District finale is 'do or die' for Park Hill

Going into the final week of the regular season, Park Hill (5-4, 1-1) finds itself in the familiar position of looking to clinch a trip to the playoffs in their matchup with St. Joe Central (5-4, 1-1). With Staley punching their ticket to the Missouri state playoffs last week, there is now only room for one more team to advance from Class 5, District 12, as the front runner, and the winner in Friday’s matchup between Park Hill and St. Joe Central will secure that spot while the other’s season ends. The Trojans will be going up against an Indians team with a complex offense and physical defense, but while Park Hill may be considered a slight underdog, it’s a game they feel has its advantages for them.

“They’re a spread team and they’ll run a lot of different formations at us. They’ve got a good running back with good numbers. It’s going to be a good matchup up front,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “Our kids believe this is the time of year we can do things. We take a lot of pride at Park Hill for what we do at district time. I think it’s a difference maker for our kids for them to know we’ve only lost 3 district games in 11 years. We put a lot of emphasis on it.”

In order for this Friday’s game to mean anything though, the Trojans had to take care of business last week against Oak Park. The Northmen, a young and inexperienced team, are going through one of their most unsuccessful seasons in quite some time and were 0-8 entering their district matchup with Park Hill. Currently going through their own stretch of tough losses, the Trojans knew the game relied more on what they did themselves, not the other team.

“We knew we couldn’t worry about anyone else. This was a chance to show everybody if they were having any doubts about what we do, that we know what we’re doing,” Reynolds said. “Our whole goal going in was to make sure next week’s game means something.”

The Trojans received a positive bump on offense as they got running back Jordan Wang back after he was sidelined for six weeks with an elbow injury. Wang put to rest any concerns about his concern as he rushed 18 times for 154 yards.

“We got our tailback back and our line probably blocked better than they have all year. We played well,” Reynolds said. “Defensively, we got banged up at some positions again, but for the most part we did our jobs in the first half.”

Park Hill jumped out to a 21-0 lead on the heels of two Chris Heustis touchdowns, one a one yard run and the other a nine yard reception from quarterback Tyler White, along with touchdown from Mitch Tittone. Heustis would finish the night with 12 carries for 76 yards and three receptions for 54 yards. White would throw go 6-6 with 99 yards passing. Jordan Wang and White added two more touchdowns before halftime to widen their lead to 35-7 after an Oak Park touchdown. Wang would add a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter before freshman Stefan McCarthy put the final Trojan score on the board with his 12-yard touchdown run to increase the final score to 48-20. McCarthy finished the night with 11 carries for 81 yards and is the first freshman to score in a varsity game in recent memory for Park Hill.

“He came in and ran the ball very well. I told him we’ve never brought a kid up before the freshman season was over besides kickers,” Reynolds said.

But as Reynolds points out, it starts up front with the line. If the Trojans make the playoffs in 2011, it will partly be attributed to offensive and defensive lines that has endured and adjusted to injuries all season, forcing several players to move around filling gaps. Whether that comes as an asset or liability will show in a district finale that will most likely be determined in the trenches.

Park Hill South's OT win keeps playoff hopes alive

For Park Hill South, this Friday’s matchup with Fort Osage is likely an all-or-nothing situation in regards to the Panthers’ district title aspirations and playoff hopes. A win could give them their second straight district title while a loss could end their season. Depending on the results of Class 5, District 11’s other matchup Friday between North Kansas City and Winnetonka, the difference between who continues to play and who goes home has several different tie-breaking scenarios, but the most clear-cut theme for Park Hill South remains very simple: win.

“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.”

The Class 5, District 11 point system currently has Fort Osage at +16, Park Hill South at -2, Winnetonka at -4, and North Kansas City at -10. Points are determined by margin of victory/loss to a maximum of 13 points a game.

Fall Roundup: Oct. 17-23

Park Hill Boys Soccer
…brought home two conference victories last week with a 2-0 win against Lee’s Summit West and a 1-0 against Truman. Devon Belew and Matt Russell contributed the Trojans two goals against Lee’s Summit West with the help of assists by Neal Sampson and Zach Stuhlman. Russell scored the lone goal against Truman. Park Hill lost 3-0 against Columbia Rockbridge to end the week. With victories against St. Joe Central and North Kansas City in this week’s final regular season games, the 11-10 Trojans can improve their 9-1 conference record for a share of the conference title. Park Hill will take on the second seeded Park Hill South Panthers on November 1st in the district semi-final in St. Joe.

Park Hill South Boys Soccer

…suffered two tough overtime losses last week as they prepare for the district play which starts next week. The Panthers took Oak Park to double overtime, but fell 5-4 before battling Fort Osage later in the week where they were unable to edge Fort Osage. Park Hill South finishes their regular season against Belton and Raytown South this week. Brody Bouillon continues to lead Park Hill South in goals with 13 on the year while he, Alex Gonzalez, and Alex Weatherly lead in assists. The 14-8-1 Panthers, ranked second coming into districts will take on the third seeded Park Hill Trojans in the semi-final on November 1st in St. Joe.

