Park Hill still looking for quality win

A tough 38-0 loss to Liberty last week will require the Park Hill Trojans (3-4) refocus on district seeding implications as they take on St. Joe Central (3-4) this week. Central is coming off a 24-6 loss to Park Hill South where the Indians compiled 226 passing yards, but were unable to convert critical plays into points on the board.

“They can do a bunch of different things and they can throw the ball well, but they can also run the ball well too,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “We’re going to go where we’ve had success and that is in controlling the football, make them drive the ball, and slow the game down. Keep their offense off the field.”

No question about it, Park Hill has several motivating factors to rebound this week, the most important being staying in contention for an advantageous third seed out of the possible six teams in Class 5, District 8, but also the fact St. Joe Central ended the Trojans’ season last year with a defeat, which Reynolds says can be partially attributed to which team was more physical. That may rest in the mind of some, but the key for a young squad is to focus on what they can control

“Last year when they beat us, they were more physical than we were and we took them for granted on that,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “It’s a reality, if we win that game we’re still playing in the playoffs. We don’t need to worry about who we’re playing though, but more on what we do.”

Part of that physical mentality was lacking last week against Liberty as Park Hill found themselves outsized and somewhat surprised to see a Blue Jay passing game come alive, which had previously not been seen as a strength. Liberty connected on several big pass plays in the first quarter before Caleb Taylor pulled in a 31-yard touchdown reception to put Park Hill in a 7-0 hole. On their next drive, they would rely on the ground game this time, driving 80 yards in seven plays to post another touchdown putting Liberty up 14-0 early in the second quarter.

While Park Hill was down, they were not out, and saw some early success with their own running game. But Liberty essentially sealed the game with two scores before halftime when they completed two long pass plays before punching in a one-yard touchdown to make the score 21-0. Park Hill fumbled the ensuing kickoff where Liberty recovered and produced a field goal to extend their lead to 24-0 going into halftime.

“We kind of got bogged down and out of our rhythm. We stopped their running game early, but gave up big plays passing-wise and it just kind of snowballed from there,” Reynolds said. “Our kids tried to make plays outside what they need to do, which cost us some turnovers.”

Liberty would convert two of those Park Hill turnovers into points in the second half. The first would be in the third quarter when Jacob Zimmerman intercepted quarterback Clay Ford and returned it for a 68-yard touchdown. The second would be on a 9-yard touchdown run from Liberty’s Matthew Zombo after the Blue Jays recovered a Park Hill fumble deep in Trojan territory. Liberty held Park Hill to 147 yards offensively, allowed only nine first downs, and prevented a single third-down conversion on the night.

“We had some opportunities, but they’re a good defensive team and have some size,” Reynolds said. “In years when we’re more physical than they are, we’ve won, and when they’ve been more physical than us, they’ve won.”

Looking forward, the Trojans know the only thing that matters now are the next two weeks which, after St. Joe Central, feature a showdown with rival Park Hill South. All district games with postseason implications.

“These next two weeks are huge,” Reynolds said. “We know we can do it. If we have a big week of practice, we have a chance to be where we want to be.”