JOHNSON, NE - The Johnson-Brock Eagles started postseason play with a 57-30 win over the North Platte St. Patrick's Irish on Thursday in the Class D1 football tournament, as heard on B103.

Hayden Gravatt had a day to remember in the win. Gravatt got the scoring started with a 16-yard run that put his squad ahead 8-0 with about 11 minutes to go in the first. Breckyn Collins responded with a 3-yard TD run, but a failed two-point conversion left JB on top, 8-6, with 5:30 left in the frame. The Eagles were stopped on their next drive, but NPSP muffed the punt, giving the Eagles the ball inside the 10-yard line. JB capitalized, punching it in for a 14-6 lead. Mason Giebler had the response this time for NPSP, finding pay dirt from 11 yards out to make it 14-12. Gravatt added a short scoring run with just over a minute left in the frame, and the high-scoring first quarter finished with JB on top, 22-12.

After an NPSP punt started the second frame, the Eagles saw Gravatt run in another one from 26 yards away to push their lead to 16, 28-12. Realizing they couldn't fall too far behind, the Irish pulled off a successful fake punt on their next possession, getting a 50-yard TD toss to Giebler to close the gap to 28-18. Gravatt responded with his fourth TD tote of the half, giving his squad a 36-18 lead with four minutes to go before the half. Brody Koehler grabbed an interception on the next NPSP possession, and Wyatt Fulton tossed a 47-yard TD right after to make it 42-18. The Irish needed something to keep their hopes up, especially after they returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD, but had it waived off on a penalty. The team kept its head up & still finished the drive with a score, making it 42-24 at recess.

The second half saw Johnson-Brock make adjustments & crank up the defense, as they allowed only six points after halftime. NPSP punted on the opening possession of the half, then Gravatt turned in TD number five. After the Irish turned the ball over on downs their next possession, it was deja vu with TD carry number SIX for Gravatt to make it 54-24. Coy Behrends connected on a 24-yard field goal late in the frame, and Mason Giebler tacked on another TD grab in the fourth quarter for the Irish to bring the final score to 57-30 in favor of Johnson-Brock.

Giebler finished the game with two TD catches & one TD run for NPSP. The catches came from two different passers - Jaxon Braithwait & Ben Hankla (on the fake punt).

For JB, Wyatt Fulton threw for a score & ran one in, while Gravatt was a highlight reel with six TD runs.

The Eagles improve to 7-2 on the year, while NPSP ends its year at 6-3. The 12th-seeded Johnson-Brock squad will visit #5 Crofton on Friday, Oct. 31, after they nearly broke the scoreboard with a 90-20 win over Kimball in the first round.