District finale is 'do or die' for Park Hill

Going into the final week of the regular season, Park Hill (5-4, 1-1) finds itself in the familiar position of looking to clinch a trip to the playoffs in their matchup with St. Joe Central (5-4, 1-1). With Staley punching their ticket to the Missouri state playoffs last week, there is now only room for one more team to advance from Class 5, District 12, as the front runner, and the winner in Friday’s matchup between Park Hill and St. Joe Central will secure that spot while the other’s season ends. The Trojans will be going up against an Indians team with a complex offense and physical defense, but while Park Hill may be considered a slight underdog, it’s a game they feel has its advantages for them.

“They’re a spread team and they’ll run a lot of different formations at us. They’ve got a good running back with good numbers. It’s going to be a good matchup up front,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “Our kids believe this is the time of year we can do things. We take a lot of pride at Park Hill for what we do at district time. I think it’s a difference maker for our kids for them to know we’ve only lost 3 district games in 11 years. We put a lot of emphasis on it.”

In order for this Friday’s game to mean anything though, the Trojans had to take care of business last week against Oak Park. The Northmen, a young and inexperienced team, are going through one of their most unsuccessful seasons in quite some time and were 0-8 entering their district matchup with Park Hill. Currently going through their own stretch of tough losses, the Trojans knew the game relied more on what they did themselves, not the other team.

“We knew we couldn’t worry about anyone else. This was a chance to show everybody if they were having any doubts about what we do, that we know what we’re doing,” Reynolds said. “Our whole goal going in was to make sure next week’s game means something.”

The Trojans received a positive bump on offense as they got running back Jordan Wang back after he was sidelined for six weeks with an elbow injury. Wang put to rest any concerns about his concern as he rushed 18 times for 154 yards.

“We got our tailback back and our line probably blocked better than they have all year. We played well,” Reynolds said. “Defensively, we got banged up at some positions again, but for the most part we did our jobs in the first half.”

Park Hill jumped out to a 21-0 lead on the heels of two Chris Heustis touchdowns, one a one yard run and the other a nine yard reception from quarterback Tyler White, along with touchdown from Mitch Tittone. Heustis would finish the night with 12 carries for 76 yards and three receptions for 54 yards. White would throw go 6-6 with 99 yards passing. Jordan Wang and White added two more touchdowns before halftime to widen their lead to 35-7 after an Oak Park touchdown. Wang would add a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter before freshman Stefan McCarthy put the final Trojan score on the board with his 12-yard touchdown run to increase the final score to 48-20. McCarthy finished the night with 11 carries for 81 yards and is the first freshman to score in a varsity game in recent memory for Park Hill.

“He came in and ran the ball very well. I told him we’ve never brought a kid up before the freshman season was over besides kickers,” Reynolds said.

But as Reynolds points out, it starts up front with the line. If the Trojans make the playoffs in 2011, it will partly be attributed to offensive and defensive lines that has endured and adjusted to injuries all season, forcing several players to move around filling gaps. Whether that comes as an asset or liability will show in a district finale that will most likely be determined in the trenches.

Park Hill South's OT win keeps playoff hopes alive

For Park Hill South, this Friday’s matchup with Fort Osage is likely an all-or-nothing situation in regards to the Panthers’ district title aspirations and playoff hopes. A win could give them their second straight district title while a loss could end their season. Depending on the results of Class 5, District 11’s other matchup Friday between North Kansas City and Winnetonka, the difference between who continues to play and who goes home has several different tie-breaking scenarios, but the most clear-cut theme for Park Hill South remains very simple: win.

“We’ve got to win, there’s no question about that,” Coach Mark Simcox said.

Knowing what needs to be done is easy. Doing it will be the hard part as Park Hill South will have to travel to Fort Osage, 8-1 on the season and the state’s fifth ranked team.

“I know they’re really physical. They’ve had a plan the last couple years and they do it so there won’t be any surprises from our end on what they’re going to do,” Simcox said. “We’ll have to keep the ball on offense and away from them. If we do it, I think we’ll be in it. We’re ready for the challenge.”

