Park Hill can't keep up in scoring dual

Park Hill (1-2) will look to recover Friday night against Truman (1-2) after a high-scoring affair which left the Trojans on the wrong side of a 46-24 loss to Lee’s Summit last week. Truman is coming off a close 19-15 loss to Park Hill South.  Truman, who only produced 121 yards of total offense last week, will present the first of several opportunities in the next couple weeks for Park Hill to get back on the winning track.

Park Hill jumped on the scoreboard first when quarterback Clay Ford connected with Lane Holmes for a 16-yard touchdown pass to put the Trojans up 7-0 early. Lee’s Summit would match that touchdown with one of their own to leave the teams tied 7-7 going into the second quarter.

Stefan McCarthy would put Park Hill up again 10-7 with a 19-yard field goal at the beginning of the second quarter. But Lee’s Summit would go on to score 20 unanswered points that would build a lead of 27-10 and eventually put the Trojans in a hole they could not dig out themselves out of. Ford would narrow the Trojans’ margin before halftime with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Arens. Lee’s Summit was up 27-17.

In the end, Park Hill was just able to stop Lee’s Summit nor answer their scoring. Lee’s Summit would build another lead of 20 point lead of 37-17 in the third quarter. Ford connected with Dondrell Hardiman for 16 yards and his third touchdown pass of the night early in the fourth quarter, but it would not be enough as Lee’s Summit would record a safety and touchdown in the final minutes of the game to widen their final margin of victory to 46-24.

Park Hill gained 357 yards of total offense on the night and was led by Ford who finished the evening 15 of 30 passing for 284 yards. He spread the ball to five different receivers, three of which recorded more than 75 yards of receptions including Lane Holmes (83 yards), Austin Truvillion (76 yards), and Anthony Arens (75 yards).

South gets first win, ready to Homecoming

After their 19-15 win over Truman last week gave them their first win of the season, Park Hill South comes into this week’s Homecoming matchup against Ruskin looking to string back-to-back victories together to build much-needed momentum towards the second half of their season.

Ruskin (0-3) is coming off a 49-13 loss to Platte County last week where they were able to compile 203 passing yards and score on big plays.

“They’re athletic — they always are,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said of Ruskin. “They’re going to be better than the previous week, and I’m glad we’re playing them towards the beginning of the season, not the end. It’s another home game for us, so we’re looking forward to Homecoming and all of the festivities that come with that.”

Simcox said clinching their first win was relieving so they can come into this week more comfortable and able to focus on the immediate opponent at hand.

“It’s going to allow us to relax a bit,” Simcox said. “Kids have expectations and they put a lot of pressure on themselves. When you lose you don’t feel very good about it, and we didn’t feel good about those first two losses.”

Park Hill South and Truman came into Friday night’s game looking like two similarly-matched teams. Truman established itself first with a steady and methodical initial drive which produced the first score of the game when Demetric Dinwiddie took a short handoff for a touchdown to put Truman up 7-0 late in the first quarter.

Things would continue to go Truman’s way as they intercepted a Shaefer Schuetz pass on the following drive and returned it 43 yards to the Park Hill South 30-yard line. But that would ignite the Panther defense. They proceeded to force a Patriots turnover on downs and limited the Patriots to only 61 yards passing and 62 yards rushing on the night.

Park Hill South’s offense took over and followed a consistent script in all three of the Panthers’ scoring drives — running back Myles Hammonds would carry the Panther offense down the field before Schuetz connected with receiver Craig Scott for a short-range touchdown pass. Hammonds, who gained 215 yards rushing on 45 carries, was playing in his first complete game since suffering an ankle injury last year.

“We’re a different team when we have him,” Simcox said. “I’m sure he got tired. When you have long drives that’s what happens.”

The Panthers first score would come late in the second quarter when Schuetz connected with Scott on a five-yard out pattern, good for a three-yard touchdown pass. The point after attempt failed, giving Truman a narrow 7-6 halftime lead.

Park Hill South continued with what worked in their first drive of the second half for their second score on the same play the Panthers scored with the previous time another Schuetz-to-Scott touchdown pass. Missing the point-after once again, Park Hill South edge ahead to a lead of 12-7.

