Once the stretch of winless games was over, it was clear the Plains Horsemen footballers were on their way to better things.

Following two-plus years without a victory, they posted their second win of the 2023 season with a 58-0 thrashing of injury depleted Victor Friday night in Plains.

According to Plains head coach Mike Tatum, the first quarter of the game was “by far our best start yet.” Tatum was quick to note the Pirates were playing without several players who have been injured this year.

Nick Hill got the Horsemen on the scoreboard first when he returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown in the opening quarter. A successful two-point after touchdown (PAT) try gave the home team an 8-0 lead and from there they never trailed the rest of the game.

Later in the first quarter, Will Tatum hauled in what turned out to be a 48-yard catch and run touchdown from quarterback Darren Standeford that was made possible by Tatum breaking several tackles en route to the end zone. The PAT try was no good, leaving the Horsemen with a 14-0 lead.

Before the opening quarter ended, Aiden West caught a Standeford pass for a 55-yard touchdown. Again, the PAT was no good, but the home team was out in front 20-0.

A few minutes later, West hauled in a 39-yard pass from Standeford, setting the Horsemen up with a first and goal at the Victor one yard line. Zeph Dixon caught the PAT pass, good for two points and giving Plains a solid 26-0 lead.

As the quarter was coming to an end, the Horsemen defense scored a safety, good for two points. The safety came as the result of a tackle by West of a Pirate in the end zone.

At the conclusion of the first quarter, Plains found itself ahead 28-0.

The second half was more of the same for the Horsemen, beginning with an eight-yard touchdown run by Greg Tatum on a bootleg left.

Later in the half, Zayden Allen broke free for a 35 yard TD play.

For the game, coach Tatum said the Horsemen piled up big yardage against the Pirates.

“Overall our stats were pretty impressive,” coach Tatum said. “We had more than 500 yards total, with all three phases of the game, running, receiving and returning the ball, contributing.”

Hill finished the game with 119 return yards, including the TD return, and added a pair of touchdowns, one running, the other receiving.

The Plains defense was led by 15 tackles made by Beau Crabb, who coach Tatum lauded for “really stepping up.”

Next up for the Horsemen is a road game at Charlo this Friday evening.

“They are going to be a heck of a challenge with the size they have on both the offensive and defensive lines,” Tatum said.