It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Sandhills Valley had no problem doing just that on Thursday. Everything went their way against the Pleasanton Bulldogs as they made off with a 42-20 win. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Mavericks' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 62nd, while the Bulldogs are ranked seventh).
Sandhills Valley can attribute much of their success to Leyton Connell, who rushed for 77 yards, and also threw for 121 yards and a touchdown while completing 78.6% of his passes. Those 77 rushing yards gave Connell a new career-high.
Sandhills Valley wouldn't let Pleasanton keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Sandhills Valley can thank Brian Goforth and Isaac Goosey for forcing all of them. Goforth also set a new season high mark in rushing yards with 147.
When it comes to explaining why Pleasanton lost, don't look at Brennan Lindner. Despite the final result, he rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries, and also threw for 71 yards and a touchdown. Lindner also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making eight total tackles and defending a pass.
Sandhills Valley's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-5. As for Pleasanton, their defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-1.
Sandhills Valley will challenge Sandy Creek at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Sandy Creek will roll in looking for their tenth straight victory, something Sandhills Valley surely won't give up without a fight. Pleasanton does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
