Defensive stand gives Storm first playoff win since ‘15
For three quarters, High Plains and Lawrence-Nelson played a defensive slobberknocker with 12 combined points.
An offensive explosion broke out in the fourth quarter before one final defensive stand won the game for the Storm.
HPC’s defense held firm on Lawrence-Nelson’s potential game-winning drive as the Storm won its first playoff game since 2015, 22-20 in a season rematch against the Raiders Thursday night in Clarks.
High Plains coach Greg Wood took an unexpected Gatorade bath after the victory and expressed pride in the seniors for leading the charge.
“Our senior leadership, especially at the very end, really stepped up,” a drenched, but elated Wood proclaimed. “Those guys knew they could get pressure on them and really stepped it up at the end.”
The game was a 6-6 tie for a good portion of the night as both teams, very familiar with one another in its second meeting of the season, battled for field position.
Lawrence-Nelson put a drive together late in the third quarter, deep into Storm territory when the Raiders put the ball on the carpet -- its third turnover of the game.
Almost in deja vu fashion from the first contest, Carter Urkoski scooped the ball up on the bounce and housed it 68 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, sending the home fans into a frenzy now leading 14-6.
The turnover did little to dash Lawrence-Nelson’s winning hopes as QB Wyatt Frey gave his best Husker legend Tommie Frazier impression, breaking multiple tackles on his way to a 39-yard touchdown answer.
In a play that wound up being key to the final, Lawrence-Nelson tossed an incomplete pass on the two-point play, keeping HPC out front, 14-12 with 11 seconds gone in the fourth.
Another senior leader took the reigns on HPC’s ensuing offensive drive as Gage Friesen got the ball on three straight runs up the gut.
The last of those broke free for a 36-yard high-stepping scoring scamper that gave the Storm a two-possession cushion, 22-12 with 10:35 left.
“They had a great game plan for us because they put 9 (Frey) and 22 (Jack Williams) inside and widened everyone else out,” Wood explained. “They dared us to run the ball inside and that was going to be tough to do. We had to figure out a way and that’s what we talked about at halftime.”
Wood mentioned the Storm went with its basic blast, featuring down blocks and creating a wall. They called it three straight times, the last of which was Friesen’s TD rush.
The Raiders answered with another solid offensive drive, the only issue being the clock. The visitors eventually scored at the goal line, but chewed six minutes off the clock, making the score 22-20 with 4:17 remaining.
The Raiders went for an onside kick and recovered, but the ball didn’t go the required 10 yards so the Storm took over in L-N territory.
The plan for HPC was to work the clock and score on the ground, but a bad snap on third down led to a fumble recovered by the Raiders at its own 37-yard line. Lawrence-Nelson had 43 yards to go and 2:32 to get the potential game-winning score.
Instead, the Storm defense stood tall as the Raiders lost 12 yards before an incomplete pass on 4th and 22 went by the wayside and High Plains secured an elusive playoff win.
“It’s awesome for these guys,” Wood said. “Our goal was to make it further than we did last year and see how it goes from there. These guys fight for one another. They believe in one another. We have nine seniors and our younger kids look up to those seniors because they’ve done it the right way. It’s awesome to watch these guys because of how they respond to one another.”
Early action
HPC was on the board first and looked to score all night long after finding pay dirt on its first drive of the night, ending on a 15-yard keeper by Haden Helgoth.
The senior was back in the lineup for HPC after an injury kept him out of the season finale at Deshler and Wood noted his efforts on the defensive end were impossible to ignore.
“A big part of it was getting Haden back in the lineup at linebacker,” Wood said. “He came up big for us in the run game on those counters.”
The Storm would leave a couple touchdowns on the field, though, getting inside the red zone a couple more times in the first half, but unable to convert key 4th down plays.
The Storm got two key turnovers from Hudson Urkoski, a fumble recovery early in the second quarter and an interception on the opening drive of the third quarter.
“It surprised me a little bit,” Wood admitted of the low-scoring contest. “Both these offenses were averaging over 40 a game. But, you get out here and it’s do or die. Hudson stepped up big tonight with the two turnovers and Gage is just our general out there getting everyone where they need to be.”
High Plains forced the Lawrence-Nelson offense into three and outs on its first two drives before the Raiders eventually found success through the air late in the second quarter with the breeze at its back to tie the game entering halftime.
With the stiff north breeze blowing throughout the night, the kicking game became crucial and that was on display for HPC in the third quarter as the Storm’s weapon, Raul Marino, came up clutch.
The senior punter saved the Storm’s skin twice, the first of which was able to avoid a hard-charging Raider punt block. Marino corralled the snap, found some space on the right side and was able to pick up the first down and keep the drive alive.
HPC was unable to do anything with its newfound fortune and Marino was forced to punt again.
Another bad snap led to a scramble drill from Marino, who was able to get the punt off rugby-style to avoid more disaster.
“He’s amazing,” Wood said of Marino. “I hope he gets an opportunity to kick at the next level because he can do it all. We’ve been blessed because of his brother before him was very similar. Raul is a gamer. He doesn’t get a lot of offensive or defensive reps but I’m telling you he’s our best scout team player. He’s the most positive kid you can imagine. He’s out there every day pumping the guys up and he’ll get on those other guys if they’re not going 100 percent. He’s a blessing to have on our team.”
Friesen led the Storm rushing attack with 103 yards on 21 carries and the lone touchdown. Helgoth added 28 yards and a score as the Storm were held to 134 rushing yards in the game.
Round two
High Plains advanced to the second round of the Class D2 playoffs and earned the No. 10 seed in the re-shuffling of the statewide bracket.
HPC will be on the road Friday night, visiting No. 7 Overton with a 6 p.m. kick. The Eagles sport a 7-1 record, its lone loss of the season coming to Loomis in week 8, 28-26.
Overton opened the playoffs with a home win over Hyannis, 61-14.