Water dripped off of football coach Bernie Madison as he walked towards midfield to shake hands. He was soaked, but he couldn’t care less. His North Platte High School Bulldogs had knocked off the #8 Norfolk Panthers on Oct. 16, locking up a winning season for the first time in nearly a decade. They had put themselves in a place to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004. As the team huddled in the endzone, Madison told them, “I’ll make this short, cause you guys have to get cleaned up, and that dance is gonna be fun tonight, good job. Enjoy it this weekend. Stay safe, please. Back to work Monday, but enjoy it baby. Enjoy it!” Raucous cheers erupted from the Bulldog team, they knew the win was something special, something that no one would forget.
The Dawgs began the season with two thrilling victories. North Platte High School beat the Discoverers of Columbus handily, 38-7. “It felt really good. We did a good job. We found some things to work on, but we did well,” said senior Bobby Lundy. The Dawgs took down the Lincoln High Links the next week in overtime 16-13. “This was the most exciting game of my life,” said sophomore Kade Wroot.
Then, like a scene from a movie, the Dawgs hit a rough patch. Dropping the next two games in ugly fashion, losing at Kearney 20-7, with five turnovers. Also losing on home turf, 21-17, against the Lincoln Southeast Spartans. Senior Matt Dempsey said they lost because of the refs. “There were some controversial calls,” said junior Noah Broman. North Platte bounced back with two blowouts. The first, on the road versus Lincoln East, 34-7. “The bus ride home was awesome,” said Lundy. As it should’ve been, North Platte beat the Spartans for the first time in four years. The second victory came in front of the large pinked-out crowd, 51-6 against Bryan. “They were a basically a middle school team,” said Dempsey. “They honestly should be moved down to Class B,” Broman said.
Following the big victories, the Dawgs went on a business trip to Millard West. The Wildcats scored early, and often, against the Dawgs top-five defense. North Platte made their way to the end zone just once in the 42-7 loss. The next game for the Dawgs would mark the most important game of the season– the final home game against Norfolk.
The Panthers came to town for the North Platte homecoming game. It was a chilly night at Bauer Field. The stadium was packed and the players were fired up. Through one half of action, the home team was the only team that had crossed the goal line. The Dawg defense was bullying, and the crowd’s energy was feeding them. “It was the best game all season. They were number-eight, we blew them out, and it was even better since it was the last game at NPHS for us seniors, and it was homecoming,” Lundy said. “They [weren’t good] and were overrated,” said Dempsey. The game only got better in the second half. The Dawgs preserved the shutout even mustering up a goal-line stand to keep Norfolk out of the endzone. “Winning this game proved that we could play with anyone,” Broman said.
North Platte traveled to Omaha Central, Oct. 30, to take on the Eagles in the first round of the 2015 Nebraska State Athletic Association Playoffs. It may not have been the outcome the Dawgs wanted. “Our confidence level is up, we’re just going to continue to get better,” Coach Madison said.