Park Hill, South Dug for the Cure

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and each year around the country individuals, schools, and organizations host events to raise funds to promote awareness and research. Last week the Park Hill and Park Hill South volleyball teams participated in a Dig For The Cure match with both teams sporting pink jerseys along with family and friends in the crowd. Pink overwhelmed the inside of Park Hill’s gym while outside in the hallways a silent auction was held.

“The cause is so important, more important than the game, and we’re bringing awareness to these young athletes,” Park Hill coach Lindsey Hood said. “We had several survivors come in to speak to us because one out of eight girls gets breast cancer, so it really is important to highlight.”

T-shirt sales for the game raised nearly $2,200 with an overall goal of $5,000 being set when combined with the silent auction and donations. This is the third year Park Hill has hosted or participated in a Dig For The Cure event.

“The gym is crowded and it’s a rivalry game, so whatever we can do to bring awareness to the cause,” Hood said.

As for competition on the court, the Panthers defeated the Trojans in two games, 25-21 and 25-9. Park Hill South would go on to win against Lee’s Summit North 25-22, 25-20 to end the week. Park Hill beat Truman in conference play 25-23, 25-15 before going 3-1 in the Grain Valley Spikefest Tournament with wins against Oak Grove, Fatima, and Smithville.

“I’m really proud of our girls this second half of the season, which is the most important part. They’ve really just been coming together and what we’ve been doing on our side,” Hood said. “Servicing seems to be our bread and butter, if we’re not producing there we’re not producing in other places.”

Park Hill is now 15-11 on the year while Park Hill South is 20-2. This week both will wrap up their regular season before looking to the district tournament. Park Hill will take on St. Joe Central in the first round of Class 4, District 16 play 6:30pm on October 22^nd at Liberty. Park Hill South notched a first round bye and will play the winner of Winnetonka/William Chrisman in the semifinals of Class 4, District 15 play on at 5:30pm on October 24^th at William Chrisman.

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.”

Panthers look to contain Liberty North running game

A 24-6 win over St. Joe Central (3-4) last week gave the Park Hill South (4-3) football team a boost in the district standings, putting them in contention to play for a coveted first round district tournament bye over the next two weeks. While a highly anticipated matchup with Park Hill is on the horizon for the regular season’s final game Oct. 19^th, the Panthers must first focus on the immediate task at hand which is traveling to face Liberty North (3-4). Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox says threat number one is the talented speed of Eagles running back Antwynn Beavers who ran for 254 yards in Liberty North’s 33-22 win over Platte County last week.

“He’s probably faster than anyone we’ve got,” Simcox said. “We’ll have to do a good job of scheming against him so he doesn’t get away from us.”

It will go from one defensive focus to another as Park Hill South shutdown a pass-heavy St. Joe Central offense last week, preventing the Indians from scoring until late in the fourth quarter. With district implications on the line, both teams knew their postseason outlooks would be affected by the result.

Park Hill South posted their first score on the opening drive when quarterback Shaefer Schuetz connected with receiver Craig Scott for a 17-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. While the Panthers were frustrated with their defensive efforts early in allowing several first downs, they were able to prevent St. Joe Central from scoring on their most productive drive of the first half.

“Their offense is pretty dynamic, so we tried to hold on to every (offensive) possession as long as could. We don’t like giving up yards in chunks like we did. It turns the game into something we don’t want it to be,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. “It’s hard to play defense knowing you’re going to give up some plays, but if you make them snap the ball one more time and do that enough, it’s tough for the other team to keep it going.”

Myles Hammonds tacked on a two-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to increase the Panther lead to 14-0 going into halftime.

Jacob Sneden put a 36-yard field goal through the uprights with under five minutes left in the third quarter to increase the Panthers’ advantage to 17-0. An early fourth quarter 32-yard pass from Schuetz to receiver Nick Griffith set up a one-yard touchdown run from Hammonds, his second of the night, to increase the lead to 24-0. Hammonds would finish the night with 40 carries for 125 yards. Another Panther who had a big night was Scott who pulled in seven receptions for 123 yards despite finding himself in double coverage most of the night.

