Lincoln East’s Austin Schneider (left) loses the ball as he’s hit by North Platte’s Tate Janas in the first quarter Friday during a Class A second-round playoff game at Seacrest Field.
Francis Gardler / Lincoln Journal Star
By Chris Basnett, Lincoln Journal Star
Carter Glenn came back, and Lincoln East turned on the jets.
Glenn caught a pair of touchdown passes, and East scored 28 points in the second quarter to power past North Platte 42-0 and advance to the Class A quarterfinals.
After suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder Sept. 17 against Millard North, Glenn spent the past month-plus rehabbing. He got in for a handful of plays in East’s regular-season finale two weeks ago, but Friday marked his first extensive action since the Millard North game.
“A lot of hard work and time coming into rehab and everything, so it’s definitely paid off, and it’s super fun to come out again,” Glenn said. “It’s never easy to beat a team twice, so coming out and showing well is a good sign for next week.”
Glenn now has 14 catches this season, with 10 of them going for touchdowns.
“He just makes plays, and you saw it today,” East coach John Gingery said. “The kid just makes plays and scores touchdowns.”
The Spartans (8-2) will travel to take on Omaha Westside next Friday for a spot in the state semifinals. Westside knocked off Grand Island 45-3 Friday to advance.
Glenn scored East’s first touchdown Friday on an 18-yard catch, slipping a North Platte tackle and diving over the goal line to put the Spartans up 7-0 late in the first quarter. His second score came on a 9-yard catch to put the Spartans up 28-0 in the second quarter.
That was more than enough for the East defense, which held North Platte (6-3) to 66 yards and three first downs while forcing two turnovers in the first half. The Spartans led 21-0 when the teams met Oct. 9, but went cold in the second half of a 21-7 win.
No such issues Friday.
East quarterback Noah Walters completed 10-of-16 passes for 138 yards and two scores, and rushed for 115 yards on 10 carries. Running back Grant Springer connected with Cooper Erikson on a 26-yard halfback pass for a score, and Austin Schneider and Kyle Caulfield also scored as East built a 35-0 halftime lead.
Despite the tough ending North Platte finished 2020 with six wins, its most in a season since going 11-1 in 2003 — Danny Woodhead’s senior year.
“We did an awful lot of good things through the course of the season, had some quality wins, competed very well against everybody,” North Platte coach Todd Rice said. “We think we’ve made some steps, but there’s definitely another level we need to get to because we should be able to compete with teams like this.”
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