“We’ve got to win, there’s no question about that,” Coach Mark Simcox said.
Knowing what needs to be done is easy. Doing it will be the hard part as Park Hill South will have to travel to Fort Osage, 8-1 on the season and the state’s fifth ranked team.
“I know they’re really physical. They’ve had a plan the last couple years and they do it so there won’t be any surprises from our end on what they’re going to do,” Simcox said. “We’ll have to keep the ball on offense and away from them. If we do it, I think we’ll be in it. We’re ready for the challenge.”
With the Panthers’ 14-7 overtime victory against Winnetonka last week, Park Hill South hopes they are back on track with where they were at the beginning of the season before they suffered several key injuries and leading up to last Friday’s win, were on a four game losing streak.
“We’re getting back to where we were. It’s taken us longer to overcome some things. We were probably as good tonight as we have been since week three,” Simcox said.
The first half of last Friday’s game was dominated by defense with both teams holding steady in their own territory which resulted in a scoreless halftime score of 0-0. An athletic interception at the line of scrimmage by Park Hill South’s Evan Martin gave the Panthers an opportunity in the first quarter, but they were unable to convert. Winnetonka had an opportunity of their own as they received ideal field position after a Park Hill South punt went out of bounds deep in their own territory, but the Griffons were also unable to translate that into any points. In fact, the Griffons were only able to muster one first down against the Panther defense in the first half.
It wouldn’t be until 1:23 left in the third quarter when the tie would be unbroken when Park Hill South’s Craig Scott capped off a 75-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown reception from freshman quarterback Schaefer Schuetz to put the Panthers up 7-0 going into the fourth quarter.
“He’s going to be a good player,” Simcox said of Schuetz. “We don’t play people because of the year they are. We play them because they do what we ask them to do.”
Winnetonka would see their most offensive production in that fourth quarter as they put together two of the game’s strongest drives. The first stalled on a fourth down and goal play when the quarterback-center exchange was bobbled resulting in a turnover on downs. Winnetonka quickly got the ball back to take the ball down the field once again. This time, they would convert to tie the game when DeAndre Thomas pulled in a four yard play action pass from quarterback Tyler Havrum for a touchdown with just under a minute to play.
Going into overtime at 7-7, the Panthers would take advantage of their first possession. Looking deep again, it would be Schuetz connecting with Scott for a 26-yard touchdown pass to put Park Hill South up 14-7. Like it had throughout the game, the Panther defense came through big on the Griffons’ chance to match the score and shut Winnetonka down on four plays sealing the victory. Park Hill South improved to 4-5 on the season and their 1-1 district record keeps them in contention for postseason play.
“We felt pretty good about our defense, but we knew it would be difficult. We’ve got one guy on the outside (Scott) offensively who can change the game, and he did,” Simcox said. “We thought if we could keep it close, we’d have a chance.”
