Hi-Line wasn’t your average 0-4 team.

The Bulls were competitive in the first half against undefeated North Platte St. Pat’s on Friday before the Irish turned on the jets in the second half for a 50-14 win at Knights of Columbus Field.

“That’s a really well-coached football team and they’ve got some athletes,” St. Pat’s defensive coordinator Brent Aufdenkamp said of Hi-Line. “They’ve got some athletes. They don’t have the depth or size they had a year ago but they’re incredibly well-coached. They have a good plan every year and they executed it the best they could.”

Both teams went nowhere on their first possession. Hi-Line caught a break when Breckyn Collins muffed a punt and the Bulls recovered at the Irish 23 yard line. But quarterback Brody Diefenbaugh was intercepted by Jaxon Knisley.

The Irish got to midfield on a run by Mason Giebler. That set up the first score of the game when Knisley scored on an option to the right side from 33 yards out. Sutton Tickle shanked the extra point and it was 6-0 with 3:45 left in the first quarter.

Hi-Line got the ball into the red zone but Tickle intercepted a deflected pass. St. Pat’s pushed the ball down the field with the trio of Knisley, Giebler and Xavier Pieper carrying the ball. Knisley scored again on a seven yard run to the left side. The Irish got the two-point conversion with Tickle passing to Logan Dodson to make up for the botched extra point and it was 14-0 with seven minutes left in the first half.

The Irish put another touchdown on the board with 1:13 remaining in the half when Giebler punched it in from two yards out.

That was just enough time for the Bulls to gain some momentum going into halftime. Diefenbaugh rolled out to his right and found Simon Scharf for a 30-yard touchdown with 3.5 seconds left. Hi-Line missed the extra point and it was 21-6 at the break.

“Give them credit, they took it to us early on,” Aufdenkamp said. “We like that because we got our kids focused at halftime and we had a good third quarter.”

The Bulls had a chance to come within striking distance as they received the kick to start the second half. But the St. Pat’s defense held them to a three-and-out.

Collins made up for his miscue in the first quarter by setting the Irish up at the Hi-Line 20 on his punt return. Two plays later, Knisley scored from 11 yards out and St. Pat’s started to roll.

Another touchdown followed three and a half minutes later when Giebler scored from 26. The Irish got another two-point conversion when Trey Furmanski threw to Collins on a fake kick and it was 36-6.

Pieper got into the end zone on a five-yard run four minutes later.

The last St. Pat’s score came when Peyton Kramer blocked a punt on the first play of the fourth quarter and Hudson Deeds scored from close within.

Hi-Line got their second touchdown later in the fourth to reach double figures.

“We went back to doing the simple things well,” Aufdenkamp said. “If we do the little things right. If we got our foot placement and our hands right, everything comes into place. We weren’t doing that (in the first half), every one was out there running around on an island. We were trying but we weren’t doing the right stuff. We talked to them and got them rededicated to that. We can be a really good football team when we do the little things well.”

Dodson’s 200th win

The win was the 200th in the career of St. Pat’s Head Coach Kevin Dodson. Dodson took over what was a fledgling Irish program 25 years ago and he has turned it into a perennial powerhouse with a state championship in 2004 and their current streak of 15 years of qualifying for the state playoffs.

Aufdenkamp has been with Dodson every step of the way as the defensive coordinator.

“What an amazing journey,” Aufdenkamp said. “It’s been fun. When we started out, we weren’t very good. We hadn’t been good in football for a long time. But we just kept getting on them and we’ve had a nice run.”

“Be the Best” has been the motto St. Pat’s has used in Dodson’s tenure. It doesn’t mean the best out of a field of teams but the best of yourself and that principle has helped the Irish reach the heights it has, Aufdenkamp said.

“Coach Dodson’s leadership is the key,” he said. “It’s more than about football. We work with words that aren’t as in style anymore, like honor, dignity and respect. We demand those from our kids and we demand they give it to each other. We chew them out but they know we love them. It’s developed over the years that it’s become our culture. Culture trumps everything. If you’ve got a good culture, everything takes care of itself. You’re not going to win them all and you might not win very many, but you’re going to play and act the right way.”

How does Dodson feel about the milestone? He’s not much for looking back, especially because the Irish are in the middle of a season but he’s grateful to have staying power for a quarter of a century.

“200 wins gets you a long career in coaching,” he said.

Dodson said he’s learned from coaching that young people want to do well and will push themselves to great lengths to achieve that. That’s why maintaining high standards is important.

“I think when you first start coaching, it’s about the Xs and Os and the longer you’re in it, you realize how important all the other things in football are,” he said. “We’re working with young people here. They’re going to do things that surprise you and if you set the bar high enough, they’re gonna go after it and they’re gonna get it. That’s one thing we’ve always preached, we’re gonna challenge you and set the bar high for you. We want you to get it. Sometimes we get that done and sometimes we don’t but there’s a lot of good lessons along the way.”

Next, St. Pat’s will play at Dundy County-Stratton (4-1) on Friday, Oct. 4.

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