Trojan football bounces back

After losing their starting running back and top two defensive players in recent weeks, the Park Hill Trojans come into Friday night’s game against third-ranked Lee’s Summit West (5-1) on a positive note after their 42-14 victory last Friday against North Kansas City. The 4-2 Trojans face two of the top teams in the state in coming weeks with a matchup against Staley on the schedule next week. Among many other things, head coach Greg Reynolds says his team must play the best they have all season in order to compete with the talented and well-balanced Titan squad. The least of which includes special teams play, something that haunted them in last year's 38-14 loss to Lee's Summit West.

"We have to be better," Reynolds said. "At this point, the focus isn't so much on the other team, it's on ourselves and making sure we're doing the things we need to do."

Despite falling behind in the first quarter last Friday against North Kansas City 7-0, Park Hill exploded in the second quarter after Chris Heustis tied the game on a one yard touchdown run. Dondrell Hardiman rattled off touchdown runs of 58, 17, and 4 yards to put the Trojans up 28-7 at the half. Hardiman had 15 carries for 133 yards on the night.

Heustis added another touchdown in the third quarter before Eddie McDonald capped off the Trojans scoring with a two yard touchdown run of his own putting Park Hill up 42-7. McDonald and Heustis would finish with 98 and 88 yards rushing as part of a 308 yard rushing team performance. The Trojan defense held North Kansas City to just 39 yards rushing, some of which came in the fourth quarter when the Hornets tagged on a late touchdown before the clock expired on the 42-14 contest.

"It was a good win for us," Reynolds said. "Especially in terms of confidence as we head into this next week and district play."

The win represented Reynolds's 100th career victory for Park Hill. Now in his 12th year, Reynolds took over the head coaching position in 2000 after serving as an assistant prior to that.

Lady Trojans look to take top spot at districts

There are several unique aspects to the Park Hill Softball team’s long awaited resurgence to the top of the standings this season. The Lady Trojans, sporting a 17-6 record coming into district play this week, won two conference games last week, the last of which was a victory against Ruskin that clinched a share of the conference title with Truman for Park Hill. That accomplishment represents the school’s first such title in 17 years, the last was won in 1994.

Head coach Stuart Sullinger took over the Park Hill softball program four years ago hoping to instill a consistent and solid coaching presence after the team had experienced several consecutive coaching changes in previous years. The chance to lead the program in a new direction was also an opportunity to work with his daughter Bethany, an incoming freshman, the same way he was with his older son Jacob in his role as an assistant for the Trojans baseball program.

“It’s been an absolute blessing from God. As it relates to both Jacob and Bethany, I would hope every dad and coach would get to experience all that we have,” Sullinger said.

Bethany, now a senior, serves as one of the Lady Trojans’ captains and star shortstop. But she’s joined by a supporting crew that’s come into their own this season. All-Metro centerfielder KK Rettinger and second baseman Nikki Moss make up the center core of the Trojans defense with three combined errors all season and serve as the team’s top three offensive producers, but Sullinger makes no secret about it, Park Hill’s success this year has been a total team effort and a product of player camaraderie.

“Complete buy-in by every player,” Sullinger said. “They are truly committed to the taks at hand, I can trust them to do their best, and they really care about each other.”

One of the difference makers for Park Hill this season has been the steady one-two pitching punch from their two young pitchers, sophomore Makenzie Porter (13-3, 2.58 ERA) and freshman Audrea Allen (4-3, 3.45 ERA).

“They pitch without conscience,” Sullinger said. “They don't seem to rest on past success or worry about past failure. They go at each batter one pitch at a time.”

With the team’s success, the Trojans will be in a newfound position this week as they head into district play as the second seed. While the Trojans have battled around the .500 mark in recent years during the regular season, they’ve had some district tournament success with two title game appearances after big upsets in as many years. This year Park Hill expects to in that same title game for the third year in a row, not looking to knock off a top seed, but to battle as one of the favorites themselves.

“I'd be lying if I didn't say it feels different. I suppose I perceive more pressure, however that pressure is the adrenaline kick that makes this whole thing so much fun,” Sullinger said. “Keys to our success are always systematically approach every game one pitch at a time with excellent effort and aggressiveness.”

Park Hill has a chance to make some more history this week. As they wait to play Thursday the winner of the Staley and St. Joe Central, the Lady Trojans could win their first district title since 2001, a year they advanced all the way to the state semifinals.

