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October 31, 2012 COMPLETE COUNTY COVERAGE Page B1

TThhee CCiitt iizzeennssSPORTSWEEKLY

ROUNDTWOJASON LAWRENCE

CITIZEN STAFF

North Platte is gettingexactly what it wants inthe second round of districtplay a rematch with rivalWest Platte, a team thatbeat the Panthers 42-8 Sept.21.

We dont want to bedone, thats for sure,North Platte senior run-ning back KameronPoepping said. And wewant our rematch withWest Platte.

West Platte is lookingjust as forward to thatrematch as its counterpartto the north.

Thats alwaysfun, West Plattecoach ChuckSiler said. Coach(Jim) Brockhoff will havethem ready and its a rival-ry between the twoschools, so itll be a fungame. No doubt about it.

It is what waits beyondthe rivalry showdown inthe second week of districtsthat both teams are reallystriving for and a poten-tial showdown with theNo. 5 team in Class 1Wellington-Napoleon adistrict title game appear-ance.

The Jays handedWellington-Napoleon its

only loss of the year, 42-34,Aug. 31 when the Tigershad the potential game-tying touchdown waivedoff due to a penalty as timeexpired.

To get to that matchup,the Jays would have toknock off their rival for thesecond time andWellington-Napoleon, a 68-0 winner over WentworthMilitary Academy lastFriday night, would have toget by Lone Jack, whichdefeated St. Marys 54-24last Friday.

Go to Wellington Im sure Wellington wouldlike that, Siler said.District championship itd be awesome if we couldget to that point, but wevegot to get past the next onefirst. Itd be wonderful if wecould.

Of course North Plattehas other ideas aboutwhich Platte County teamwill be appearing in the dis-trict title game and thinksthey will be a little morewell prepared to face theJays this time.

We were awfulbeat up and had asuspension or twothat game and

some kids were missing,Brockhoff said. We shouldbe in a little better health.We just need to get off to alittle better start, play hardand well see what hap-pens.

It also helps that thePanthers seniors have thatdesire to get a little pay-back.

Were gonna haveMitch (Adams) back thisgame, so thats a big help,Poepping said. We justneed to not get down onourselves, play hard and I

think we have a chance forsure.

Brockhoff said he wouldlike to see his special teamsplay a little better this timearound, and if they do, itcould have a big impact onthe game.

(We cant) let themstart inside our territoryevery time, Brockhoffsaid. Our special teamsplayed pretty poorly. Theyhad a lot of returns andstarted most of their driveswell inside our 50, so thatsNo. 1. Weve got to do bet-ter special teams wise.

To get to Wednesdaynights match-up, both

Bluejays, Panthers meet for second time with district championship spot at stake

Volleyball seasoncomes to a close

CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

The West Platte volleyball team had a disappointingend to its season last Saturday, but made school history asit hosted sectionals, advanced to the sectional champi-onship game and went 3-1 last week to finish the year 25-7-1.

The Lady Jays started off the week by beating rivalNorth Platte for the fourth time this season in the secondround of districts, 25-9 and 25-13, behind seven kills and11 assists from Jana Hochard. Chloe Faris recorded eightdigs and Jordan Bialek led West Platte with 13 assists.

With a district title on the line against a St. Marysteam the Lady Jays had split the season series with, theyresponded, taking the game and the district title in twogames, 25-16 and 25-17.

The girls came out very focused though and playedsome of the best ball I have seen them play all seasonlong, head coach Amber Guthrie said. This was soexciting for us to be able to send our great group of seniorsout with a district championship. Every single person onour team wanted that championship and it showed whenthey stepped onto that court.

Hochard again led the team in kills with 12 and Brooke

Sportsmanship is not a lost art

Everyoneseems to getso caught upin the compe-tition andwinningthese daysthat subtlethings likesportsman-ship generallygo unnoticed.

Afterspending theend of lastweek inWeston cov-ering the West Plattefootball teams 53-6 winover Orrick and the LadyJays sectional volleyballmatches, I learned sports-manship is somethingthey preach in Weston.

I was shocked andimpressed when the

Bluejays notonly put in alot of theirjunior varsityplayers in thesecond quar-ter, but thentook fourstraight kneeson first andgoal in thefourth quarterto turn theball over ondowns toOrrick, whichwould not

have been in the toughsituation of facing thesecond seed in the Class1 District 7 playoffs hadthe old playoff formatstill been in place.

However, both teams

JASONLAWRENCE/Citizenphotos

LEFT West Platte quarterback Jack Callahan ran for two touchdowns and threw for another against Orrick last week. RIGHT North Plattes Kameron Poepping made amove to get around a Mid-Buchanan defender on his way to the end zone on a 37-yard scoring run last Thursday. The Panthers and Jays meet Wednesday night in Weston withdistrict title game (Nov. 5) hopes hanging in the balance.

JASONLAWRENCE/Citizenphoto

Park Hill South outside hitter Claire Friedlund spiked ashot over the outstretched arms of a St. TeresasAcademy opponent in the Panthers 2-1 loss last week.

CitizenCommentary

Jason Lawrence

See RIVALRY, PAGE B4

See LAWRENCE, PAGE B4See VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP, PAGE B2

PIRATES, PH SOUTH ROLL TO WINS, PG. B3 CHECK PLATTECOUNTYCITIZEN.COM FOR PLAYOFF UPDATES

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