“That particular short route, we look at as an extention of our run game,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. “That’s something we think we can get three or four yards from eight out of ten times. He (Scott) runs it really well and it’s hard to defend.”

Truman’s Dinwiddie would score again when he received the ensuing kickoff and took it 92 yards for a touchdown to put the Patriots back on top. With a two-point conversion, Truman went up 15-12 late in the third quarter.

Feeling some of their best offensive rhythm of the season, Park Hill South received the ball on the ensuing drive. This time it was Schuetz escaping the pocket athletically to get the ball to his top receiver, Scott, for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Park Hill South had regained the lead 19-15. Schuetz would finish 11-of-16 for 129 yards while Scott would record six receptions, 44 yards, and three touchdowns.

Looking to work the clock late in the fourth quarter, Truman forced a Panther fumble and turnover at the 2:38 mark earning themselves one last chance to regain the lead. Park Hill South would pull out all the defensive stops to gain the ball back and then use every means necessary to grind out the last seconds on the clock including a fake punt on their last play to finally clinch their first win of the season 19-15.

“Getting a win no matter how you get it is still better than the alternative,” Simcox said after the game. “Our kids feel so much better about what we’re doing. It’s always better to start a week by building on what you’ve done than fix things from the night before.”

Fall Round-up: Sept. 3-10

Park Hill South Boys Soccer
… took third place in the KA-MO Classic last weekend as they defeated Blue Valley 6-2 in the first round before losing to Shawnee Mission 3-0 on Friday night. In the third-place game the Panthers defeated Oak Park in penalty kicks (3-1) after both teams failed to score during regulation and overtime. Park Hill South is now 4-2 on the year. They’ll play next at Liberty on Thursday before traveling to Blue Springs South to start next week.

Park Hill Softball
…is hoping to end a three game losing streak this week after two 3-0 losses last week to Park Hill South and Blue Springs South. Now at 4-6 on the season, the Trojans host Lee’s Summit West Thursday before competing in the Platte County Invitational over the weekend.

Audrea Allen leads Park Hill in offense over the first couple of the season with a .484 batting average and 11 runs batted in. Pitcher Makenzie Porter has a 1.52 ERA and has racked up 22 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.

Park Hill South Softball
…continues to roll through their schedule as they won all three of their scheduled games last week. The Panthers shutout rival Park Hill 3-0 to begin the week behind a complete game shutout from pitcher Madison Price. Jordin Woodward drove in all three runs, two of which were on a home run. Courtney Land went two-for-three in the win. Alyx Hagen followed Price’s complete game shutout with one of her own against Winnetonka as Park Hill South won 5-0 with Land contributing two homeruns and Jessica Lee driving in two more runs.

The Panthers ended the week in dramatic fashion when they defeated Lee’s Summit West 6-5 in extra innings. Woodward hit another home run and also drove in the winning run with a two-out based loaded single in the eighth inning. Previously Kylie DeClue drove in the run that tied the score in the seventh. Courtney Jackson recorded the victory from the mound.

Park Hill South comes into this week 9-2 on the year with home games against Platte County and St. Joe Central this week before competing in the Blue Springs South Tournament over the weekend.

Park Hill South Golf
…saw quality play last week as they started the week off with a win against Pembroke Hill at the Kansas City Country Club 200-213. The next day they competed at the Richmond Tournament where they finished fourth out of 18 teams. Lindsey Gile medaled with a ninth place finish out of 70 players in the field. They topped that with an even better performance the following day with a second place finish in the 20-team field at the St. Joe Central Tournament. Lindsey Gile finished in sixth place while Tarah Patneau finished in 10^th out of 80 players. Park Hill South’s scheduled match against Park Hill Friday was rained out.

Park Hill Boys Soccer

…improved to 5-1 on the year with a 1-0 win over Lee's Summit West Monday night. Matt Russell scored the Trojans' lone goal with an assist from Neal Sampson. Park Hill also staged a dramatic come from behind victory over Staley to start last week. Down 2-0 at halftime, Alec Fiest scored two goals on free kicks to send the game into overtime. It only took ten seconds for Neal Sampson to score the golden goal that gave the Trojans the 3-2 victory. Park Hill ended the week with a 2-1 win over Blue Springs Thursday night.

