The North Platte Bulldogs had so many highlights in their 42-14 win over Class B No. 1 Aurora Huskies on Friday that it’s hard to pick just one.
Vince Genatone scored the Bulldogs’ first touchdown of the 2021 season and later had a 30-yard catch-and-run for his second. Ryan Kaminski had a jumping snag in the end zone for another score. And Brock Roblee broke free of the Aurora defense up the middle and ran for a 66-yard touchdown.
The defense even had two picks, one from Kolten Tilford and another from Cole Wright, both of which led to North Platte touchdowns.
The Bulldogs shut down an Aurora team fresh off a Class B state championship appearance in the second half to pick up a win in the season opener.
“We knew we’d have to play our best,” coach Todd Rice said. “Just real proud of our guys. “There’s an awful lot of adversity, especially in that second quarter. Our guys regrouped mentally, came back in that third quarter and did exactly what a good football team will do.”
The Bulldogs took command early and showed off their diverse offense on the first drive. Four players got to run with the ball, leading to a Genatone 13-yard score about three minutes into the game.
The defense forced Aurora to punt on its first drive, and the punt bounced off a players helmet, giving North Platte the ball at the 14. Two plays later, Roblee found the end zone as well. Tilford’s interception came just before the first quarter ended, and Roblee scored again to start the second quarter on that 66-yard run.
Aurora started figuring its offense out after that, scoring and converting on the 2-point attempt to make the score 21-8. After forcing a North Platte three-and-out and then blocking the punt, the Huskies scored again as the first half ended, but missed the 2-point conversion to leave the score at 21-14.
“I think that second quarter was the fatigue level and the rotation, and then you get into some snap count on some guys,” Rice said. “Credit to (Aurora) because they’re not any deeper than we are. Again, they’re well coached and a proud football team. That was their best punch.”
Aurora didn’t score again. Rather, North Platte dominated both sides of the ball.
Wright’s interception stopped an Aurora drive in North Platte territory, and Tonkinson, Roblee and Tate Janas powered the Bulldogs down the field before Tonkinson found Genatone downfield for a 30-yard touchdown.
“That just shows how many weapons we have,” Tonkinson said. “There’s not just one or two of us on the offense that can score the ball. We have people all over.”
Genatone scored again on the next drive, running the ball three times and picking up 54 yards in the process.
The Bulldogs’ final score came at the start of the fourth quarter, when Kaminski grabbed an open look pass in the end zone to push the score out to 42-14.
“We played Class B runner up every year for an opener,” Rice said. “Four years ago, we took it on the chin, and to see these guys come full circle, that’s pretty special.”
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