• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Print
• Save

LINCOLN — North Platte didn’t have much for passing statistics, going 0-for-3 through the air.

When you rush for 547 yards, the aerial attack tends to lose some significance.

Jaylan Ruffin racked up 125 yards on just six carries and scored a pair of first quarter touchdowns and teammate Cody Wright added 112 yards on 15 attempts and scored two third quarter TDs to lead the Bulldogs to a 56-14 win over Lincoln Northeast at Seacrest Field Friday afternoon.

“We just stayed with what we do well and put it on our offensive line with their physicality,” North Platte coach Todd Rice said after his team improved to 4-0. “To come out and score on several consecutive possessions in both halves were big for us.”

The Bulldogs found success around right end in the first quarter as Ruffin, a halfback, scored on touchdown runs of 25 and 31 yards on option pitches going that direction on their first two possessions. They made it 21-0 on the final play of the opening period on an 89-yard run around right end by Kaden Foot, part of a 261-yard rushing first half for North Platte.

“We really got synced up and those guys threw some great blocks on the edge to spring those big runs,” Rice said. “If you give Jaylan room on the end, he’s capable of making big plays.”

After two straight three-and-out possessions to start the game, Northeast (0-5) found some offensive rhythm. The Rockets drove from their own 15 to the North Platte 5 late in the first quarter on the strength of four straight pass completions by quarterback Jeremiah Collier for 49 yards and a 40-yard run by Xavier Gary.

That drive eventually stalled, but Northeast struck later in the second quarter after Austin Finney recovered a North Platte fumble at midfield. Seven plays later, Collier found James Morehead for an 18-yard TD pass with 3:13 left in the first half, cutting the Bulldog advantage to the 21-7 score at intermission.

Wright, a senior fullback, broke loose for a 31-yard scoring run on the Bulldogs’ first possession of the third quarter, only to see Northeast answer less than two minutes later. An 86-yard kickoff return by Gary in which he slipped several tackles set up Collier’s 4-yard scoring run that cut North Platte’s lead to 28-14 with seven minutes left in the third.

It was all Bulldogs after that as they put it in the end zone on the next four possessions. Wright scored on a 1-yard run and Vince Genatone added an 8-yard TD run to make it 42-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

A pair of reserve players — Skyler Geier-Dodson and Brock Roblee — added touchdown scampers of 17 and 23 yards, respectively, in the final period.

“North Platte is a real physical team and they wore us down,” Northeast coach Dan Martin said. “All we talked about all week was being disciplined against their option game, but the tough part of playing a team like that is you can be disciplined eight out of 10 plays, but you’re going to give up a big play on the two you break down on.”