Trojans prepare for rematch, ultimate test

After falling behind 7-0 last week against St. Joe Central, the Trojans rattled off 27 straight points in a 27-13 victory to complete a 9-1 regular season and secure a district championship. With the victory, Park Hill will receive a first round playoff bye and play Fort Osage in sectionals November 9th. This will be the third consecutive year Park Hill and Fort Osage meet each other in the playoffs. The previous two meetings resulted in Indian victories by scores of 21-0 in 2008 and 7-0 in 2007. Coming into last week, Fort Osage was ranked number two in the KC Metro Sports poll while Park Hill came in at number seven.

“We knew they were going to be there and we wanted to make sure we got here,” quarterback Corey Sterling said. “It’s our time to go out there.”
The matchup will feature two similar teams. Both look to a physical run game and resort to a potent passing attack when defenses overplay the run. But this game will be won on defense and who can take advantage of those all-important turnovers and penalties. Park Hill will look to limit the production of RB/DB E.J. Gaines, a three-star recruit heading to Missouri next year. Using the bye week as a time to refocus on the basics, the Trojans will also look to get healthy as RB Trace Norfleet and OL Adam Vanderpool left last week’s game with injuries.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Fort Osage,” Coach Greg Reynolds said about the team that has ended their last two seasons. “They are the number two ranked team for a reason and if we are going to go where we want to we’re going to face them anyways.”
With their playoff destiny on the line last week, St. Joe Central put points on the board first when quarterback Ryan Wallace broke loose with a 59-yard touchdown run. In a game featuring eight total turnovers, the Trojans were able to convert two key Central turnovers into ten points. A Will Brazill 32-yard field goal was followed by Park Hill displaying a flash of their passing game with a 33-yard reception by Nick Hughes setting up a 22-yard Corey Sterling pass to Adrian Esaw for a touchdown to put the Trojans up 9-7 at halftime.
“I told our guys at halftime that this is exactly what we need,” Reynolds said. “You don’t want to go into the playoffs without having been in a dog fight.”

The Trojans started where they left off, only needing 33 seconds on their first second-half possession for Sean Gorman to break loose for a 45-yard touchdown run. He finished with 155 yards on 18 rushes. Central fumbled the next kick-off giving the Trojans the ball at the 33-yard line. Seven plays later, Jordan Wang added a seven yard touchdown run. After a three and out drive for Central, Park Hill went 53 yards in 11 plays before Brazill added a 27-yard field goal.
A steady dose of the Indians running game didn’t produce much offense in the second half, but they were able to post a touchdown on their final drive when Malkaam Muhammad ran the ball for a seven yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed leaving the final score at 27-13.

Last week’s game was St. Joe Central head coach Tony Dudik’s final game after a coaching career spanning 29 years. Parents, players, and friends remained on the field for over an hour after the game ended embracing someone who had become a symbol Indian Football.