“When they do that, we have to be able to run it, and tonight we did it,” Simcox said.

Fall Round-up: Oct. 2-8

Park Hill South Soccer

…defeated Liberty North 1-0 in the first round of their annual Panther Classic last week before running into a lightning delay during the second overtime of their semifinal game against Smithville. With the final ten minutes of the contest rescheduled to be decided prior to the tournament’s championship game, Derek Braun’s game winning goal about halfway through the period to give South the 1-0 over Smithville served as a good warm-up for their title game appearance later in the afternoon against Park Hill, which would be another marathon match.

Neither side was surprised that the second match-up so far this season between Park Hill and Park Hill South was full of physicality and fouls, a common feature on display between the two teams in years past. Just the same, no one on hand for the championship game would leave without their money’s worth in watching two quality teams duel it out over 80 minutes and two overtime periods without a score being given up.

That would end when Brian Kissee gave the Panthers their second double overtime victory of the day and, most importantly, their second win of the season over rival Park Hill.

The Panthers continue with a strong schedule moving forward.

“The good thing is when you play teams like these and include the schedule we have coming up, it’s like the playoffs, so that’s good this time of the year,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said.

With a senior-laden team set on high expectations, Toigo says he’s seen some encouraging signs his players are up to the task.

“They have an understanding maturity-wise of how we handle certain situations so that we can win some games,” Toigo said.

Park Hill South, now 15-3, plays Ruskin before facing a third matchup against Park Hill Monday followed by a conference matchup with Lee’s Summit West which could decide a share of the league title.

Park Hill Soccer

…won games against North Kansas City (4-0) and Ray-Pec (1-0) in the Park Hill South Panther Classic last week to land themselves in the title match against Park Hill South. As anticipated the game was a classic double overtime thriller, full of physical play and yellow cards. In the end, Park Hill South would come away with the golden goal and a 1-0 victory. Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said his team simply ran out of energy towards the end of the game.

“We struggled to keep possession and move forward as a unit,” Marchbank said. “In our system of play we demand a very high work rate and today our boys ran out of gas.”

The Trojans fall to 11-4 on the year and look to games against Truman and Blue Springs South this week. They defeated Rockhurst 1-0 Monday after Adam Weatherly scored a goal with under five minutes to play for the game winner.

Park Hill South Volleyball

…Park Hill South had been anticipating the rematch with Lee’s Summit West ever since their early season loss accounted for the only blemish on the Panthers’ record coming into last Thursday’s second meeting. While they would put up a fight, the now 18-2 Panthers’ would fall in consecutive games to the strong-hitting Titans 25-18 and 25-20. Coach Debbie Fay believes her team is better than they were in the previous meeting, but did not pass well enough to beat a quality team like Lee’s Summit West.

“We battled, but we did not pass well and if we don’t pass well we will struggle against a team like this. You have to have you’re A game if you’re going to beat them and even some help from them. Everyone has to have a good game if we’re going to get it done.”

Even with the defeat, there were positives to take away from the performance.

“We had a couple kids who had good games,” Fay said. “That’s the best I’ve seen Samantha Nay hit and Ashton Anderson played amazing defense. She had two strong blocks and she’s the smallest on the team.”

As the Panthers head down the stretch run of their regular season to look towards districts, they will face a strong schedule which will be advantageous. Their hopes are to see Lee’s Summit West again, this time in a high stakes state playoff game.

“We have good competition the next two weeks so we’re going to need to battle, which is what we need,” Fay said. “I hope we face them again, it would really matter if we’re lucky to face them again.”

As The Citizen went to press Tuesday night, Park Hill South was playing Park Hill in a “Dig For The Cure” match, an event used to raise money and promote awareness for cancer search.

Park Hill South Tennis

…notched their second consecutive district title last week by beating Oak Park (5-2) and Park Hill (6-0). Coaches Glynis Chambers and Ian Cunliff say it was a team effort from top to bottom.

“They all just really came through, all came out and played hard,” Chambers said. “The team’s just been really deep and we felt like we had a strong fighting chance.”

