Crete unleashed its version of the Sherman Tank on Plattsmouth in a Class B first-round playoff game, and the Blue Devils were unable to do anything about it as the Cardinals won on the road 21-7 to advance to the second round.

Junior Brock Sherman rushed 33 times for 190 yards and one touchdown as Crete staked itself to a 21-0 halftime lead and put it in cruise control from there.

Crete head coach Chuck McGinnis said teams have a difficult time bringing Sherman down with just one tackler.

“He's a bruising running back, and it's tough for one guy to bring him down. He ran through a lot of tackles tonight and got some tough extra yards.”

Sherman dominated the first half by running the ball 21 times for 129 yards.

Plattsmouth head coach Bob Fuller, who guided the Blue Devils to the playoffs for just the fifth time in school history this season, said the Cardinals' ball control offense in the first half was key.

“I'm disappointed with the way things went in the first half. We didn't have a lot of opportunities with the ball. They controlled it,” Fuller said.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Cardinals got on the board 23 seconds into the second when Sherman plunged into the end zone from three yards out.

The run capped a 15-play, 63 yard drive that chewed up 6:06 of the clock.

After the Crete defense stopped the Blue Devils on the ensuing drive, quarterback Derek McGinnis showed the Cardinals could throw the ball too as he connected with Ben Muff for a 78-yard touchdown strike on the first play of the drive.

The Cardinals, who are seeking their third Class B crown in four years after titles in 2006 and 2007, made it 21-0 with 1:38 left in the first half when McGinnis and Muff hooked up again on a 25-yard scoring play.

“They did what they do best, and that's run power football,” Fuller said.

“And then they lull you to sleep and hit you with a bootleg. They didn't do anything special. We just got caught,” he added.

Sensing his team needed a spark, Fuller called for an onside kick to begin the second half.

The call seemed to be the right one as the Blue Devils recovered the ball at the 50 and drove all the way down to the Crete 12 before Muff recovered a fumble by quarterback Andrew Mitteis that ended the drive.

“I thought the turnover on their first drive of the second half was huge,” McGinnis said.

“Our defense has been in that position a couple of times here in the last few weeks, and they've found ways to slam the door by creating a turnover.”

Plattsmouth finally got on the scoreboard in the third quarter when Taylor McAllister scored on an 8-yard run.

Crete improved its record to 6-4 on the season. The four Cardinal losses were to teams that finished 34-2 overall.

Plattsmouth's record fell to 7-3.

Mitteis lead the Blue Devils in rushing 79 yards on 11 carries, and Ryan Ludlow added 78 yards on 15 carries.

Crete (6-4).................0 21 0 0—7

Plattsmouth (7-3)..................0 0 7 0—21

C: Brock Sherman 3 run (Jordan Pedersen kick)

C: Ben Muff 78 pass from Derek McGinnis (Pedersen kick)

C: Muff 25 pass from McGinnis (Pedersen kick)

P: Taylor McAllister 8 run (Andrew Mitteis kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing: C, Brock Sherman 33-190, Aaron Paulsen 9-13, Derek McGinnis 4-minus 8. P, Andrew Mitteis 11-79, Ryan Ludlow 15-78, Taylor McAllister 5-12, Nick Schneider 5-19, Derek Sutton 1- minus 7, Alex Eggert 1-1, Josh Martin 1-3.

Passing: C, McGinnis 3-4-0 108. P, Mitteis 3-5-0 43.

Receiving: C, Cody Wendelin 1-5, Ben Muff 2-103. P, Schneider 1-5, Ludlow 2-38.

Contact the writer:

444-1201, sports@owh.com

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