CLAFLIN — It was a hard-fought battle.
The Central Plains High School football team came out on top, winning 36-14 over Coldwater-South Central to advance to the next round of the Eight-Man Division-I state playoffs.
Both teams started slow, working to find a way to move the ball against the rain and high winds.
“Yeah, we started slow,” Central Plains head coach Chris Stein said. “It was raining and the winds were blowing like crazy. We ran the ball a lot more than we usually do.”
The Oilers scored first on a 6-yard run by fullback Clark Besthorn with 8:05 remaining in the second quarter. Quarterback Braeden Crites ran it in to convert for two points.
South Central’s Cody Lindsay recovered a fumble in the end zone less than three minutes later, though the Timberwolves failed to convert, leaving the score at 8-6.
Crites responded with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Central Plains’ leading receiver Layne Bieberle. Crites connected with Michael Lamatsch for the two-point conversion and the Oilers took a 16-6 lead into halftime.
Central Plains’ Colton Zink ran the ball in from seven yards out to open the second half, boosting the Oilers to 24-6.
Lindsay had a 3-yard score for South Central with 11 seconds remaining in the third quarter, closing the gap to 24-14.
However, the Oilers owned the final quarter, scoring twice to put the game away.
Crites punched in a 3-yard run, and completed a 9-yard TD pass to Lamatsch.

                                       — Kevin Price