Asked what obstacles this year’s team faced compared to last year, Cunliff pointed to the difference in conference alignment and how higher quality competition made it more difficult, which forced them to focus more.

“This year was harder because of the competition we faced,” Cunliff said. “A common theme we focused on was process: playing the process regardless of win or loss, regardless of the outcome. Just to do things the right way.”

Park Hill South will host St. Joe Central, a team they beat during the regular season, in team sectional play this weekend. The winner will face the winner of the Notre Dame de Sion/Lee’s Summit North match-up. If Park Hill South advances, they will land themselves a spot in the state’s Final Four, something which has not been done in the school’s history.

In individual singles, Adele Royle defeated Park Hill’s Brooke Barnard 7-6, 6-2 in the district title match. Royle advanced to individual sectional play which took place in St. Joe Tuesday and scores were not available as of The Citizen’s deadline.

Park Hill Tennis

…while Park Hill did not finish the season the way they would have imagined, the Trojans did leave something to hang their hat on for next season. After winning the opening round contest against North Kansas City 6-3, the Trojans upset second-seeded St. Theresa’s Academy 5-4 in the district semifinal last week. This set them up for a matchup against rival Park Hill South in the district title contest with both team’s defending previous district title considerations. Park Hill’s short upset run would fall short though as Park Hill South would win all six individual matches to secure the title match 6-0.

In the individual portion of the district tournament, Brooke Barnard would advance through the bracket for a title matchup against Park Hill South’s Adele Royle before falling 7-6, 6-2. With her second place finish, Barnard advanced and was competing in sectional play Tuesday afternoon. Results were not available at the time of The Citizen’s deadline.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

….placed fifth at the Suburban Red Conference meet last weekend. Kainen Utt finished in sixth place with a time of 16:40 while Nate Thomas followed with a ninth place finish. Other Trojan runners competing included Hanok Tekle (22^nd), James Adams (31^st), Carter Barajas (36^th), and Graham England (37^th).

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…was fourth out of six teams at the Suburban Red Conference meet over the weekend. Tucker Melles impressed with his time of 16:17 and fourth place finish. Other Panther finishes included Keeyan Lunders (14^th), Gus Whitman (24^th), Lendon Calhoun (25^th), Triston McCoy (28^th), Alex Thurston (29^th), and Eli Williams (34^th).

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…secured a third place finish in the Suburban Red Conference meet last weekend. Madeline Homoly’s time of 20:44 and 10^th place finish led the Panthers while Erica Guzman came closely behind in 11^th place. The rest of the Park Hill South field included Charlie McFarlane (16^th), Margaret McKeon (17^th), Audrey Rothers (18^th), and DeDe O’Toole (26^th).

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…placed fourth in the Suburban Red Conference meet last weekend. Kim Rau and Mercedes Robinson’s 13^th and 14^th place respective finishes led the Trojans. Other Trojan results included Emma Gaiser (22^nd), Gianna Tutorino (24^th), and Brooke Bischof (25^th).

Park Hill/Park Hill South swimming
...the Trojans and Panthers met in a dual last week with Park Hill South pulling out a 102-83 win. Park Hill South qualified two new swimmers for state with Alex Heuton in the 50 yard freestyle and Caleb Siebert in the 100 yard backstroke.

Park Hill Golf
...finished fourth in the sectional meet Monday with a team score of 391, ending their shot at a first-time appearance in the state tournament next week. However, Adrianna Elliott and Bailey Warlen did qualify as individuals and will be making the trip. Elliott finished tied for fourth place with a score of +13 while Warlen finished tied for 11th with a score of +22. Sydney Paulak missed qualifying for state by one stroke with her score of +25. Josie Stevenson and Jaqueline Yong finished back to back with scores of +44 and +45.

Park Hill South Golf
...will be sending one golfer to state with Lindsey Gile qualifying in the sectional round Monday with her score of +18, tying her for seventh place. Sydney Sanders (+33) and Laiya Smith (+37) also competed in the sectional tournament for the Panthers.