Trojan Football in Review

Trojans vs. Wahoo Warriors
The Platteview High SchoolTrojans played the Wahoo Warriors for PHS’s Homecoming football game on September 24th, 2021. Going into the game, it was going to be a very tough match up. The Warriors were coming off a one point loss to Milford. This game also opened up district play for both teams.

To open the game, the Trojans fell short on the first couple series of offense. Wahoo capitalized on a large run from Gavin Pokorny, setting up the Warriors in the red zone. An 80 yard run from quarterback Owen Hancock would give the Warriors a 6 to nothing lead; however, the extra point was missed. The Trojans got back on offense and again had troubles on completing drives for points. In the second quarter, Wahoo again put themselves up in the red zone. A fifteen yard run from Owen Hancock gave the Warriors a shot to go up by twelve. To make up for the missed extra point in the first quarter, the Warriors ran a play to make the two point conversion from Colin Ludvig.

Heading out of the half, the Warriors had a lead of 14-0. The Trojans had a couple good drives, but weren’t able to convert on fourth and short. But after some key stops by the Trojans defense, the offense put together a solid drive in the third quarter. This resulted in a six yard touchdown from Jared Kuhl, making it a one score game. Several drives from both teams didn’t amount to much, but early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors set themselves up on the one yard line. This resulted in a run from Owen Hancock into the endzone and set up a two point conversion for Colin Ludvig. Getting the ball back, the Trojans needed a lot of luck to take the lead. They had to score on two straight drives then have two successful two point conversions. The Trojans wouldn’t be able to find this luck as the ball was turned over after a failed fourth down. The Warriors ran out the clock giving them the win and improving to 3-2, while the Trojans would drop to 3-2 as well. 

Trojans vs. Raymond Central
The Trojans played on the road next week, October 1st, 2021, against Raymond Central. Going into the game, the Mustangs had primarily been a passing team; one of a couple teams in class C1 to do so. Quarterback Rylan Stover topped the state leaderboards for passing yards, along with wide receiver Connor Kreikemeier who has been explosive to say the least. Against Falls City he had eight receptions for one hundred and ninety-two yard and 3 touchdowns – positioning himself as a large asset to the Mustangs’ offense.

Kicking off the game, the Trojans started hot, putting together a great drive to end in a four yard touchdown pass to Eliott Steinhoff from quarterback Jared Kuhl. Platteview was down their star kicker Adian Riha, but Ben Alexander kicked in his place. The ball went easily through the uprights to put the Trojans up seven. After several stops by the Trojans defense in the second quarter, the offense added two touchdowns on the board: a 46 yard run by quarterback Jared Kuhl and a screen pass to wide receiver Micheal Weibelhaus. After an excellent block by Hayden Fjell, Micheal Weibelhaus had enough running room for around 20 yards. This led to Micheal Weibelhaus having another explosive 55 yard receiving touchdown. 

To end the half, the Mustangs got into the red zone after a fifteen yard pass to Mustang tight end Andrew Otto. This was the only score of the night for Raymond Central. During the 3rd quarter, it was a defensive battle for both teams. The Trojans defense had a great night with ten sacks from 7 different players, along with two turnovers – an interception from cornerback Mitchell Rudie and a fumble recovery from defensive lineman Jacob Rehbein. To enter the 4th quarter, the Trojan offense picked up as they had multiple huge plays but was called back for penalties. One such play was called back after a 60 yard touchdown run by Jared Kuhl. During the run, Kuhl had six broken tackles.

Raymond Central’s defense had great fielding, but one ended in a touchdown thrown to Eliott Steinhoff for a grand total of 80 yards. This put quarterback Jared Kuhl over the school record for passing yards in a game, beating out a 53 year old record set by quarterback Tim Koebler who played on the 1968 state title team. The 1968 team was one of the best to ever play for the Trojans. The 1968 team only punted twice the entire season. Jared Kuhl said, “I want to thank my line, recovers, and coaches. Without them I’d be nowhere close to where I am now, Also shoutout to the fans for supporting the team every week.”

Another record that was broken was for most receiving yards in a game. Eliott Steinhoff etched his name in the record books Friday as he had six receptions for 188 yards breaking the school record by one yard. The record stood for 26 years by Rob Olander, who played for the Trojans during the mid- 1990s. Steinhoff said, “I’m proud of myself but especially my team. I couldn’t have done this without the help from my teammates pushing me in practice as well as doing their part in the game.”