Fall Roundup: Sept. 26 - Oct. 1

Park Hill Volleyball
…followed up two early week losses with a victory over St. Joe Central to close last week. The Trojans are now 9-11 overall and currently second in conference play. Facing top competition in Blue Springs and Park Hill South, Park Hill fell 14-25, 14-25 to the Wildcats before sticking close to Park Hill South in the first set, but falling 22-25 and then losing again in the second set 17-25. Jenny Riddle continues to lead in offensive for the Trojans with her team high 282 assists and 18 aces. Lindsay Grace leads the team in hitting percentage with .277 while Halley Knudson’s 168 digs is tops so far going into the month of October.

“We played two of the best teams in the state and I think we did real well. Our big picture is districts,” head coach Lindsey Hood said. “The girls are really hustling in practice. It gets hard at this point in the season when you have so many games, it gets tedious, but they’re staying focused with the tasks at hand.”

Despite battling injuries including a concussion to Katie Reichert and the loss of Angelica Pasek to a hand injury for the year, Park Hill looks to finish the regular season strong and start anew with districts.

“It just starts a new season, doesn’t matter if we’ve lost to someone during the regular season. It’s do or die,” Hood said.

Park Hill Boys Soccer
…split their two games last week dropping a 2-0 game to Lee’s Summit West before coming back with a 5-0 victory over St. Joe Central. Timmy Hay, Neal Sampson, Zach Stuhlman, Alec Fiest, and Chris Walker scored for the Trojans. Sampson accounted for three assists while Chris Zdvorak added another. Dustin Sollars recorded his 100th victory as head coach of the Trojan soccer team Monday with a 2-0 victory over Platte County. Goals were scored by Hay and Chris Zdvorak. Park Hill is now 8-7.

Park Hill South Girls Golf
… won the Suburban Conference White Division last week. Lindsey Gile medaled along with receiving first team all-conference honors with teammates Kelli Mulligan and Savannah Kutz.

Sydney Sanders made second team all-conference and Elizabeth Brown was honorable mention.

They followed that performance up with a third place finish in the district tournament with their 395 team score. All of South’s golfers qualified for the sectional tournament at Longview this week. Mulligan, Gile, Kutz, and Sanders all received all-district honors.

Park Hill Girls Golf
…placed second in the Suburban Conference Red Division, their 387 team score left them short of the conference title by just five strokes. Anna Kloeppel’s 89 was good for a medal and second place individually. Adrianna Elliott finished fifth with her 96. They followed it up with another solid performance in the district tournament, placing second with a team score of 388 behind Liberty. Kloeppel and Elliott finished fourth and fifth respectively with their 88 and 90. Bailey Warlen shot a 98, good enough for ninth place. Their top four team finish qualifies the entire squad for the sectional playoff round at Longview Golf Course Wednesday before the state tournament October 17th and 18th in Sedalia.

Park Hill South Softball
…split the final two games of their regular season last week as they lost a 11-4 game to Staley despite a Courtney Land homerun before bouncing back to beat William Chrisman. Makayla Walker recorded the victory and was assisted with a three-run homer from Mallory Land, Corinne Listenbee’s home run, and Floor Welling’s two for two afternoon. Park Hill competes Wednesday against William Chrisman again in the first round of the Class 4, District 15 tournament.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis
…concluded their regular season with two convincing victories against Fort Osage and Blue Springs South, both by an 8-1 score. The Lady Panthers started team district play Tuesday as the top seeded team. They hope to play Wednesday the winner of the North Kansas City and Liberty semifinal match-up.

Park Hill South Volleyball
…continued their unbeaten streak last with three wins against Belton (25-10, 25-5), Park Hill (25-22, 25-17), and Fort Osage (25-17, 25-21).

Park Hill South Boys Soccer
…secured two conference victories before heading off to St. Louis for the Gateway Classic last weekend. A 4-0 win over Belton was aided from goals by Tyler Easton, Alex Weatherly, Jordan Lindsey, and Derek Braun. Heath Turner recorded the shutout. South’s 4-2 win over Fort Osage improved the Panthers’ record to 8-4-1 going into the weekend. Lindsey, Alex Weatherly, Adam Weatherly, and Brady Bouillon scored on the Indians.