"Awesome game and a good start to conference play," Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. "Great battle from both teams, but we were the dominant team especially in the second half. It was the most complete game from us this year."

Park Hill plays at Ruskin Wednesday evening before hosting St. Joe Central Thursday night before preparing for a big game against Oak Park at the end of the month that will be played at Livestrong Sporting Park on September 28^th.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…saw quality times at the Ray-Pec Invitational last week with a fourth place finish in the large school division. Erica Guzman led the Panthers with her 14^th place finish time of 21:14.20. Lizzy Jurries (19^th), Charlie McFarlane (20^th), and Madeline Homoly (21^st) came in not too far behind. Margaret McKeon (41^st), Allison Kelly (43^rd), and Madi Blinzler (45^th) rounded out the rest of the Park Hill South field.

They’ll next compete on September 20^th at the Grandview meet.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

Mercedes Robinson led Park Hill in the Ray-Pec Invitational last week with a 12^th place time of 20:50.50. Following her with Kim Rau (27^th), Brooke Bischof (33^rd), and Gianna Tutorino (36^th).

Park Hill will next compete in the Platte County Invite Thursday before preparing for the Rim Rock Classic September 22^nd.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…finished fourth out of seven teams in the Ray-Pec Invitational last week with Kainen Utt leading the way with his fourth place time of 17:09. Cain Winebrenner (15^th), Nate Thomas (17^th), and Hanok Tekle (18^th) followed Utt while Noah Barajas (30^th) and James Adams (35^th) rounded out the Trojan field. Park Hill competes this weekend in the Blue Springs Wildcat Invitational.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

Tucker Melles continues to impress as the Panthers top runner with his first place time of 17:23 in the Bishop Miege Invitational last week. Park Hill South also performed well as a team, clinching three of the top five placements with Gus Whitman (3^rd) and Keyan Lunders (5^th) seeing strong finishes. The pack of Eli Williams (13^th), Matt Robbins (16^th), Jacob Bowlin (17^th), and Isaac Frieden (18^th) finished out of the field of Park Hill South runners.

Park Hill Volleyball

…suffered two losses to Lee’s Summit West (2-0) and Lee’s Summit (2-1) last week before competing in the Winnetonka Tournament over the weekend where they tied for third place with Staley. Park Hill won matches against Oak Park (25-22, 25-15), Fort Osage (25-19, 25-21), and Winnetonka (25-19, 25-21). They tied in a match against Smithville (25-14, 20-25). The Trojans fell to Liberty in the tournament’s semifinals (25-15, 25-14).

“It was a great day for the girls and a great confidence builder for the rest of the season,” Park Hill coach Lindsey Hood said.

The Trojans are now 4-4-1 on the season and play at Park Hill South Thursday before competing in the Lee’s Summit North Invite over the weekend.

Park Hill Girls Golf

…brought home a first place trophy from the St. Joe Central Invitational last week. The Trojans 371 team score topped 16 other teams competing. Park Hill had two top-five finishes with Bailey Warlen placing third with her score of 83 while Adrianna Elliott placed fifth with a score of 84. Sydney Paulak’s score of 93 was good for a 12^th place finish. Jacque Yang (111) and Candice McCoy (118) rounded out the Trojans score card. Continuing their success to begin this week, they placed 3^rd of 19 teams in the Truman Invitational Monday.  They shot a team score of 274.  Elliott shot a 79, good for second place overall, Warlen placed eighth overall with her score of 88.

 

Park Hill is seeing one of their best starts to a season in recent memory as the Trojans hope to fine-tune their skills for an opportunity to clinch a conference title two weeks from now in the conference tournament September 24^th.

“It’s been a great start to the season, I’m very proud of the girls,” Park Hill coach Tari Garner said.

Park Hill South Swimming
...finished second for the second time in as many weeks to Rockhurst in the Ozark Invitational last weekend. New state qualifying times were cut by Liam Huffman in the 100 freestyle, Travis Colpitts in the 100 butterfly, Tom Prinslow in the 500 freestyle, and Ian Morgan in the 200 freestyle. They compete next against Liberty and Liberty North next week.

