Park Hill, Park Hill South girls golf conference results

Park Hill finished second in the conference tournament Monday while Park Hill South finished one place behind in third.

All Trojans medaled by placing in the top 15. Bailey Warlen won the tournament with a medalist score of 85.

Adrianna Elliott (5th), Sydney Paulak (9th), Jaque Yang (12th), and Josie Stevenson (14th) all contributed for Park Hill and were awarded all-conference honors.

Park Hill South's Lindsey Gile was named first team all-conference, Sydney Sanders was named to the second team, and Ashley Kildow and Laiya Smith were named honorable mentions.

The district tournament is scheduled for October 1st.

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.

Park Hill thumps Ruskin, looks to Kearney

Two consecutive wins fueled by strong second half play, including Friday’s 56-14 win over Ruskin, lead Park Hill (3-2) into this Friday’s matchup against Kearney (3-2). Kearney is coming off a devastating 28-27 loss to Platte County which saw the Pirates come back from a 27-0 second half deficit to win in the game’s final moments. Park Hill and Kearney haven’t played against each other since 2001 when both teams met in Class 4 district play, so there will be a certain amount of unfamiliarity between the two teams, this time as Class 5 district opponents again.

“I don’t know what to expect, but I know they’re a good team. They’re very physical and like to run the ball,” Park Hill Coach Greg Reynolds said. “It’s going to come down to taking care of business on the front lines and tackling. I think it’s going to be a pretty even game when it comes to talent level. Turnovers can be big in games like this. Bottom line is it’s a district game and will help us in seeding.”

Kearney will present a significantly more challenging opponent than the one Park Hill faced in Ruskin last week. The Trojans came in as a strong favorite and looked like it early as they drove the field on their opening drive for quarterback Clay Ford to run in the game’s first touchdown to put Park Hill up 7-0. Stefan McCarthy would tack on a 39-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0, but the Trojans would squander several chances to increase their margin in the second quarter after two fumbles and failed fourth down conversion. Ruskin would break loose a 64-yard run for a touchdown before halftime to make the score 14-7 going into the break, a surprisingly close game for observers at the halfway point.

“We fumbled the ball at inopportune times after big plays and made mental mistakes on short yardage plays,” Reynolds said of the first half. “I think some of our kids were trying to hit a home run each time instead of just doing what they do. Making moves for touchdowns instead of just getting what you can get.”

The second half would be a different story, much as it was the previous week in Park Hill’s comeback victory over Ruskin.

The Trojans came alive in the third quarter as they scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, all the first six minutes of the quarter. Park Hill would add another touchdown before the end of the period. All in all, scores were recorded from Kenyatte Harris, who would score touchdowns on runs of ten and 29 yards, a ten-yard touchdown pass from Clay Ford to Austin Truvillion, and McCarthy who added to his earlier touchdown total with two from a 19-yard run and 16-yard reception. Before it was all said and done, the Park Hill offensive would produce 35 third quarter points, giving them a 49-7 lead going into the fourth.

“That might just be the way this team is, we have moments when we loss focus. We don’t have the amount of experience to stop it once it starts,” Reynolds said. “But what we were doing (in the second half), that’s what we should be doing.”

While Ruskin saw success with the screen pass in the first half early and often, they were unable to convert it into the points they needed in the second half. Eagles quarterback Kiestan Burrell was 20 for 37 passing and threw for 189 yards with a touchdown.

Ruskin’s Terrello Holden pulled in a 46-yard touchdown reception to narrow the game’s margin, but Park Hill’s Carter Bates would record the final points of the game with a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Trojans run away with a 56-14 victory.

Harris would end the game with 20 carries for 157 yards rushing and two touchdowns while his running back counterpart McCarthy would contribute 62 yards rushing and three touchdowns (two runs, one reception). Ford was eight for 13 passing for 121 yards with three touchdown passes on the night leading the Trojans to an offensive night which totaled 397 yards.

Soccer rivals get first look at each other

If last week’s matchup between Park Hill and Park Hill South is any indication of the future excitement between these two rivals, there will be a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks for these two teams. In front of a near-capacity crowd last Wednesday, both teams, who are considered two of the best in the metro, squared off in the first of what could be four matchups this season. Park Hill South would pull out a 2-1 victory over Park Hill, but the anticipation and physical nature of the game left plenty on the field for the next scheduled game between the two Oct. 15 or even earlier during the tournament the Panthers host next week.

Even with strong senior classes at the helm of both teams, each knew the advantages and disadvantages of playing in front of a highly fueled crowd, each hoping to stay focused on the task at hand.

“We tried to take this just as any other game,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said. “We need to keep doing what we’ve prepared ourself for all season. We didn’t put anything extra on this game. It’s hard to keep high school kids settled with this much yelling and screaming. I think they kept their composure pretty good tonight."

“We told ourselves coming into this game that the team that would win is the team who stayed the most emotionally balanced, focused and didn’t let those tie into the game,” Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. “It’s tough when you have an atmosphere like tonight.”

Park Hill South’s Jordan Lindsey sent the Panther faithful into a roar when he scored the game’s first goal just minutes in to put the Panthers up 1-0 early. Scoring would not be what defined the contest though, as tough and physical play went back and forth throughout the night. Park Hill South would widen its lead in the second half when Andrew Gonzalez added a goal to put the game solely in the Panthers’ control. Park Hill would fight back though when Timmy Hay scored around the nine-minute mark. Several Park Hill attempts to tie the score late went unconverted as the Panther defense held, giving the first matchup between the two teams to the Panthers.