Park Hill Girls Tennis

…were one set away from playing for a state title last week. After fighting through the bracket, the Trojans came up against Parkway Central in the semi-finals. The team score was 3-3 coming out of the singles portion of the competition after Brooke Barnard, Kaylin Lake, and Abby Peoples secured wins for Park Hill. The Trojans would split the first two matchups in doubles, but in the end it would be Parkway Central pulling away with the decisive fifth victory when the Colts took the third of three sets. Park Hill would finish in fourth place after being defeated in the third place matchup with Lafayette 5-2.

Individually, Suzanne Barth advanced to the quarterfinals of the singles bracket with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kickapoo’s Kasey Matthes in the sectional round before falling to Lafayette’s Haleigh Chobanian by a score of 6-4, 6-3. Brooke Barnard and Kaylin Lake were eliminated in the sectional round when they were defeated by St. Joseph Academy’s Ell Bisig and Olivia Conway 7-5, 6-1.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis

…was knocked out of the Missouri State Tournament in the sectional round by St. Theresa’s Academy 5-2. Adele Royle and Marie Gehrke were also unable to advance past the sectional round as they were defeated by Branson’s Taylor Johnston and Lucy Givens.

Park Hill Girls Golf

…wrapped up one of its most successful seasons in some time last week with three golfers participating in the state tournament. Senior Anna Kloeppel concluded her senior year by earning a state medal with an eighth place finish after a 83 shot performance. Freshman Adrianna Elliott shot a 90, good enough for 33rd place while senior Bailey Warlen finished in 68th place with her 98.

“Anna shot her best score of the year at State…that is an amazing accomplishment considering we have not played the course, the pressure involved with the state competition, weather issues and the level of play. Several golfers that we have competed against throughout the year did not compete as well at state,” Coach Tari Garner said.

Kloeppel will move on to compete in college next year, but has not made a decision on where yet. After hitting some obstacles her junior year, it was bittersweet for her coach to see her go out as a senior with so much success.

“I had tears of pride as I walked with her the last three holes that completed the State competition. She will have much success because of her work ethic and her attitude about life. We had some bumps in the road last season and she took that experience and used it to fuel her determination in the offseason and throughout this year’s competitive season,” Garner said.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…for it being his first season running cross country, senior Joey Walton has had quite a season and he continued it last weekend as he took second place in a competitive field at the district meet in Liberty. While the Park Hill track and cross country teams are just getting to know how strong of a runner he is, Walton will be turning in his running shoes after graduation as he enters the U.S. Navy.

“I didn’t know much about him coming into this season. Everyone said he was pretty good and has an amazing work ethic. It comes so natural to him, I don’t even think he’s tapped into his full potential as a runner,” Coach Jon Davis said.

Park Hill finished fourth as a team, qualifying for the sectional meet next weekend at Longview Lake. Behind Walton were fellow teammates Nathan Huffer (16th), and Kainen Utt (21st) who will advance to sectionals next week. For Utt, it represents an improvement from last year as he was one place away from qualifying last year when he took 31st. Other Trojan finishers included Jon Steven (39th), Nate Thomas (44th), Hanok Tekle (54th), and Mark Prose (67th).

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…finished sixth in their district run last week. Kim Rau led the team with her fifth place finish. Emma Gaiser followed with her 29th place finish. Both will compete in sectionals next weekend. Other finishes included Abby Muller (31st), Mercedes Robinson (35th), Libby Lund (38th), Maddie Bischof (39th), and Gianna Tutorino (58th).

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…Tucker Melles led Park Hill South at the district meet in Liberty last weekend with his fifth place finish. As a freshman Melles has led the Panthers most of the season and has not only set a strong bar to match for his teammates, but himself.

“He’s very mature. Everytime I say he’s going to do something, he somehow surpasses it. I told him I think he can get top ten (next week), but we’ll have to see,” Coach Brad Banning said. “He’s steady as a rock and never really gets too excited. He puts his mind to something and just does it, so I don’t really have to coach him up or anything.”

Finishing behind him was Lendon Calhoun (20th), Peter Thomas (22nd), Mason Homoly (40th), Jacob Bowlin (45th), Keaton Murry (53rd), and Westley King (69th). The Panthers finished in fifth place, just shy of advancing as a team to the sectional meet last week. Melles, Calhoun, and Thomas will compete individually in sectionals.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

….will run as a team this weekend in the sectional meet at Longview Lake after qualifying in the district race last weekend. Their third place finish was led by Lizzy Jurries’s ninth place finish. Panthers advancing to sectionals included Madeline Homoly (15th), Erica Guzman (25th), and Lauren Blair (28th). Other finishers for Park Hill South were Raven Jennings (36th), Audrey Rothers (45th), and DeDe O’Toole (48th).

“They’ve all had strong showings throughout the year, but been real steady up to this point so I told them they needed to hit it out of the park today, not think too much about it, and run as fast as you can,” Coach Pam Jurgensmeyer said. “We’re really happy especially since it was such a toss up on which teams would advance.”