PHS extends win streak to three

After outscoring their opponents 111-6 over the previous two games including last Friday's 41-0 win over Grandview, Park Hill South (3-2) will see a significantly different level of talent this week as they travel to Lee's Summit West (5-0) to take on one of the top-ranked teams in the state. The Panthers are not naive about the quality of their opponent, but hope they can use the momentum from their three game winning streak to take another step forward this week.

"We've been watching video to find some things we might be able to do. There are some things that look good for us on paper, but they're talented and really good. They've got a lot of kids that can run. We think we have some things we can do," Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. "It (Friday's win) definitely helps us confidence-wise. That was something we were concerned about with our 0-2 start, but now we've won three in a row and they're feeling better about themselves. We think we're better than we were three weeks ago, so we'll see."

There were many things to point to which led to the Panthers 41-0 victory over Grandview, but the damage that resulted in an old-fashioned stomp down was mostly done before the Bulldogs could even run a successful offensive play from the line of scrimmage. A Grandview penalty before the game even started due to unsportsmanlike conduct gave Park Hill South good field position after they returned the opening kickoff. Myles Hammonds would put the game's first points on the board with a one-yard touchdown run, his first of two touchdowns on the night. Grandview would then fumble the first snap of their first drive to turn the ball over to the Panthers, who would score on a ten-yard Shaefer Schuetz touchdown pass to Craig Scott. The Bulldogs would do it all over again on the next possession, fumbling the ball for a turnover, which led to another Schuetz-to-Scott touchdown connect.

Park Hill South was up 21-0 having had only a mere six minutes expire off the game clock.

"We were up 21 points, so at that point there wasn't too much left," Simcox said. "I think they would have been better, but when you get down 21-0 without really running an offensive play, it just kind of got away from them I think."

The Panthers would improve their lead on the defensive end with two interceptions returned for touchdowns, the first by Alex Augspurg was a 38-yard return in the second quarter, while the second was a 45-yard touchdown play by Bryan Robinson early in the second half.

Shelving their passing game as the game became out of reach in the second quarter to limit Schuetz and Scott's potential stats, they used Hammonds on the ground to use up the remainder of the clock before he ended his night with 26 carries, good for around 100 yards and two touchdowns. All in a good night's work for an overall quality effort for the Panthers.