CLAFLIN – After leading all afternoon, the Central Plains Oilers trailed Spearville 32-28 after the Royal Lancers converted its fourth 2-pointer in the Eight-Man I state football quarterfinals.
It took Oiler Layne Bieberle one play to swing the momentum back in the Oilers’ favor. Bieberle caught a check-down pass from quarterback Braedan Crites, then criss-crossed the field for a 54-yard touchdown with 8:16 left in the ballgame for a 34-32 lead.
“The first thing to do is catch the football. I saw some space and took it around the outside and scored,” Bieberle said. “That feeling was great. I saw some green grass and took it from there. Our quarterback Braedan Crites threw some good passes, right where they needed to be. He was right on the spot.”
“Layne was phenomenal,” said Central Plains coach Chris Steiner. ““Layne steps up and makes big catches when he had to. He made people miss on a 5-yard reception.”
Bieberle intercepted two passes and had 102 yards receiving in the Oilers’ 42-40 victory over Spearville. The victory was finally secured when Bieberle recovered Spearville’s onside kickoff.
“We felt it was our defense that had  to make the difference,” Bieberle said.
The Oilers (11-0) will travel to Ness City (9-2) Friday for a Eight-Man I semifinal showdown. Ness City beat Little River 40-28.
Central Plains coach Steiner knew the Royal Lancers would rally because they are a state-quality football team.
The Oilers converted three of four Spearville turnovers into touchdowns, starting with a fumble recovery by Trustin Kreft. Every score was critical when Spearville converted all five extra points for 40 points. The Oilers made three of six extra points.
“We had to keep digging and battling,” Steiner said. “That was really a hard offense to prepare for in three days. Trustin Kreft made some big plays for us today. He has that type of potential. We told them defense would be the difference in the game. Our secondary did a grteat job today getting the three interceptions. Our defense kept swarming and attacking.”
After Bieberle’s final score, things stayed hectic.  
Oiler Jacob Warnken intercepted a tipped pass that Central Plains converted into a 29-yard scoring drive. Crites threw his best pass of the day, a nifty 15-yard touchdown to Michael Lamatsch, who caught the ball over his shoulder. Warnken squeezed into the endzone for a 2-pointer for a 42-32 lead with 3:21 left.
The Oiler fans were breathing easier, but the Royal Lancers were not finished.
The Oilers needed the critical 2-pointer when Nathan Stein scored his fourth rushing touchdown with 50 seconds left. Kaden Stein caught a 2-pointer for a 42-40 final.  Nathan Stein passed for 139 yards and Luke Heskamp gained 124 yards to lead a 233-yard ground game. The Royal Lancers gained 370 yards.
Saturday’s perfect autumn afternoon agreed with the Central Plains Oilers.
Crites passed for 199 yards and completed three touchdown passes. The Oilers led 28-16 at halftime by converting ttwo of three Spearville turnovers into touchdowns
Crites completed 11 of 13 passes for 103 yards to set up three short scoring runs. He completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Bieberle.
A fumble recovery by Trustin Kreft led to the Oilers’ first touchdown. Linebacker Cody Price stripped the football from Luke Heskamp and Kreft recovered. Crites completed three passes and Jacob Warnken scored on a 2-yard run.
“That was a big turning point in the game,” Steiner said.
A 20-yard punt return by Bieberle led to a 27-yard scoring drive for a 14-0 lead. Warnken scored on a 6-run run.
The Royal Lancers answered with a 52-yard scoring drive, keyed by a third-down conversion pass to Stein. Luke Heskamp caught a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Crites completed four passes for 45 yards on the Oilers’ next scoring drive, capped by Bieberle’s 15-yard touchdown for a 20-8 lead.
Nathan Stein answered with a 1-yard touchdown that was matched by a 3-yard touchdown by Hunter Ingham for a 28-16 halftime lead.

CENTRAL PLAINS 42,
SPEARVILLE 40
Spearville                        8   8   8   16  —  40
Central Plains              14 14  0   14  —  42

SCORING SUMMARY
CP—Jacob Warnken 2 run (Braedan Crites run); CP—Warnken 6 run (pass failed); S—Luke Heskamp 25 pass from Nathan Stein (Brandon Davis run); CP—Layne Bieberle 15 pass from Crites (run failed); CP—Hunter Ingham 3 run (Michael Lamatsch pass from Crites); S—N. Stein 1 run (Kaden Stein pass from N. Stein); S—N. Stein 4 run (Heskamp run);  CP—Bieberle 54 pass from Crites (pass failed); CP—Lamatsch 15 pass from Crites (Warnken run); S—N. Stein 5 run (K. Stein pass from N. Stein)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: S 45-233; Heskamp 17-124; N. Stein 26-65; Davis 2-4; BC, 33-66, Warnken 16-34; Ingham 4-21; Crites 8-7; Carson Kirmer 2-2; Alex Barton 1-1.
PASSING: S, N. Stein 9-14-3, 139; CP, Crites 16-23-1, 199.
RECEIVING: S, Davis 3-72; Heskamp 3-33; K. Stein 3-24; Hunter Stephenson 1-10; CP, Bieberle 5-102; Barton 3-31; Lamatsch 3-28; Kirmer 3-24; Warnken 1-14.