With the Panthers’ 14-7 overtime victory against Winnetonka last week, Park Hill South hopes they are back on track with where they were at the beginning of the season before they suffered several key injuries and leading up to last Friday’s win, were on a four game losing streak.

“We’re getting back to where we were. It’s taken us longer to overcome some things. We were probably as good tonight as we have been since week three,” Simcox said.

The first half of last Friday’s game was dominated by defense with both teams holding steady in their own territory which resulted in a scoreless halftime score of 0-0. An athletic interception at the line of scrimmage by Park Hill South’s Evan Martin gave the Panthers an opportunity in the first quarter, but they were unable to convert. Winnetonka had an opportunity of their own as they received ideal field position after a Park Hill South punt went out of bounds deep in their own territory, but the Griffons were also unable to translate that into any points. In fact, the Griffons were only able to muster one first down against the Panther defense in the first half.

It wouldn’t be until 1:23 left in the third quarter when the tie would be unbroken when Park Hill South’s Craig Scott capped off a 75-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown reception from freshman quarterback Schaefer Schuetz to put the Panthers up 7-0 going into the fourth quarter.

“He’s going to be a good player,” Simcox said of Schuetz. “We don’t play people because of the year they are. We play them because they do what we ask them to do.”

Winnetonka would see their most offensive production in that fourth quarter as they put together two of the game’s strongest drives. The first stalled on a fourth down and goal play when the quarterback-center exchange was bobbled resulting in a turnover on downs. Winnetonka quickly got the ball back to take the ball down the field once again. This time, they would convert to tie the game when DeAndre Thomas pulled in a four yard play action pass from quarterback Tyler Havrum for a touchdown with just under a minute to play.

Going into overtime at 7-7, the Panthers would take advantage of their first possession. Looking deep again, it would be Schuetz connecting with Scott for a 26-yard touchdown pass to put Park Hill South up 14-7. Like it had throughout the game, the Panther defense came through big on the Griffons’ chance to match the score and shut Winnetonka down on four plays sealing the victory. Park Hill South improved to 4-5 on the season and their 1-1 district record keeps them in contention for postseason play.

“We felt pretty good about our defense, but we knew it would be difficult. We’ve got one guy on the outside (Scott) offensively who can change the game, and he did,” Simcox said. “We thought if we could keep it close, we’d have a chance.”

The Class 5, District 11 point system currently has Fort Osage at +16, Park Hill South at -2, Winnetonka at -4, and North Kansas City at -10. Points are determined by margin of victory/loss to a maximum of 13 points a game.

Fall Roundup: Oct. 17-23

Park Hill Boys Soccer
…brought home two conference victories last week with a 2-0 win against Lee’s Summit West and a 1-0 against Truman. Devon Belew and Matt Russell contributed the Trojans two goals against Lee’s Summit West with the help of assists by Neal Sampson and Zach Stuhlman. Russell scored the lone goal against Truman. Park Hill lost 3-0 against Columbia Rockbridge to end the week. With victories against St. Joe Central and North Kansas City in this week’s final regular season games, the 11-10 Trojans can improve their 9-1 conference record for a share of the conference title. Park Hill will take on the second seeded Park Hill South Panthers on November 1st in the district semi-final in St. Joe.

Park Hill South Boys Soccer

…suffered two tough overtime losses last week as they prepare for the district play which starts next week. The Panthers took Oak Park to double overtime, but fell 5-4 before battling Fort Osage later in the week where they were unable to edge Fort Osage. Park Hill South finishes their regular season against Belton and Raytown South this week. Brody Bouillon continues to lead Park Hill South in goals with 13 on the year while he, Alex Gonzalez, and Alex Weatherly lead in assists. The 14-8-1 Panthers, ranked second coming into districts will take on the third seeded Park Hill Trojans in the semi-final on November 1st in St. Joe.

Park Hill Girls Tennis

…were one set away from playing for a state title last week. After fighting through the bracket, the Trojans came up against Parkway Central in the semi-finals. The team score was 3-3 coming out of the singles portion of the competition after Brooke Barnard, Kaylin Lake, and Abby Peoples secured wins for Park Hill. The Trojans would split the first two matchups in doubles, but in the end it would be Parkway Central pulling away with the decisive fifth victory when the Colts took the third of three sets. Park Hill would finish in fourth place after being defeated in the third place matchup with Lafayette 5-2.