Park Hill Girls Tennis
…ran away with their final victory of the regular season last week as they shutout Truman by a score of 9-0. Suzanne Barth won every set in her top singles match winning 6-0, 6-0. Barth coupled with Anna Karasiewicz repeated that performance in their doubles match with the same score 6-0, 6-0. The victory signified another consecutive conference championship for the Trojan tennis program. Park Hill will head into the postseason and the Class 4, District 16 tournament this week as the top seed.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country
…finished 23rd in the KC Metro Classic over the weekend. Top finishers included Lizzy Jurries in 71st place, Madeline Homoly in 104th place, Audrey Rothers in 117th. Raven Jennings finished 162nd, Kerry Maas 168th, DeDe O’Toole 171st. and Danielle Black 193rd. They’ll participate in the conference meet this weekend.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country
…took 15th in the KC Metro Classic last weekend. Kim Rau finished 30th as the Trojans top runner. Other athletes included Emma Gaiser (101st), Libby Lund (105th), Brooke Bischof (106th), Maddie Bischof (141st), and Gianna Turtrino (143rd).

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country
…placed 13th in the KC Metro Classic. Tucker Melles was the Panthers top finisher in 27th place followed by Lendon Calhoun (49th), Mason Homoly (98th), Peter Thomas (103rd), Barrett Hudson (145th), and Jacon Bowlin (167th).

Park Hill Boys Cross Country…placed 14th in the KC Metro Classic last Saturday. Joe Walton was the Trojans top placer at 10th. He was followed by Nathan Huffer (60th), Kainen Utt (81st), James Adams (140th), Jon Steven (148th), and Hanok Tekle (149th).

Panthers look to overcome injuries, put more points on board

After coming out of the gate quickly in the first half the previous week against William Chrisman in a 42-18 victory, Park Hill South was hoping to build on their momentum against Raytown last Friday. It wouldn't be so, as a scoreless first half led way to two second half Raytown touchdowns putting the Panthers down by 12 late in the fourth quarter. An attempted comeback was cut short as Raytown pulls out the mild upset by a score of 12-7. Although, a solid defensive performance, the Panthers weren't able to overcome the absence of some key players including running back Myles Hammonds and linebacker Robert Lane.

"We came out defensively real strong," coach Mark Simcox said. "Our depth hurt us because of the injuries we're currently dealing with right now."

South now looks to Raytown South (2-3) as they host the Cardinals at Park Hill District Stadium. The Cardinals are coming off a tough 36-0 loss to Fort Osage last week. Park Hill South will look to keep the Raytown South offense neutralized, as they've only scored once in the previous two games, and allow their own offense the chance to get into a rhythm. On the other side of the ball, quarterback Eddie Sola, who played running back in Hammonds absence, and company will look to stimulate a Panthers offense which has either been red hot or stone cold this season. Raytown South entered the season ranked in the Class 5 state rankings, but has recently falled out while Park Hill south remains in the fold, currently ranked sixth.

"They're a good team," Simcox said. "I remember from last year their front eight or nine guys are real tough. It's going to be another test."

Raytown's Justus McMullen ripped a 29-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to put the game's first points on the board last Friday putting them up 6-0 after a failed point after. Then it was a 50-yard pass from Bobby Bradley to Chris Jackson in the fourth quarter that would eventually serve as the game winning touchdown, putting the Blue Jays up 12-0, once again after a failed extra point. A 5-yard pass from Carson Reid to Craig Scott got South on the board late in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers fall to 3-2 on the year and suffer the first blow to their conference record, now at 2-1.

Trojans looking forward after tough loss

It’s all eyes forward for the Park Hill Trojans (3-2) as they enter this Friday’ game against North Kansas City after an ugly 42-0 loss to Jefferson City on homecoming last weekend. The Hornets (1-4) are under the direction of first year head coach Leon Douglas, previously a defensive coordinator, and coming off their first win of the year, a 19-0 victory over Ruskin. While the Trojans have handedly beat the Hornets in recent years including a 49-6 win last year, Park Hill head coach Greg Reynolds says now is the time for his team to make the adjustments towards improvement.

“At some point you have to fix it,” Reynolds said. “If we’re going to get away with not doing things correctly against certain teams because we think we’re going to win, then we’re never going to be seen like the Jeff City Jays or any of the other quality teams we play. At this point, I don’t think we can guarantee a win against any team.”

