Sandy Creek throttles Plainview 53-22 in D-1 semifinal game, will take on Crofton for state championship Nov. 24
Sandy Creek defeated the Plainview Pirates in the Class D-1 state semifinal round on the Cougars’ home field, which became known as “The Hill” to Cougar fans, throttling Plainview 53-22.
The Cougars opened with a huge defensive stop, followed by a Kamerin Sealey touchdown on the Cougars’ first offensive series of the game, with Sealey scoring on a 10-yard run. Kaeden Schmidt added a two-point conversion for an early 8-0 lead.
The Cougars scored again after another strong defensive stop, as Sealey connected with Wes Biltoft for a touchdown despite tight coverage, making it 14-0 with 1:53 left in the first quarter.
Plainview, however, wasn’t going to back down from the Cougars as the Pirates found the endzone on their next drive with a long run and got the two-point conversion to make it 14-8.
After a long drought of both teams not being able to score, Sandy Creek found a way to hit paydirt with a 45yard touchdown run by Sealey, with Schmidt converting the two-point conversion to make it 22-8 Sandy Creek with very little time left to go in the first half.
Out of the halftime break, the Cougars were stopped on offense, but on a fourth down, sophomore quarterback Kamerin Sealey lined up to punt. Instead, Sealey faked the punt and connected with junior Logan Tomky, who made the catch to keep the drive alive.
The Cougars would, in turn, go down the field and score by a Sealey six-yard touchdown run. Tomky put the icing on the cake on the drive, catching the two-point conversion to give Sandy Creek a 30-8 lead.
Plainview then went on to score once again to make it 30-15 in the third quarter.
With time winding down in the third quarter, Sandy Creek found the end zone once again with a 16yard touchdown run by Sealey to lift Sandy Creek to a 36-15 lead.
The Cougars next offensive drive stalled out about the Plainview 22-yard line, and senior kicker Ben Burger came out and drilled a 32yard field goal to extend the Cougar lead to 39-15.
Biltoft came up with an interception on the next defensive series for the Cougars, setting Sandy Creek up in excellent field position. One play later, Sealey ran it in from 25 yards out, and with Burger’s extra-point kick, Sandy Creek claimed a 46-15 lead with 11:07 left in the game.
Sandy Creek would score one more time with a pass from Sealey to Tomky from 10 yards out to give the Cougars a 53-15 lead following another Burger conversion kick.
With time running out in the game, Plainview scored for a third time, to bring the score to 53-22. The Cougars then executed a couple more plays to run out the clock, securing consecutive state final appearances.
SANDY CREEK BYTHE NUMBERS
Sealey finished the game with 445 total yards, passing for 228, while running for another 217 yards on 25 total carries, and scored once on the ground. Sealey completed 17 of 22 passes, while throwing a pair of touchdowns.
Schmidt carried the ball 11 times for 43 total yards.
As a team, Sandy Creek outgained the Pirates by 172 total yards. The Cougars totaled 488 yards, 260 on the ground and 228 through the air, while Plainview finished with 316 total yards, 139 on the ground and 177 through the air.
On the receiving end of Sealey’s 17 completions was Schmidt with six
Senior running back Kaeden Schmidt broke loose from Plainview safety, Gage Walton, during the second quarter for this breakaway pass play during Sandy Creek’s crushing 53-22 win over the Pirates Friday, Nov. 14. Schmidt hauled in six total passes covering 95 yards and rushed for another 43 yards. The win sends the Cougars to Lincoln for their second consecutive D-1 championship tilt, this time with Crofton. Sandy Creek and the Warriors will square off at 10:15 a.m. in Memorial Stadium on Monday, Nov. 24. The Cougars are going for their second straight state championship.
Gang tackling at its best was strong throughout Sandy Creek’s 31 point win over Plainview. Here Alston Clark, left, Wyatt Hemberger (13) and Jonas Amos (54) smother Pirates running back Colt Kromarek during a run in the fourth quarter. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
The pregame huddle for the Cougars featured Sandy Creek in front of the video board prior to the start of their battle with the Plainview Pirates. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
Sophomore quarterback, Kamerin Sealey had a banner night against Plainview throwing for 228 yards and running for another 217 yards to total 445 yards. He scored 30 points on five touchdowns, and made seven tackles. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
grabs covering 95 yards. Biltoft made four catches for 68 yards, while Tomky hauled in two grabs for 28 yards.
Rounding out the aerial attack was Alex Watts with one catch for 15 yards, Wyatt Hemberger with two catches for 13 yards, Evan Swartzendruber with one catch for seven yards, and Alston Clark with one grab for two yards.
Defensively, Christian Shaw was a beast with 16 total tackles. Jackson Gerdes and Clark continue the beast mode play on defense with 10 tackles each.
Biltoft was in on nine tackles in the win, Alex Watts gained eight stops, Sealey, seven, and Josh Spray, five.
Jonas Amos, who had three tackles in the win, recorded the lone quarterback sack in the game.
Alex Watts and Biltoft both had key interceptions in the victory.
Score by Quarters
Sandy Creek................................14 8 14 17 -53 Plainview.....................................8 0 7 7 -22 SC P
Rush Att-Yds.........................................36-260 29-139 Pass Comp-Att-Yds........................... 17-22-228 12-18-177 Total Offense.......................................... 488 316
ONTO LINCOLN
Sandy Creek will have a few extra days to prepare for their next mission, a chance to repeat for the Class D-1 state championship.
Sandy Creek will take on the Warriors of Crofton High School on Monday morning, Nov. 24, beginning at 10:15 on the turf of the Tom Osborne Field inside of Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium.
The Cougars head into the game on a 10 game winning streak and owners of an 11-1 record.
Crofton knocked off the Shelby-Rising City Huskies in the other D-1 semifinal game, 28-8.
Sandy Creek’s playoff run has seen them roll their way into the title game Monday morning, outscoring their opposition by nearly 40 points per game. The Cougars opened up the postseason with a 60-14 win over EMF, crushed Wisner-Pilger, 51-6, and tamed the Bridgeport Bulldogs, 45-6, before gaining their 53-22 win over Plainview to reach their second straight title game bid.
In contrast, the 10-2 Crofton Warriors will come into Lincoln after playoff wins over Kimball (90-20), Johnson- Brock (88-56), Hemingford (60-12), with the 28-8 win over Shelby-Rising City.