Individually, Suzanne Barth advanced to the quarterfinals of the singles bracket with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kickapoo’s Kasey Matthes in the sectional round before falling to Lafayette’s Haleigh Chobanian by a score of 6-4, 6-3. Brooke Barnard and Kaylin Lake were eliminated in the sectional round when they were defeated by St. Joseph Academy’s Ell Bisig and Olivia Conway 7-5, 6-1.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis

…was knocked out of the Missouri State Tournament in the sectional round by St. Theresa’s Academy 5-2. Adele Royle and Marie Gehrke were also unable to advance past the sectional round as they were defeated by Branson’s Taylor Johnston and Lucy Givens.

Park Hill Girls Golf

…wrapped up one of its most successful seasons in some time last week with three golfers participating in the state tournament. Senior Anna Kloeppel concluded her senior year by earning a state medal with an eighth place finish after a 83 shot performance. Freshman Adrianna Elliott shot a 90, good enough for 33rd place while senior Bailey Warlen finished in 68th place with her 98.

“Anna shot her best score of the year at State…that is an amazing accomplishment considering we have not played the course, the pressure involved with the state competition, weather issues and the level of play. Several golfers that we have competed against throughout the year did not compete as well at state,” Coach Tari Garner said.

Kloeppel will move on to compete in college next year, but has not made a decision on where yet. After hitting some obstacles her junior year, it was bittersweet for her coach to see her go out as a senior with so much success.

“I had tears of pride as I walked with her the last three holes that completed the State competition. She will have much success because of her work ethic and her attitude about life. We had some bumps in the road last season and she took that experience and used it to fuel her determination in the offseason and throughout this year’s competitive season,” Garner said.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…for it being his first season running cross country, senior Joey Walton has had quite a season and he continued it last weekend as he took second place in a competitive field at the district meet in Liberty. While the Park Hill track and cross country teams are just getting to know how strong of a runner he is, Walton will be turning in his running shoes after graduation as he enters the U.S. Navy.

“I didn’t know much about him coming into this season. Everyone said he was pretty good and has an amazing work ethic. It comes so natural to him, I don’t even think he’s tapped into his full potential as a runner,” Coach Jon Davis said.

Park Hill finished fourth as a team, qualifying for the sectional meet next weekend at Longview Lake. Behind Walton were fellow teammates Nathan Huffer (16th), and Kainen Utt (21st) who will advance to sectionals next week. For Utt, it represents an improvement from last year as he was one place away from qualifying last year when he took 31st. Other Trojan finishers included Jon Steven (39th), Nate Thomas (44th), Hanok Tekle (54th), and Mark Prose (67th).

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…finished sixth in their district run last week. Kim Rau led the team with her fifth place finish. Emma Gaiser followed with her 29th place finish. Both will compete in sectionals next weekend. Other finishes included Abby Muller (31st), Mercedes Robinson (35th), Libby Lund (38th), Maddie Bischof (39th), and Gianna Tutorino (58th).

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…Tucker Melles led Park Hill South at the district meet in Liberty last weekend with his fifth place finish. As a freshman Melles has led the Panthers most of the season and has not only set a strong bar to match for his teammates, but himself.

“He’s very mature. Everytime I say he’s going to do something, he somehow surpasses it. I told him I think he can get top ten (next week), but we’ll have to see,” Coach Brad Banning said. “He’s steady as a rock and never really gets too excited. He puts his mind to something and just does it, so I don’t really have to coach him up or anything.”

Finishing behind him was Lendon Calhoun (20th), Peter Thomas (22nd), Mason Homoly (40th), Jacob Bowlin (45th), Keaton Murry (53rd), and Westley King (69th). The Panthers finished in fifth place, just shy of advancing as a team to the sectional meet last week. Melles, Calhoun, and Thomas will compete individually in sectionals.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

….will run as a team this weekend in the sectional meet at Longview Lake after qualifying in the district race last weekend. Their third place finish was led by Lizzy Jurries’s ninth place finish. Panthers advancing to sectionals included Madeline Homoly (15th), Erica Guzman (25th), and Lauren Blair (28th). Other finishers for Park Hill South were Raven Jennings (36th), Audrey Rothers (45th), and DeDe O’Toole (48th).