There were several improvement areas available to choose from last Friday against Jefferson City and it started from the first play at scrimmage when Jeff City quarterback Thomas LePage hit receiver A.J. Miller for a 75-yard catch and run for a touchdown to put the Jays up 7-0. Two Devon Moore touchdown runs would extend the score to 21-0 before the end of the first quarter.

“I told them this team is like the old Jefferson City teams, who used to win state championships right and left. They’re very physical, don’t have very many holes. The only hole I saw was their long snapper being a little erratic and if that’s your only weak link, then you’ve got a pretty good team,” Reynolds said.

Park Hill struggled to find any offensive rhythm throughout the night, only producing 28 yards in the first half. Their closest opportunity came when the Trojans recovered a fumbled Jefferson City punt return, giving Park Hill the ball at the Jays 37-yard line and their best field position of the night. But several plays later, Trojan quarterback Tyler White was picked off by a Jay defender to end the drive. Despite a missed field goal attempt on the ensuing drive, Jeff City put an additional score on the board following another interception before halftime when Moore caught a screen pass and ran 18 yards for a touchdown reception, adding to his impressive three touchdown night. The Jays went into the locker room at halftime with a commanding 35-0 lead.

“We concentrated on ourselves,” Reynolds said of the way they handled being down. “We did some things decent. The problem was they were so athletic that they were filling the gaps too quickly.”

Jeff City increased their lead in the second half with what would be one final score when Elijah Sherwood ran for a three yard touchdown putting the Jays up for good, 42-0. Their nearly 500 yards of total offense was no match for what would be 123 yards of offense from Park Hill.

Park Hill/Park Hill South boys soccer: mid-season update

Park Hill South Boys Soccer
… are now 6-4-1 after splitting their two games last week. After defeating Raytown 4-1 on two goals from Broday Bouillon and one a piece from Nick Smith and Brian Kissee, Park Hill South took a 1-0 lead into halftime against Liberty to conclude the week, but two late second half goals pushed Liberty past the Panthers 2-1.

"We came out attacking the ball like crazy,” coach Joe Toigo said of the Panthers first half. “They (Liberty) changed the style of play on us and we didn’t adapt very well. The game means nothing. We play them because they’re a rival. It’s not a conference game. Not a district game. But it’s like a backyard brawl because the kids play each other all year round.”

South will likely compete with Fort Osage for the conference title down the stretch of the season. Brody Bouillon has gone on a scoring spree of lot and solidified himself as one of the Panthers top attackers while Josh Hunt gives South a calming presence in the backfield. Josh Hall, Adam Weatherly, and Alex Weatherly have all proven consistent at the midfield position up to this point.

“We’re young physically and young mentally,” Toigo said. “We are a good passing, possession team. If we get away from that, we’ll have difficulty. We try to get possession 60 or 70% of the team.”

The Panthers travel to St. Louis to participate in the Gateway Classic Classic towards the end of this week.

Park Hill Boys Soccer

… improved to 5-6 on the season with a 3-2 overtime victory over Blue Springs last week. Matt Russell and Devon Belew scored two in regulation before Blue Springs came back to tie the game and forcing it into overtime. Belew scored in the opening minutes of overtime to end the game and send the Trojans into this week with a victory.

“They’re a solid team. We got comfortable and let up. It was a good test for us,” coach Dustin Sollars said.

The Trojans are hoping to get back onto the winning side after a tough start to the season.

“We’re trying to climb out of a bad first few games,” Sollars said. “We’ve gotten tested every time we go out this year. We’re resilient, they don’t give up. All three of our goals were the result of hard work, not quitting on a ball. We really killed ourselves conditioning at the beginning of the year and I think we’re starting to reap the benefits of being in shape.”

Offensively, Matt Russell and Tim Hay have seen most of the goals, but as Belew demonstrated against Blue Springs, his speed can serve the Trojans well from the back.

“He’s very fast and capable. I think his ability to read the game is great,” Sollars said. “His speed is deception because it catches people off guard and isn’t as evident compared to our forwards.”

Park Hill hosts St. Joe Central this week before playing in the Panther Classic all next week.

Fall Roundup: Sept. 19-24

Park Hill South Girls Golf
…finished 13th out of 19 teams in the Missouri/Kansas Invitational last week with a team score of 405. Lindsey Gile finished 18th out of 95 players. South hosted and won their final regular season match of the year by placing ahead of Liberty, Liberty North, and Platte County with a 373 team score. Gile placed second with a 90 while Kelli Mulligan placed fifth with a 93. They compete in the district tournament Wednesday at Cardinal Hill.

