No time to revel in win for Trojans

After a thrilling last second come from behind victory against Raytown South last week, the Park Hill Trojans won’t have much time to savor their season opening 23-22 win. They must now look to hosting this Friday’s match-up against a highly talented and experienced Lee’s Summit West team fresh off a nationally televised win over defending state champion Staley, who they shutout 23-0.

Park Hill is hoping to use the adrenaline from their comeback to redeem themselves from last year’s 49-0 loss to the Titans at home. Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said how his team reacts after a big win will benefit them later in the season.

“How we react to playing Lee’s Summit West is huge,” Reynolds said. “We want to enjoy the win because that type of thing (a come-from-behind victory) doesn’t happen much, but at the end of the season we’re going to have to play Park Hill South in Week Nine followed by a big game the next week. So reacting to a big win and getting back on track is what good teams do.”

Facing a team which had few noticeable weaknesses in Week One, the Trojans are going to need an exceptional performance beyond the X’s and O’s.

“They’re bigger than us, older than us, and deeper than us. Technique, fundamental-wise we have to have a no mistake-type of game,” Reynolds said. “We have to fight, learn how to take a punch, and not lay down. Last year was an embarrassment; we didn’t stop them or even force them to run a long third down play in the first half.”

Park Hill quarterback Clay Ford’s first varsity start last week had its ups and downs including two interceptions, but it will mostly be remembered for how he took that mix of success and propelled the Trojans in a last minute drive to win the game after Raytown South took the lead 22-16 with just 1:13 left to play.

“I think before that drive he was down a little bit, I could tell by his composure. It wasn’t something that was going to lead us to a win,” Reynolds said. “But he started to think about what it was going to take to go into that huddle and take over. He did a good job; he was scrambling all seven plays and moved out of the pocket on all of them except the final one.”

Park Hill took the field in their hurry-up offense and was on the brink of eliminating their chance at a comeback several times before Park Hill quarterback Clay Ford hit Ariyan Trawick for a 30-yard touchdown pass. The extra point put Park Hill up 23-22 with about five seconds remaining to seal the victory. Ford finished 8-of-21 passing for 163 yards with one touchdown. Dondrell Hardiman contributed two touchdowns as part of a 116 yard, 22 carry rushing performance.

Reynolds believes his defense made strides of improvement as well and sees the victory as a step forward for the team overall.

“Take away maybe three big plays and we played a pretty good defensive game. So I was pleased with that,” Reynolds said. “If we stay healthy and keep getting better, I think this is something we can build off.”