Park Hill Swimming...defeated St. Pius X (135-44), St. Joe Central (131-51), and Bishop LeBland (152-9) last week in their only scheduled meet. The Trojans took first place in all 12 events. Barry Chang qualified for state and broke a school record held since 1994 in the 200 individual medley. He also qualified in the 500 freestyle. Kyle Allen qualified for state in the 100 breaststroke. They host the Park Hill Invitational this weekend at the Park Hill Aquatic Center.

Panthers face Truman in search of first win

Coming into the season, Park Hill South (0-2) knew they’d be tested right away against two high quality teams in Fort Osage and Blue Springs. Having played and lost those games, they head into Week Three looking to their next game against Truman as a key point in their season looking to rebound. Truman also comes into the contest with a 0-2 record after Liberty North scored a late touchdown to hand them a 12-6 loss last weekend. Head coach Mark Simcox says Truman offers the Panthers a more similarly-matched opponent than they’ve seen so far this year.

“They’re a lot more our speed, we match up a lot better with them,” Simcox said.

While he didn’t see his team play as well as he would have liked, Simcox did say he saw improvement in last Friday’s rain soaked, 35-14 loss to Blue Springs. They didn’t do themselves any favors either though as Blue Springs scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, the first of which came after the Panthers had a punt blocked on their first drive of the game. Both scores came from Blue Springs running back Dalvin Warmack who ended the game with 136 yards on 19 carries.

Things didn’t get much better in the second quarter as Blue Springs blocked another Park Hill South punt which resulted in a safety and a lost fumble led to another Blue Springs touchdown right before halftime increasing their lead to 27-0. Late in the game, Park Hill South was finally able to do what few teams in the metro were successful at last Friday: pass the ball. Quarterbacks Shaefer Schuetz and Carson Reid were both able to complete touchdown passes (82 and 21 yards) to put the Panthers on the border.

“We obviously allowed too many (points) and didn’t score enough, but last week we acted like we didn’t prepare very well and made an unbelievable amount of mistakes on both sides of the ball,” Simcox said. “This week, we got beat by a good team, but didn’t do a whole lot to help them out. So I think we made some big improvements and if we continue to do make improvements we’ll be fine.”

Park Hill looks to build on road trip

Park Hill (1-1) is preparing to move on to Week Three action at Lee’s Summit (1-1) after a particularly rough loss to Lee’s Summit West 33-7 last Friday night. Lee’s Summit is coming off a 34-17 loss to Kearney who pulled away with two fourth quarter touchdowns to decide what had previously been a close game.

“They (Lee’s Summit) have a two-year starter at quarterback and 220-pound junior who runs downhill that we need to stop before he gets to the second level,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “I think we match-up pretty decent up front against them. If our linebackers keep improving we should be good there. If we take away the deep stuff and tackle, we should be ok.”

Even without the rain-soaked conditions that lasted throughout last Friday’s game, Park Hill knew they would have their hands full against a top-ranked Lee’s Summit West team. The Titans proved it almost immediately as Lee’s Summit West running back Ryan Williams took carries of 27 and 38 yards into the end zone for touchdowns on their first two offensive plays putting the Trojans down 14-0 just minutes into the game.

“They scored two touchdowns on the first two plays because of us not lining up right, which is unacceptable, can’t blame that on rain,” Reynolds said. “When you get down 14-0 on two plays, the wind is kind of taken out of your sail a little bit.”

With a 20-0 lead going into halftime, Austin Burau’s second touchdown of the night put the Titans up 26-0 mid-way through the third quarter.

“They were able to dominate us up front. The rain affected kind of what we wanted to do coming in being able to pass the ball early on,” Reynolds said. “The reality is as I told the kids afterwards, they’re at a level up here, and we’re down here right now.

Park Hill, still trying to find a rhythm offensively, was able to get on the scoreboard in the latter part of the fourth quarter. Following a Lee’s Summit West turnover, Park Hill took over at the Titan 12-yard line where sophomore Stefan McCarthy eventually ran in for a three-yard touchdown to give the Trojans a score.

The story of the game was dominance on the ground as Lee’s Summit West grinded out nearly 340 yards on the ground. Ryan Williams carried the ball 14 times for 138 yards rushing while DeMarcus Edwards added 97 yards of his own on nine carries. Park Hill was only able to produce 24 yards on 37 carries.