Park Hill Volleyball
…went 1-1 last week with a win against Ruskin while falling to Liberty North. The Trojans came out slow against Liberty North in their annual Dig for a Cure match and were never able to recover as they fell in straight sets 25-17, 25-8. They came back with a 25-8, 25-11 win over Ruskin to end the week. Now 8-9 on the season, coach Lindsey Hood said her seniors came together and talked about the change in leadership and results they want to see the second half of the season. They host St. Joe Central Thursday this week before hosting Lee’s Summit North and West next week.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country
… took sixth out of nine teams at the Grandview Invitational last week. PHS Girls took 6th or 9 teams. Medal winners included Lizzy Jurries in 15th (21:14), Madeline Homoly in 27th (22:06), and Audrey Rothers in 28th (22:11). They’ll compete in the KC Metro Classic over the weekend. Jurries, Homoly, and Rothers continue to provide the most consistency for what has been a lineup full of different runners for the Panthers as they approach the conference and district meets.

“I expected quite a few girls to be players on varsity and they have been, we’ve had ten different varsity runners this season, which is nice going into the championship rounds. The outlook to win conference still looks good, provided we can all stay healthy,” coach Pam Jurgensmeyer said.

Park Hill Girls Golf
… defeated Truman 204-209 last week. Anna Kloeppel led the team with a score of 46. The Trojans went on to place second in the Oak Park Tournament in Smithville as Kloeppel placed third with an 85 while Adrianna Elliott placed sixth with a 95. They head to the district tournament this week.

Park Hill Softball
…built off their successful appearance in the Platte County Invitational by adding two more wins to their record last week. Park Hill beat Lee’s Summit West 11-1 in an overall solid performance by the Trojans with triples from KK Rettinger, Bethany Sullinger, and Audrea Allen. Nikki Moss was 4-4 on the day. Makenzie Porter only gave up a first inning run before settling in for a complete game. Park Hill added a 9-6 victory against St. Joe Central to scrap by the Indians. Sullinger had three hits, two of which were doubles, while Katherine Lawrence and Rettinger added two hits apiece. Porter secured her eleventh win of the season as the Trojans improved to 14-3 on the season.

“I love the way this group of girls go about their business and take care of each other,” coach Stuart Sullinger said. “I could not be more proud them.”

Park Hill South Girls Tennis
…dominated in their three matches last week. They added an 8-1 victory against Winnetonka at the end of the week on top of two 9-0 wins against William Chrisman and Kearney. They play at Blue Springs South Wednesday before hosting William Chrisman Thursday before they compete for conference next week.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country
…Freshman Tucker Melles has turned some heads this season and last week was no different as he won the Grandview Invitational with his first place finish which was a full 20 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Lendon Calhoun came in as the Panthers second highest finisher in 13th place. Peter Homas (27th), Mason Homoly (34th), Mitchell McDonald (42nd), Jacob Bowlin (43rd), and Westley King (45th) also competed for Park Hill South in their fourth place team finish.

Park Hill South Softball
…went 2-1 last week as they improved their record with a 9-0 win against Winnetonka and a 3-1 win against Raytown South. Madison Price threw a five hit shutout against Winnetonka while Alyx Hagen pitched 11 innings to strike out 13 against Raytown South. Makayla Walker threw 7 1/3 innings giving up one earned run to Belton in a close 2-1 lose to Belton. Courtney Todd, Courtney Land, and Mallory Land continue to lead the offense for Park Hill South. They host William Chrisman before wrapping the regular season up at the St. Joe Benton Tournament over the weekend.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country
… with a third place finish at Ray-Pec and fifth place finish at Blue Springs in the recent weeks, the Park Hill boys cross country team hoped to come away from the Rim Rock Classic with more encouraging results. Their 28th place finish was not what they were looking for as a team, but did see some positive signs. Joe Walton finished 15th overall. Nathan Huffer trailed him by several places with his 114th place finish along with Kainen Utt (146th), James Adams (196th), Nate Thomas (206th), and Jon Steven (222nd). They’re participate in the KC Metro Classic before the conference meet on October 8th.

“Our varsity group is starting to come together nicely. Joe Walton has gotten stronger every race, he is our clear leader,” Coach Jon Davis said. “Nathan Huffer and Kainen Utt have also been strong for us in the early going.”

