Trojans turn to big-play ability of Ruskin following overtime victory

Coming off a thrilling 13-7 overtime victory in week one at Liberty, the Park Hill Trojans return home to host the Ruskin Eagles Friday. They’ll be looking to improve on their 1-0 start to the season with another victory before preparing for what could shape up to be one of the best matchups in the city against Park Hill South on September 9th.

Ruskin, who fell in their opener 42-28 to Truman, suffered from several turnovers throughout the game with three interceptions, three lost fumbles, a safety, and a number of penalties. Park Hill will look to rattle Ruskin quarterback Tino Martin, who was injured during last year’s 35-13 Trojan victory, in hopes of seeing the same results they were able to produce against Liberty last week where they benefited from two Blue Jays lost fumbles at critical points in the game. The Eagles will sport an offense similar to Liberty’s which will benefit Park Hill in terms of weekly defensive adjustments, but the most hostile threat to the Trojans will be Ruskin’s big play ability.

“We’re going to have to win this game up front by controlling big plays,” Reynolds said. “They’re the type of team that could only get four positive plays all night, but they may result in 28 points.”

Big plays were exactly what Park Hill and Liberty lacked last week for a majority of the game. If you would have walked into the stadium midway through the fourth quarter you wouldn't have missed very much leading up to that point as the score remained 0-0.
When the Trojans gained possession after a Liberty punt at the 8:13 mark in the fourth quarter, they began and finished what they had failed to do all night: mount a long-standing drive based off their familiar smash-mouth, physical style of football. But 11 plays and 64 yards later, it was Jordan Wang, the fullback turned tailback who powered through the Liberty defense for a 5-yard touchdown run to put Park hill up 7-0 with 2:07 left in the game.

“Long story short, we kept battling, won field position, and were finally able to break through,” Reynolds said of the score. “Basically our line was doing a good enough job of leaning forward that we could get two or three yards at a time. We are who we are. We’re going to run the ball until they stop it and then we’re run it some more.”

Based on Liberty’s offensive production and five fumbles up to that point, you couldn’t be blamed if you counted the Blue Jays out, but as many were caught heading towards the exits, Liberty’s passing game exploded in a huge way. After receiving the kickoff, Pate Tyler’s 36-yard reception to begin the drive was followed by a 38-yard reception by Max Bamburg which all of a sudden put the Blue Jays in the red zone. Two plays later, Lucas Norton hit Tyler again for a six-yard touchdown reception that tied it up at 7-7 with just 23 seconds. Following the kick-off, Park Hill elected to run the clock out and take the game to overtime.

Liberty gained possession first, but failed to gain a first down and forewent a field goal attempt. Park Hill capitalized on their second play from scrimmage in overtime when Wang took a handoff 21 yards for the game winning touchdown and a 13-7 Trojans victory. Wang finished the night with 31 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Their week one victory represents a significant and early boost to a team that will face steep competition down the road.

“It’s huge. I told everyone if we can get this one, we have a chance to really springboard. If we can get on a roll right now and get on towards the middle of our season, it’s going to be good for us,” Reynolds said. “This is a young group that needed some confidence. Beating a team named Liberty is always good.”

Focus now on Blue Springs South for Panthers after firing on all cylinders in opener

After a week one shutout victory against Belton 30-0, the Park Hill South Panthers will now begin what is sure to be a challenging string of games the next two weeks. This Friday they'll travel to Blue Springs South to take on a 1-0 Jaguars squad fresh off a shutout of their own against Raytown South 29-0. In last season's matchup Park Hill South suffered a discouraging 34-7 early season loss to the Jaguars. They'll be going up against a program that has become known as one of the best in the city, which means the Panthers won’t have much room for error if they want to continue their winning ways.

"They're a team that doesn't lose on their own, you have to beat them. I mean they line up where they're supposed to every time and rarely miss assignments," head coach Mark Simcox said. "They're going to make you earn it by putting together eight and nine play scoring drives."

