. South Platte’s Kris Kopetzky took the opening kick and raced 71 yards for a touchdown, with Blake Odenbaugh tacking on the two-point conversion. Potter-Dix almost answered in kind. Bryant Knigge hauled in the ensuing kick on his own six and slipped down the sideline untouched—until Kopetzky’s saving tackle at the Knights’ six.

“Kris and I are good friends,” Knigge said. “When he returned it, I knew I had to return one, too. I almost did it—and he’s the one who tackled me.”

A few seconds later Knigge outran his friend to the pylon on a keeper. Johnson caught the conversion, and with the game barely underway, it was knotted at 8-8.

It remained a stalemate until late in the opening period. After the Knights shanked a punt, Knigge put together a drive covering much of the 24 yards himself. As the first quarter came to an end, Knigge—a wide receiver starting at quarterback for the first time in his career—took advantage of a hole in South Platte’s defense carved by Sam Gingerich and waltzed into the end zone.

The Coyotes led 14-8 at the end of one, but the next 12 minutes belonged to the Knights.

Three minutes into the game-changing period, South Platte quarterback Jason Dethlefs punched the ball in from the one. With Tyler Magninie back at the helm on a night when his playing time was limited, the home side managed just a 5 yard reception by Kelsey Rozelle before handing the ball back to their guests.

The Knights responded with a 13 play drive, broken momentarily by solid defensive stops by Gingerich, Cooper Hicks and Anthony Vahlbusch, but ultimately culminating in a short touchdown run by South Platte’s Odenbaugh.

Potter-Dix almost tilted momentum back in their direction. Magninie hit Johnson on a crossing pattern and the junior back scampered 20 yards, eluding every pursuing Knight but one. Rowan Ford tripped up Johnson as he set his sights on the end zone. Two plays later, a Magninie pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and fluttered into the arms of South Platte’s Kopetzky, who returned it 56 yards for another score.

When the halftime gun sounded, South Platte held a 32-14 lead.

“The biggest thing is that we just weren’t ready,” Johnson said, explaining the rough quarter of play.

In the third quarter things settled back down, as neither side could mount a sustained drive. Gingerich, Coby Hicks, Keverett Rusk, Tristan Hinrichs and Wyatt Long took turns hammering white jerseys and Johnson—number 22 for the Coyotes—repeatedly battered Odenbaugh, 22 on the Knights. The only score came when South Platte’s Dethlefs found Kopetzky in the end zone.

The visitors entered the final period with a comfortable 40-14 advantage. But Potter-Dix refused to give in. Early in the fourth, safety Cameron Purcell soared in front of Dethlefs intended receiver, recording the first interception in his career.

“I caught it, but I didn’t know what to do with it after that,” Purcell said with a laugh.

Knigge did, though. Behind center again for the second half, he drove the Coyotes inside the five, gaining 34 yards himself. On third down, Knigge escaped a collapsing pocket and lofted the ball toward a well-covered Johnson, who came down with it in the end zone.

“I rolled out and I knew I was going to get clobbered,” Knigge said, recalling the desperation toss. “He went up and got it.”

But that was all. The clock ran out with the score at 40-20 in favor of the Knights.

Potter-Dix takes on their friendly rivals from Leyton on Friday night, hoping to get back on track. Win or lose, the Coyotes expect a tough reunion.

“It will be a fun match up,” Knigge said.

Score by Quarters

SP 8 24 8 0 – 40

PD 14 0 0 6 - 20