Mid-Buchanan senior quarterback Drew Gray spent his fair share of time on the field the last time the Dragons reached the playoffs.

The memories of the 2003 season, which included a sectional victory and quarterfinal loss, helped motivate Gray during his final chance to make history at Mid-Buchanan.

"Last playoff win, I remember I was a ball boy on the sideline. That's my biggest memory," said Gray, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in Mid-Buchanan's 24-12 regional victory Wednesday night.

"It's a great feeling to be back here with my teammates doing it again and continuing what already happened once."

In the playoffs for only the second time in school history, Mid-Buchanan's postseason run continues tonight at North Platte (7-4), a rematch of the district finale played just 10 days earlier.

North Platte splattered Mid-Buchanan, 30-0, in the prior matchup, nearly costing the Dragons a playoff spot. They entered 2-0 in district play and in control of their destiny.

Instead, North Platte's blowout win gave the Panthers the district championship.

"You get humbled when you get on the field and then you get off the field and suddenly it's 30-0," Mid-Buchanan coach David Rapp said.

Mid-Buchanan still made the playoffs as District 15 runner-up, thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker with West Platte.

Suddenly given new life, the Dragons (7-4) J2

2refocused in time for the third playoff game in school history. King City took a 6-0 lead, but Mid-Buchanan answered with 24 straight points to advance.

Now, a second chance against North Platte awaits.

"I hate to say it, but I think some of us had big heads," Gray said. "And we looked past North Platte, but I think that loss woke us up and got us going again."

In other area matchups, Savannah (8-3) travels to O'Hara (10-1), while Maryville (10-1) visits Lawson (10-1) for a renewal of their recent rivalry.

Hamilton (10-0) faces two-time defending state champion Orrick (11-0) in a battle of Class 1's top two ranked squads. Orrick - on a 40-game win streak Â-- won the sectional matchup a year ago.

Assistant sports editor Ross Martin can be reached at rossmartin@npgco.com