The Panther defense will have their eyes set on shutting down Blue Springs South and running back Trey Ervin who rushed ten times for 126 yards and two touchdowns last Friday. Additionally, they'll look to put pressure on quarterback Connor Harris who threw for 98 yards and also posted 10 points as part of a three field goal and one extra point kicking performance.

"It doesn't look like they have three or four division one players like they've had in the past, but they do have some good skilled athletes. A talented quarterback that’s involved in everything they do," Simcox said. "We have to avoid going three and out. If we can keep our defense rested and off the field, then I think we'll do well."

Park Hill South hopes to continue firing on all cylinders after an all-around solid performance against the Belton Pirates last week. South took a modest 14-0 lead into halftime on the heels of two Craig Scott touchdown receptions. Scott finished the game with four receptions for 63 yards. The flood gates opened though at the beginning of the third quarter when Sola, known for his speed and agility turned the heat up with a touchdown run spanning nearly half the field. Sola finished with 42 yards rushing and 72 yards passing. South’s tailback, Myles Hammons, wasn’t able to quench his end zone thirst against the Pirates, but was a major part of the Panther offense as he racked up 142 yards rushing on 28 carries.

"They had seven or eight guys going each way compared to us just having one and I think they just lost steam in the second half," Simcox said.

The ensuing possession gave the Panthers defense their chance to shine as Nick Gillespie intercepted a Belton pass and returned for it for a touchdown putting South up 28-0 early in the second half. The Panthers defense tacked on a safety when a group of players took down a Pirates back in the end zone at the beginning of what would eventually be a relatively quiet fourth quarter increasing the score to 30-0 leaving South with an impressive opening week victory.

Fall Roundup: Aug. 22 - Aug. 27

Park Hill South Softball
.... went 3-2 in their season opening tournament last weekend in Joplin. They were able to score victories against Bartlesville (9-3) and Neosho twice (12-11, 7-5). They were beaten by McDonald County (2-0) and Carl Junction (5-2). Coach Josh Walker's team was able to make contact and hit the ball pretty well with an overall batting average over .330, but Walker said his teams fielding was an area which needed to improve on. They'll play at Raytown and Winnetonka this week.
 
Park Hill Girls Tennis
The Park Hill girls tennis team started the season off with a 6-3 victory of Liberty last week. Led by top player Suzanne Barth, the number one Lady Trojan in singles defeated Kristen Filardo with an impressive 10-2 before teaming up with doubles partner Anna Karasiewicz to beat Filardo and Cassidy Paul 10-4. They were unable to maintain the hot start against Pembroke Hill as they suffered an 8-1 loss in a poor performance for Park Hill. Barth was able to edge out Pembroke's McCray 10-8 in the top doubles matchup, but McCray was able to exact revenge in doubles when she and teammate Czerwinski downed Barth and Karasiewicz 10-4. They'll host St. Theresa's Academy Thursday in their only scheduled match of the week.

Park Hill Girls Golf
Park Hill girls golf saw high quality results in their first week of the 2011 season. Placing sixth at the Liberty Invitational, Anna Kloeppel and Adrianna Elliott tie for 16th place while Bailey Warlen just a few places behind in 23rd. They capped off their week with a 51 stroke win over Platte County when they shot a team score of 193 compared to the Pirates 244. Adrianna Elliott led Park Hill with a score of 45. They play at Staley followed by a match at Winnetonka and Oak Park this week.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis
Lady Panthers tennis began their season with a 7-2 win over Blue Springs. Top singles player Adele Royle defeated the Wildcats top player with a quick 8-0 victory. Marie Gehrke followed it up with an 8-3 win over Blue Springs number two player. Royle and Gehrke reaffirmed their solid play with an 8-0 victory in their doubles match. They host Liberty and Oak Park in separate matches this week.

Park Hill South Girls Golf
Park Hill South placed third in the large field of 23 teams at the Liberty Invitational last week. Junior Lindsey Gile placed fifth while senior Kelli Mulligan placed ninth out of 89 players. Later in the week they defeated St. Joe Central with a team score of 207 to Central's 220. Gile was a medalist with a score of 46 just eight over par.