South road trip resumes at Raytown

After improving their record to 3-1 on the season with a 42-18 victory over William Chrisman Friday night, Park Hill South will go on the road once again this week to battle a 2-2 Raytown Blue Jays squad still looking to define itself in the early season after a close 13-9 victory last week over Belton. Raytown is a team still establishing itself as a program, which makes it even the more difficult for South to prepare for them at the mid-way point in the season especially when the Jays have a quality win against a tough Class 6 team in the likes of Lee’s Summit North.

“They have had some early success, they beat Lee’s Summit North,” head coach Mark Simcox said. “I’m sure they’ll be up to the challenge of us for sure.”

If you got caught in traffic on the way out to Independence to watch Park Hill South play William Chrisman last Friday night, you may have missed the opening act of what would eventually be a first half that can only be described as the Craig Scott Show. In the first four minutes of the game Scott had a 15 and 81-yard touchdown catches. He would add two more on two-yard and 17-yard touchdown receptions in the first half edging the score to 28-0 before Chrisman was able to put a long drive and score on the board to make it 28-6 going into the locker room

“We trust we can throw it up to him or at least know the other guy won’t get it. When we can do that, it makes a big difference. He understands in order for us to be successful, we have to run the ball and control the clock,” Simcox said. “He’s going to get about four or five plays every game and he has to take advantage of them.”

Scott finished the night with 133 yards receiving on five receptions.

“It feels pretty good, like a dream almost,” “You just have to go into every game looking to do whatever you can do and help out however you can,” Scott said of his career night.

Chrisman had several close scoring opportunities they were unable to convert on throughout the game and the score remained unchanged going into the fourth quarter before Bears running back DeMarco Hill scampered 42-yard run to give Chrisman a glimmer of hope at a comeback. But those were all but dismissed after a time-killing drive capped off with a six yard touchdown run from Jalen Ross and a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown by South’s Dylan Worth on the ensuing Bear’s possession increased the lead to 42-12. Hill ripped off a 66-yard touchdown run in the game’s final seconds to narrow the final margin to 42-18 and complete a Park Hill South victory.

“We came out real well, we’ve been preaching that,” Simcox said. “We weren’t as disciplined on defense as I would have liked. Had a little flat spot in the second quarter with that drive which sticks in my throat the most.”

While Scott rang up many of the Panthers’ scores Friday night, it was only possible because of William Chrisman’s dedication to stop South’s run attack usually headed by Myles Hammonds. With such a commanding lead early in the game, Hammonds was sidelined for precautionary reasons, so the running duties were left to a committee of backs that were still able to rack up 198 yards on 41 carries.

“We wanted for them to save some gas in the tank, especially when we had some guys that need experience and deserve the chance to play,” Simcox said.

It’s a balance South has been working for, one which focuses on a strong running game, and then allows them to strike with the pass as defenses begin to concentrate their efforts too much. Against Chrisman, they noticed a strong focus at the line of scrimmage.

“Our plan was still to do what we do, but when they do what they were doing on offense, we’re not going to just run into nine guys in the box,” Simcox said.

Although South experienced being banged up injury-wise at different parts of the game, one of the more serious injuries came at the end of the second quarter when linebacker Robert Lane came shaken off the field. He was later carted out of the stadium and taken to a hospital. Immediate information was not available, but it was believed to be a concussion situation.

Trojans enter tough stretch

A 21-3 victory over Truman last Friday night will bring the Park Hill Trojans (3-1) into the first of a three week span in which they will being playing some of the top teams in the state including Jefferson City, Lee’s Summit, and Staley. The first of those three will be Jefferson City, ranked seventh in Class 6, this week as Park Hill holds homecoming festivities. Jeff City comes to the Northland with a record of 4-0 as they come off a 31-14 victory over Columbia Rock Bridge. Last season when the Trojans traveled to Jefferson City they held the lead going into halftime before the Jays opened the flood gates on the way to a 40-14 Jeff City victory.

“The next four weeks we probably play one of the toughest schedules that anyone can play. It will be a big stretch for us to see how we react to an environment of possibly not being favored. Sometimes that’s not what you want, but you’ve got to have the attitude of ‘let’s see what we’ve got,” head coach Greg Reynolds said.

While Jefferson City, one of the most storied programs in Missouri high school football history, will have a solid football team top to bottom, the Park Hill defense’s top target will be running back Devon Moore who is coming off a four touchdown game just a week ago.