“We’re probably going to see them three more times this year. This is only game one. What counts is how we respond,” Marchbank said. “It was disappointing, I think we lost focus for a bit and they slipped it behind us. Two simple mistakes cost us the game tonight. We have a week off, which is good because this game takes a physical and emotional toll.” 

While Park Hill, now 8-2, had the chance to rest with the remainder of their week off before preparing for another round of tough conference matchups, Park Hill South continued on with a tough stretch that runs into this week. They defeated Ruskin 9-0 before playing tough Olathe East in a previously rained out tournament title game where the Panthers won 2-1 on penalty kicks. While running up an impressive 10-2 record so far this year, Toigo says his team has played a lot of close games and in order to improve they need to make sure they don’t leave themselves vulnerable to game-costing mistakes.

“We’ve played a lot of close games. We’re not even averaging 2 goals a game,” Toigo said. “We need to finish better. We’re 8-2, but could easily be 2-8 because our margin of error is so narrow with the amount of goals we’re scoring."

Park Hill South plays at Truman and hosts St. Joe Central this week before starting their own tournament next week while Park Hill looks next to this week’s games against Lee’s Summit West and then Oak Park at Livestrong Sporting Park.

Fall Roundup: Sept. 17-24

Park Hill South Girls Tennis 
…after winning all four of their matches last week, the Panthers finished off a successful week with a bang by bring home a title in the Northland tournament over the weekend. They did so in convincing fashion as well by winning three of the four brackets. With 62 team points, the Panthers topped the closest second point earner St. Joe Central’s 44. Adele Royle won her first two matches as the Panthers top singles player in the A Bracket to earn her a spot in the title match against Park Hill’s Brooke Barnard. The two battled to a close 11-9 decision in Barnard’s advantage. In the singles B Backet, Rachel Brown would win all three of her matches on the way to a first place finish. Marie Gehrke and Katie Smith would team up to win the doubles A Bracket while Emily and Shay Jackson would take first in the doubles B Bracket.

The Panthers had victories against St. Joe Central (6-3), Truman (9-0), Park Hill (6-3), and Ruskin (9-0) earlier in the week. Royle went 3-1 as the Panthers top singles player while Royle and Shay Jackson went 2-1 as the top doubles duo.

Park Hill South hosts Lincoln Academy before traveling to Lee’s Summit West to conclude their regular season Thursday. District play begins next week.

Park Hill Tennis

…finished third in the Northland Tournament over the weekend with 37 total team points. Brooke Barnard took first place in the singles A Bracket with a close 11-9 victory over Park Hill South’s Adele Royle. Abby Peoples placed fourth in the singles B Bracket while Breanna Donahue and Evan Kutz took fourth in the doubles B Bracket.

Park Hill finishes off the regular season Thursday when they host St. Joe Central.

Park Hill Volleyball

...won their two matches last week against Truman and St. Joe Central in straight sets (2-0). Park Hill is now 9-7-3 on the season with road games against Ruskin and Lee’s Summit West on the schedule this week. At the midway point in the season, senior Lindsey Grace leads in the team in kills (117) and blocks (37) while Olivia Nowakowski leads the team in digs with 191.

Park Hill South Softball

…went 2-1 last week to bring their overall record to 13-8 with wins against Ruskin (15-0) and St. Joe Central (4-1) and a loss to Blue Springs (6-1). Julia Switlik struck out eight batters against Ruskin while Kylie DeClue, Jordin Woodward, and Courtney Todd contributed RBI’s in their win against St. Joe Central. Todd’s was a solo home run. They will compete in the St. Joe Benton Tournament over the weekend before starting district play next week.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…Tucker Melles placed first in the Grandview Invitational last week with his top time of 16:47. Keyan Lunders (7^th), Lendon Calhoun (16^th), Jacob Bowlin (17^th), Eli Williams (18^th), and Matt Robbins (20^th) rounded out the Panthers’ field. Park Hill South finished third as a team overall. They will compete in the KC All Metro Classic this weekend before the Conference meet next weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…finished fourth at the Grandview Invitational last week as Lizzy Jurries led the Panthers with a ninth place time of 20:57.30. Erica Guzman (15^th), Margaret McKeon (29^th), Charlie McFarlane (30^th), DeDe O’Toole (41^st), and Sophie Hardin competed for Park Hill South. They’ll next look to the KC All Metro Classic this weekend before competing in the Conference meet next weekend.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…placed in the middle of the pack at the Rim Rock Classic last weekend with a 21^st place finish out of 43 teams. Cainen Utt led the way with his 13^th place time of 16:42.50. Cain Winebrenner (85^th), Hanok Tekle (96^th), Nate Thomas (126^th), James Adams (205^th), Riley Fahrenholz (218^th), and Noah Barajas (254^th) competed for Park Hill.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

… Mercedes Robinson led the Trojans in the Rim Rock Classic last weekend with her 40^th place time of 17:00.90. Kim Rau (56^th), Gianna Tutorino (110th), and Brooke Bischof (133^rd) competed for Park Hill.

Park Hill Boys Swimming

…traveled three hours to Springfield this weekend for the Splash Out Cancer Invitational and came home with a first place finish out of seven southwest Missouri teams. Park Hill took first in the 200 yard medley, 400 free relay, 500 freestyle (Barry Chang), and 100 backstroke (Matt Wagner). Top three place finishers included Wagner in the 200 freestyle, Chang in the 200 individual medley, Joe Johnson in diving, Vince Tutorino in the 100 butterfly, and Kyle Allen in the 100 yard breaststroke.