South wins district title, ends Park Hill streak

No matter what had happened in Park Hill and Park Hill South’s three previous meetings this season, there was no question the district championship meeting they earned their way to last week would be the most important and deciding game of their series this year. While Park Hill South had won two of their three meetings this year, Park Hill won 1-0 in the most recent game on October 15^th and had the confidence of knowing they had ended Park Hill South’s season three years in a row in district play coming into last week’s meeting.

Despite what seemed as the Trojans’ strong recent grasp over the Panthers in district play, it was a moment in Park Hill South’s 3-0 victory over Smithville which they believe gave them the extra energy boost needed to finally break that streak. Injuries can not only create a physical absence on the field, but remove an emotional focus as well. So when a senior-laden and tight-knit group saw senior Ryan Dansby break his leg in the second half, it really shook the Panthers up.

“When it happened, we were up 3-0, but it was almost as if we could have lost it at that point,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said. “They were really upset and it really took a lot out of us. The possibility for injury is always there, but to play hard you can’t let it enter your mind. However, when you see it happen, it’s almost impossible to erase from your mind.”

The lingering effects of the injury carried over into the next day’s practice where they needed to focus on the ensuing title game against Park Hill, something they’d been focusing their entire season towards. Enter the coaching staff, who organized with the booster club to order warm-up jerseys with Dansby’s #2 on them. The energy that created was something to be reckoned with and evident in the stadium the following night, not only from the team, but the parents and students as well.

“We really needed to do something to get their mind off it,” Toigo said. “They were so excited when they got those warm-ups earlier tonight. Their spirit has been great all year, so when we lose (on the field or, in this case, off of it) we can keep them from getting too far down.”

Re-energized, the Panthers had renewed their focus on their postseason aspirations while also using it to play for their injured teammate. Adam Weatherly would put Park Hill South up a goal towards the end of the first half, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead at halftime. Brian Kissee would score in the opening minute of the second half to give them the exclamation point they needed for what would be the final 2-0 score. Park Hill, while physical and competitive until the very end, would not recover, never quite able to finish on a handful of near scoring opportunities.

After avoiding a complete Gatorade-drenching and hearing his team sing their fight song, Toigo talked about the new motivation and importance of using that to score early.

“There’s no question we’re playing for Ryan, as well as for ourselves. When we’re playing for ourselves, we’re playing for Ryan,” Toigo said. “If we can score first, we’re not bunkering ourselves in, but it gives us that little boost of confidence. I think we’re where we want to be right now.”

Park Hill South was playing Liberty in the Missouri state sectional round Tuesday night at The Citizen went to press. A win would send them to the state quarterfinals against Rockhurst/Lee’s Summit North this Saturday.