“Everyone knows when you play Jeff City it’s one of the top programs in the state, possibly the nation. I don’t think our kids will back down to them, it’s these types of games where you find out who is going to step up and play,” Reynolds said. “We’re going to need to be on top of our game and we’ll have to take advantage of the opportunities we get.”

Last Friday, Park Hill didn’t come out of the gate in the first half like they would have wanted to against Truman. While their defense only allowed what would be the lone score of the game with a 27-yard field goal on the last play of the first quarter, the offense was unable to get into a rhythm and establish the running game so pivotal to the Trojans game plan. Only facing a 3-0 deficit to start the second half, Park Hill was able to capitalize on Truman’s fumble of the opening kickoff and began to move the ball the way they had hoped they would have in the first half. Starting from near midfield, Tyler White capped off a ten play drive with his one-yard touchdown run to first put the Trojans on the board 7-3.

“We just got our heads back on and came back to what we should’ve been doing,” Reynolds said. “We were able to establish our running game there.”

Truman battled mistakes and penalties of their own which cancelled several of their bigger plays out. To begin the fourth quarter, Park Hill kept to the ground and put together a 63-yard, nine play drive completed when Chris Heustis ran the ball in for a three yard touchdown to put the Trojans up 14-3. Dondrell Hardiman sealed the victory on a 4th and 3 play when he preceeded to catch and run 24-yards for a touchdown widening the margin to the final score of 21-3. Running back Eddie McDonald led Park Hill’s rushing game with 104 yards on 22 carries while Heustis followed it up with 68 yards of his own on 15 carries.

The Trojans defense is currently battling several injuries, including top linebacker Will Gaye who sat out last Friday’s game, but has allowed less than an average of one touchdown per game so far this season, just a total of 23 points in their first four games.

Fall Roundup: Sept. 12-17

Park Hill South Boys Soccer
….improved their record to 5-4 on the season and edged above the .500 mark for the first time this season after three convincing conference victories last week. Brody Bouillon, Tyler Easton, and Adam Weatherly teamed up to put in scores against Raytown South in a 3-0 shutout. Heath Turner added his second shutout of the week in a 5-0 win against William Chrisman on the heels of Adam Weatherly’s three-score hat trick and additional scores from Andrew Gonzales and Jordan Lindsey. Bouillon scored two goals and Gonzalez added a third in a 3-0 victory over Winnetonka. Mark DeJesus was credited with the shutout. Coach Joe Toigo said his team is improving, but will experience a real test this Thursday when the play Liberty.

Park Hill Volleyball
….went 2-0 last week with conference wins against Truman and North Kansas City. Lyndi Plattner leads the team with 55 kills while Haley Knudson leads with 39 digs in conference play over four games. The Trojans advanced to the quarterfinals of the Lee's Summit North tournament before falling to the host school 25-16, 25-17. They are 7-8 overall coming into play this week.

Park Hill Softball
…is hitting on all cylinders at the midway point in their season. They increased their record to 10-3 with conference victories against North Kansas City (10-0), Ruskin (15-0), and a big momentum boasting win against Truman (3-1). Audrea Allen pitched no-hitters against North Kansas City and Ruskin while Bethany Sullinger, KK Rettinger, Samantha Snodgrass, Keylee Burks, and Katherine Lawrence contributed to the Trojans’ offensive bombardment. Allen and Mackenzie Porter teamed up to hold Truman to one run as Park Hill’s win brought them to the top of the conference leader board. Rettinger had a triple and two of the Trojans’ three runs.

Coach Stuart Sullinger says the quality of the defense is an area which he didn’t expect to be as solid as it has with an impressive .963 fielding percentage, but believes the combination of centerfielder KK Rettinger and shortstop Bethany Sullinger provide for one of the city’s best one-two punches offensively along with contributions from Sam Snodgrass and Nikki Moss. Pitchers Makenzie Porter and Audrea Allen are beginning to hit their stride with their control and challenging batters. Overall, Sullinger says it’s been a complete team effort.

“I know when I mention specific players, I leave someone out,” Sullinger said. “That’s too bad because every girl is doing all they can to make us successful. It has been good start. I believe if we keep doing the little things right, the rest of the season will take care of itself: one pitch at a time.”

Park Hill South Volleyball
…two points is all that separated Park Hill South Volleyball last weekend from back to back tournament victories on consecutive weekends. After securing an easy 25-13, 25-8 win against Raytown during the week in their only scheduled match, the Panthers traveled to the Lee’s Summit North Tournament.