“We’re gonna have to do a better job of making passes. Right now we’re sitting under a 33% completion mark and for a spread offense that’s not very good,” Reynolds said. “We need to be running the ball better than we are if that is going to be the case.”

While Park Hill has a huge obstacle now behind them, the rest of the season features some evenly competitive match-ups, a number of which they believe are winnable.

“I think our last seven games are 50/50 games and I don’t think there is any one game we go into where we say ‘we should win this game’ or ‘we probably won’t win this game’,” Reynolds said. “We may be the underdogs in some cases, but we should have a chance to win.”

Fall Round-up: Aug. 27-Sept. 3

Park Hill South Swim/Dive

…competed in their first meet of the season last week at Rockhurst. The Panthers fell short of a team victory by a close score of 96-89 after losing the final event in the 400 meter free relay. Park Hill South won all but four events. Rockhurst also took first, second, third, and fourth in diving. Qualifying for state in their first meet of the season were Liam Huffman in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke, Tom Prinslow in the 200 freestyle, and Ian Morgan in the 500 freestyle. Overall, Coach Steven De La Piedra said they had a great meet and were more competitive than he expected as Rockhurst is one of the top swim programs in the state.

Park Hill South next competes at the Top Dog Duals and the Ozark Invitational this weekend.

Park Hill South Boys Soccer

…started their season with two high quality wins over some of the top teams in Kansas last week in the Olathe Tournament. The Panthers beat Olathe South Tuesday 2-1 before taking Blue Valley North to overtime and then penalty kicks where they took the victory that put them in the tournament’s title game. Brody Boullion, Adam Weatherly, and Alex Weatherly contributed the three Panther goals during the tournament. The title game was rained out. The Panthers now look to the KA-MO Tournament at Blue Valley North this week.

Park Hill South hosts Blue Valley Northwest on Wednesday and then travel to St. Joe Central Monday.

Park Hill South Softball

…the Panthers are off to a 6-2 start and come into this week on a four-game winning streak after sweeping their schedule last week. Park Hill South spread the St. Joe Central Indians 10-0 last Monday in five innings. Madison price threw a no-hitter, only allowing one player to reach base the entire game. Courtney Todd went 3-for-4 with Courtney and Mallory Land added two hits apiece. The offensive barrage continued against Liberty North in an 11-4 win for the Panthers. Madison Price recorded the win from the mound while Todd, Jordin Woodward, and Kylie DeClue hit home runs. Park Hill South ended the week in workman-like fashion racking up 15 runs in three innings against Ruskin. Alyx Hagen recorded the win and struck out 8-of-9 batters she faced.

The Panthers host Lee’s Summit West Thursday afternoon.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis

…improved to 3-1 on the year last week with two convincing wins over Oak Park and Staley. Adele Royle defeated both of her opponents to lead the Panthers with an 8-1 victory over Oak Park’s Margarita Akaiza and Staley’s Chloe Clement by a score of 8-0. She teamed up with teammate Shay Jackson for victories of 8-4 and 8-4. They travel to Fort Osage on Monday.

Park Hill Girls Golf

…after bringing home second place in the Liberty North Tournament, the Trojans continued their success last week with a convincing 201 to 276 match win over Winnetonka. Adrianna Elliott medaled in first place while Bailey Warlen took second place overall.

This week they play in the St. Joe Central Invitational Thursday before ending the week with a match against Park Hill South at the National.

Park Hill Volleyball

…after a solid victory over North Kansas City to begin the season, the Park Hill volleyball team lost to Liberty 25-21, 25-18 to bring their record to 1-1 overall.

Lindsey Grace and Lyndi Plattner lead the team in kills through four games with 11 each. Grace and Plattner also lead in aces served and blocks. The Trojans travel to Lee’s Summit Thursday and Lee’s Summit North Tuesday.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Boys Cross Country
... Park Hill finished sixth with 173 team points at the Liberty Invitational while Park Hill South finished just behind in seventhplace with 177 team points. Both teams will be at the Ray-Pec Invite this Saturday.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country
...finished in eighth placed with 182 team points at the Liberty Invitational. Madeline Homoly lead the Panthers with a team best 13:33 while Lizzy Jurries (13:49), Erica Guzman (14:10), and Audrey Rothers (14:14) were shortly behind. They'll next compete in the Ray-Pec Invite Saturday.

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.