Levi Ostrom would play a football game today, Thanksgiving Day, if it was on the schedule. He’d play one on his birthday, his grandmother’s birthday, in the winter and in the summer. It doesn’t matter where or when, just line ’em up and let him at ’em.
That is the mentality of Ostrom and Faith Christian’s other ferocious defensive linemen, but that hard-nosed attitude will have to be tempered when the Platte Valley Broncos rumble into town for the Class 2A state championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday on Faith Christian’s field.
“A football game is a football game,” said Ostrom, who has 170 tackles and 28 sacks in two seasons. “I’m going to go out and play as hard as I can on every play and do whatever I can to help on every play. But this game is different. More than ever before, we have to play assignment football. If everyone does their job, we should be OK.”
The Eagles, 12-0 and the top-ranked 2A team all season, welcomed any opposing offense that would line up and try to play smash-mouth football against an interior line that averages 6-foot-5, 215 pounds on the ends and 6-3, 285 in the middle.
But Platte Valley (11-1), a program making its first appearance in a state title game, offers a different kind of challenge.
“This offense is pretty unique to any that I’ve seen at the 2A level with their spread option,” Faith Christian coach Blair Hubbard said. “In the first three playoff games, we saw teams that want to chew up the clock and pound the ball down your throat. These guys are going to spread the field and try to put a guy on an island. We will have to be able to tackle in a one-on-one situation.”
Platte Valley’s offense begins with quarterback Ty Tschacher, who has racked up 2,145 total yards this season running the option, scrambling for yards and throwing to his favorite receivers, Tate Mekelburg and Craig Wisehart.
The Broncos run a big-play offense. They might not pick up a yard on the first two downs, but third down could end with a 75-yard touchdown – through the air or on the ground. And though the skill players of Platte Valley are fully capable of breaking the big play, it’s the offensive line that must provide the holes to run through or the time to pass.
What the line might lack in size (center Rhett Long is 5-8, 160) compared to the Eagles, they do make up for with quickness and smart play.
“We are just planning on being faster than them, just like we’ve done to everyone else this year. We’ll try to get around them and turn them away from the play,” Long said.
Said Platte Valley coach Mike DeWall: “The biggest thing that Faith Christian brings to the game is their defense. You hear rumors about how big their line is and how they could start at 3A or 4A, but they have phenomenal athletes everywhere.”
That Faith Christian defense sealed a 7-0 victory over Brush in the semifinals when linebacker Mark Cerf intercepted a pass in the end zone with less than a minute remaining. It was the fourth shutout of the season for a defense that has given up just 56 points.
The Eagles also are potent on offense, and DeWall said his team has not faced a quarterback who throws on the run as well as Seve Carbajal does. But the Broncos’ defense does not shy away from anyone. Senior Daniel Montoya is a force on the line, and linebacker Andrew Meyer’s play has surprised even his coaches.
Platte Valley forced five turnovers last week against the 2005 state champion, Holy Family, and it had not given up more than 12 points this season until the Tigers put up 26.
Add the fact that Platte Valley’s last playoff appearance was in 1994 and its deepest postseason run, in 1993, ended in the semifinals, and it’s obvious that motivation will not be a problem for the Broncos.
“We’re making history at Platte Valley High School, and we want the kids to eat up every moment of this experience,” DeWall said.