Much like they did previously in the Winnetonka Tournament, South sailed through pool play and into the championship bracket. There, they advanced past Rock Bridge (25-15, 25-16) and onto the semi-finals where they defeated Liberty for a second time in as many weeks when, after dropping the first set, South came roaring back for a (19-25, 25-16, 25-21) victory to put in into the title match against host school, Lee’s Summit North. In a competitive three-set match, Park Hill South eventually battled to a title game victory and tournament championship by a score of 25-20, 21-25, 25-23.
The Panthers are now 16-1 with a game scheduled at William Chrisman Thursday before matchups against Belton and Park Hill early next week.

Park Hill South Softball
….secured two conference victories last week against William Chrisman (14-0) and Fort Osage 7-0). The Panthers had 20 hits including two triples against Chrisman while Makayla Walker threw a one-hitter. Madison Price pitched for the win against Fort Osage. Jordin Woodward was three-for-three with three runs batted in while Mallory and Courtney Land went two-for-two.

Park Hill Boys Soccer
…added three wins to their conference record last week with victories against Truman, Ruskin, and North Kansas City. Timmy Hay scored two goals while Devon Belew added another in their 3-1 win over Truman. Hay added a hat-trick with three goals against Ruskin in the Trojans 10-0 win. Matt Russell, Alec Fiest, and Chris Zdvorak scored two goals apiece. Blake Barnard also scored. Mason Fannin recored his second shutout of the week with a 3-0 win over North Kansas City. Zach Stuhlman, Hay, and Belew scored for Park Hill. Parker Melott contributed five assists in the three game span. Park Hill is now 4-6 on the season with Blue Springs at home on Wednesday.

Park Hill Girls Tennis
…Park Hill girls tennis rattled off two 6-3 victories last week. The first win came against St. Joe Central with top singles player Suzanne Barth defeating Logan Taylor 6-2, 6-0 to jumpstart the Trojans. She teamed up with Anna Karasiewicz to defeat Central’s doubles team 7-5, 6-0. Park Hill went on to beat Oak Park in much the same way as Barth defeated Oak Park’s Ali McDaniel 10-2 before her and Karasiewicz beat McDaniel and teammate Jenna McDaniel 10-5.
Over the weekend, they competed in the Liberty Tournament where they placed third behind Rock Bridge and Kickapoo. They host North Kansas City and Ruskin before competing in the Suburban Northland Tournament this weekend.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country
…finished lower than they would have hoped for at the Platte County Invitational last week with their eighth place finish out of ten teams with complete finishes. Kim Rau placed 35th with teammate Brooke Bischof shortly behind in 36th. Other finishers include Emma Gaiser (39th), Abby Muller (43rd), Maddie Bischof (47th), and Gianna Tutorino (54th). They compete in the Rim Rock Classic this weekend.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country
…finished 17th out of 20 with 458 team points at the Platte County Invitational last week. The Trojans top two finishers were Hanok Tekle at 74th and Mark Prose at 94th. Over the weekend, they competed in the Blue Springs Invitational where Riley Fahrenholz finished fourth overall. Nathan Huffer (18th). Kainen Utten (27th), Joey Walton (45th), Jon Steven (56th), and Nate Thomas (57th) rounded out the Trojan results as they placed fifth out of 12 teams.They compete in the Rim Rock Classic this weekend.

Park Hill Girls Golf
Park Hill girls golf third overall in the 18 team field at the Truman tournament Monday with a team score of 378. Adrianna Elliott tied for second with a score of 85 while Anna Kloeppel finished in 13th and Tara Patneau came in 15th.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country
...finished fifth out of nine teams at the Blue Spring Invitational last weekend. Lizzy Jurries was the Panthers top finisher with a time of 21:39, good for 17th place. Other Panthers finishing included Lauren Blair (25th), DeDe O'Toole (26th), Audrey Rothers (27th), Raven Jennings (34th), and Kerry Maas (39th). They compete at Grandview this Thursday.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country
...finished sixth at the Blue Springs Invitational last weekend with Tucker Melles leading the way as he came in at 13th place. Lendon Calhoun (23rd), Peter Thomas (41st), Mason Homoly (47th), Jacob Bowlin (61st), and Eli Williams (66th) completed the Panther field of runners. They compete at Grandview this Thursday.