Park Hill volleyball wins opener, gives back

The Park Hill volleyball team started off their season Monday night with a quality win over North Kansas City, overpowering their way to victory in consecutive sets. Especially with a more experienced squad, after two or three weeks of practice, the anticipation to get the season under way was mounting by the day.

“We have lot of juniors, a couple seniors,” junior Lyndi Plattner said. “We are putting it all together because for a lot us, it’s our third or fourth year.”

Coach Lindsey Hood was pleased with the win, but knew there were improvements to make.

“It’s nice to get a win. It gives the girls a little bit of confidence," Hood said.

The Lady Trojans have not only been busy preparing for the season ahead, but they took time out of their practice schedule a couple weeks ago to volunteer at the Micah Ministry at Independence Boulevard Christian Church. Some of the things team members helped out with included serving the homeless, working in the kids center, and handing out clothes.

“We always preach to the girls to give back and how important that is,” Hood said.

The Trojans host Lee’s Summit West next Tuesday before traveling to Lee’s Summit Thursday or next week.

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.”

Panthers look to second straight tough opponent

After a tough week one loss last Friday to Fort Osage 28-0, Park Hill South travels to Blue Springs to take on a Wildcat team coming off a convincing 56-13 victory over St. Joe Central. Taking on the second-ranked team in Missouri’s biggest class won’t make things any easier for the Panthers in Week Two. Focus number one will be on a Blue Springs program that has been notorious for their strong running attack, one which was led last week by running back Dalvin Warmack who rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns last week.

“We know they (Blue Springs) are going to be good, physical, and big. I know they have almost everyone back from last year,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox. “We have to go in there and do what we do. Right now, we have to fix our things.”

 Despite the struggles in Week One, Simcox believes that if they are able to fix some of their own mistakes, the Panthers see potential opportunities they can take advantage of Friday night.

“There are some things we think we’ll be able to do,” Simcox said. “They’re a different kind of defense. They’re bigger (than Fort Osage), but I’m not sure they’re as active.”

In a rematch of their district finale loss last year to Fort Osage, Park Hill South fell again by the same score of 28-0. The loss featured a Panther defense that was unable to counter the versatility of Fort Osage senior quarterback Steven McBee who went 12-21 passing for 97 yards, but also grinded out 107 yards on 16 carries. McBee scored all three of the Indians’ touchdowns.

With star running back Myles Hammonds out due to injuries, the Panthers were forced to run the ball by committee which did not prove effective. Up against a tough Indian defense which only gave up 81 yards, Park Hill South was only gained two first downs in the first half. Unable to gain any traction in the running game prevented the Panthers from opening up the field to pass to deep threat wide receiver Craig Scott.

"We have to find a way to run it, they're not going to let us throw it to our best two offensive players," Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox. "They're an awfully good defense; we'll see a lot of defenses like that, but not necessarily better than that."

After their defense forced a Panthers four and out on their first drive of the game, the Indians went 60 yards in 11 plays to score the game's first points after a McBee two-yard touchdown run. They added a two point conversion on to make the score 8-0 early in the first quarter.

With an 18-0 lead coming into the second half, McBee put the game's doubt out of mind after a 64-yard touchdown run. Park Hill South fumbled the ensuing kickoff which led to Fort Osage kicker Hayden Baumgartner converting his second field goal of the night off a Panther turnover, extending the lead to its final 28-0.

Fall Roundup: Aug. 20-27

Park Hill Girls Tennis

…started the season with a loss to a talented Pembroke Hill team 8-1, but were encouraged by a win from doubles pair Kaylin Lake and Brooke Barnard who defeated Yurie Heard and Wanda Czerwinski 10-8. They play St. Theresa’s Academy Friday at the Plaza Tennis Center.

Park Hill Boys Soccer

…racked up 10 goals in their first game of the season. Ending early due to the spread rule, Park hill beat 10-0 against Raytown South in the Liberty Kick-off Classic to clinch their first victory. Matt Russell, Alec Fiest, and Brandon Riley all had two goals a piece while Keaton Anchors, Nick Hibbeler, Jake Roepe, and Timmy Hay rounded out the rest of the scoring.

Park Hill Boys Swim/Dive

… in the first meet of the year, qualified their 200 medley relay team for the state meet in November with a third place finish at last weekend’s SouthRock Invitational. Barry Chang took first place in the 200 yard butterfly. Other top three finishers included Matt Wagner in the 200 backstroke and Jered Wegner in the 100 backstroke. Coach Karl Haley also saw some encouraging signs from his younger swimmers.

“We saw a lot of good out of our large freshmen class.  They are very inexperienced, but if they stick with it we should be looking good in the years to come,” Haley said.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis

…opened their season off last week 1-1 with a 9-0 victory over Blue Springs and a 6-3 loss to Lee’s Summit North. Top singles player Adele Royle went 1-1 on the week as did Royle and doubles teammates Shay Jackson with both wins coming against Blue Springs. The Panthers play at Staley Thursday before traveling to Blue Springs South next Tuesday.

Park Hill South Softball 

…brought home a 3-2 record from the Joplin Tournament last weekend. Wins included Webb City (4-3), Bartlesville (14-2), and a come-from-behind victory against Carl Junction (11-10) in which Park Hill South scored seven runs in the final inning to pull ahead. Pitcher Madison Price secured two victories on the mound for the Panthers while Mallory Land, Jordin Woodward, and Kylie DeClue had home runs. Games against Liberty North and Ruskin are on the schedule for this week.

Park Hill Girls Golf 

...is starting off the season in what appears to be mid-season form as they defeated Platte County 202 to 252 last week and started this week off with a second place finish at the Liberty North Tournament Monday. Bailey Warlen placed second with a score of 80 while Adrianna Elliott and Sydney Sanders weren't far behind with 4th (84) and 10th (98) place finishes. Park Hill hosts Winnetonka at Tiffany Greens Wednesday afternoon.