Coach Bryan Soukup quieted down his Blair High School football team for the postgame huddle Friday night in Plattsmouth, but, by the end of it, he, too, was shouting at the top of his lungs.
“We've got another week!”
The 11th-seeded Bears avenged a regular season loss to the Blue Devils during the first round of the Class B playoffs, 21-14, earning a quarterfinals matchup against No. 3 Omaha Skutt (9-1). The victory was BHS' first in postseason play since 2018.
“I'm at a loss for words because it feels so good,” said senior quarterback Bode Soukup.
“We just did what we had to do,” senior Ben Holcomb added.
Plattsmouth beat Blair 30-27 on Aug. 25, but the Bears returned to the scene of their overtime defeat and improved to 6-4 with the first-round upset. The Devils, meanwhile, finished the fall 7-3 overall.
“I'm just so proud and happy to get this one for these guys,” coach Soukup said. “These guys deserved it.”
After the BHS defense forced a punt to start Friday's game, the offense drove 87 yards for a touchdown on its first drive. Ethan Baessler and Brock Templar produced multiple first downs before senior Crayton Macholan nabbed a 5-yard pass into the end zone from his QB, Soukup.
The touchdown-pass recipient was unable to get to two hands on the ball cleanly, but he came down with the score anyway as a Plattsmouth defender fought to break it up.
“Held onto the ball. Focused on it,” Macholan said. “It was a great throw, too.”
Blaise Baughman hit the extra-point kick and the Bears led 7-0 with 1:27 left in the first quarter. They wouldn't score again, however, until just 16 seconds remained in the third quarter.
With Templar forced to the bench due to injury, Baughman broke the 7-7, second-half tie with a 4-yard run. The BHS sophomore covered the last half-yard with his arms, stretching the ball across the goal line as he fell to the turf.
The Devils wouldn't let Blair's lead stand, though. Just 49 seconds of game time later — 33 into the fourth quarter — bruising back Caleb Adkins scored his second touchdown for the home team. Kicker Parker Aughenbaugh — who hit the game-winning kick during the teams' regular season game — added the extra point and the two Class B squads were tied again, 14-all.
The Bears would get their opportunity to respond next, but they had to do it without both Templar and Brady Brown, who sat and watched from the sideline injured.
Junior receiver Keenan Wyman proved to be a key substitute.
The 5-foot-7, 140-pounder caught a Soukup pass in the middle of the field on the ensuing possession and tucked it away. He bobbed and weaved downfield to the Plattsmouth 20-yard-line, giving his team a prime opportunity to reclaim the lead and win the postseason contest.
“We've hit Brady Brown a lot on that dig, and Keenan gets a lot of reps during the week, too, and he's a good player,” coach Soukup said. “He made a big play for us.”
“That was a huge, huge play,” the 12th-grade Soukup clarified. “I can't stress that enough.”
The long play allowed the quarterback to find Holcomb next. Soukup threw the ball up to his senior teammate and watched as No. 8 and a Plattsmouth defender leapt for it in the end zone.
“I was looking at the ref the whole time,” the QB said. “I didn't know what he was going to call.”
Holcomb initially clutched the ball with two hands as the Devil got one of his own on it, too. The football players fought for Soukup's pass as they came back down to the turf.
“You see the aftermath where the ball is on the ground and stuff like that,” coach Soukup said. “But, you know, we've had calls go against us like that, too. I think it was, obviously, a legit catch and that's what they called.”
The referee raised two hands to signal a touchdown quickly after Holcomb fought for it to give the Bears a fourth-quarter lead with 9:16 left.
“It was really surreal,” the senior receiver said. “I just didn't know really what was going on. It was my first touchdown of the season.”
Blair protected its seven-point lead from there, too, thwarting a pair of Plattsmouth drives. On the first, the Bears' defense turned away the Devils' fourth-and-1 run just 15 yards from the potential game-tying touchdown.
“Our guys just got off the ball and made a hell of a play,” coach Soukup said. “That was a huge stop.”
Then, in the final moments, Baughman and AJ Damme combined on a sack, ultimately wrecking the home squad's last chance to draw even with BHS.
“Again, I'm just very proud of the guys, and love this team,” the Bears' coach said. “What a night.”
Blair next plays at Skutt on Friday.
No. 11 BLAIR 21, No. 6 PLATTSMOUTH 14
BHS (6-4) 7 0 7 7 — 21
PHS (7-3) 0 7 0 7 — 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
B: Crayton Macholan 5-yard pass from Bode Soukup, Blaise Baughman PAT
Second Quarter
P: Caleb Adkins 9-yard run, Parker Aughenbaugh PAT
Third Quarter
B: Baughman 4-yard run, Baughman PAT
Fourth Quarter
P: Adkins 20-yard run, Aughenbaugh PAT
B: Ben Holcomb 19-yard pass from Soukup, Baughman PAT