“They’ve all had strong showings throughout the year, but been real steady up to this point so I told them they needed to hit it out of the park today, not think too much about it, and run as fast as you can,” Coach Pam Jurgensmeyer said. “We’re really happy especially since it was such a toss up on which teams would advance.”

Park Hill looks at Oak Park as must win

Park Hill will be faced with what many would consider a must-win game Friday against Oak Park (0-8) after starting district play with a 31-7 loss to Staley last week bringing their overall record to 4-4 on the year. For the Trojans, a win this week will likely give them the ability to control their postseason future going into the final game of the season, a home matchup next week with St. Joe Central. While Oak Park is currently going through an unusual down year having not won a game this season, Coach Greg Reynolds and his Trojans have fought through struggles of their own including injuries and a current stretch where they have lost three of their last four games. Oak Park is coming off a 35-16 loss to St. Joe Central last week.

The Trojans found out first-hand why the Staley Falcons are the top team in the metro and Missouri Class 5 last week. A balanced and steady approach of the run and pass, Staley was held to a field goal in their first scoring drive of the game, but the Falcons’ combination of quarterback Trent Hosick and running back Morgan Steward were too much as Staley eventually amassed a 17-0 lead on the Trojans at halftime. Hosick had rushing touchdowns in each of the first three quarters before the duo connected on what would be the last of which was a four-yard touchdown pass from Hosick to Steward to widen the margin to 31-0 in the fourth quarter.

Staley’s defense held strong against a Park Hill ground game which was only able to produce 78 yards on 38 carries. When the Trojans resorted to the pass, the Falcons brought the pressure as they recorded six sacks on the night. Park Hill was able to put points on the board for the first time in the fourth quarter when quarterback Tyler White found Lane Holmes for a 27 yard touchdown pass, but it was little consolation as Staley maintained their lead the rest of the game for the 31-7 final score. Staley racked up 373 yards of total offense compared to Park Hill’s 132 yards.

The current points standings in Class 5, District 16 are Staley (+13), St. Joe Central (+13), Park Hill (-13), and Oak Park (-13). A win of more than 13 points in the Staley/St. Joe Central game would clinch the district title for that team, creating a battle for runner-up and a playoff spot next week.

Panthers fall in district opener, look to Winnetonka

Park Hill South’s 20-17 loss to North Kansas City last week not only brings their record to 3-5 on the season, but leaves them thirsting even more for a district victory this Friday as the Panthers try to break a four game losing streak against Winnetonka. The Griffins, at 5-3, is coming off a close 28-25 loss to Fort Osage last week, a game in which Winnetonka had the ball deep in Fort Osage territory with less than a minute to play before missing a game-tying field goal.

One of the most frustrating things isn’t just getting beat by the other team, but feeling like you beat yourself. That’s one of the most disappointing parts of Park Hill South’s 20-17 loss to North Kansas City last week. The Panthers received the ball to start the game, but sophomore quarterback Carson Reid’s first pass landed in the arms of a North Kansas City defender who intercepted the pass and returned it for a touchdown to put the Hornets up 7-0 right off the bad. Like déjà vu all over again, the Panthers received the ensuing kickoff and on their second pass, it was Marcus Jones jumping a Reid pass for an interception. Although, not returned for a touchdown, the pick set up another North Kansas City score putting the Hornets up 13-0 after a missed extra point. The Panthers had put themselves in a tough position early in the game and had trouble regrouping from that point forward.

“The momentum and emotions were way on their side at that point so that was something we were trying to overcome,” coach Mark Simcox said. “You have to give them credit, but we’d like to think that if we win it’s because of what we do and if we lose its also because of what we do.”

North Kansas City was able to add another touchdown before halftime, but the Panthers had battled back having scored a touchdown and field goal to narrow the margin to a 20-9 halftime score. But it was the turnovers that would continue to haunt Park Hill South as Jones would intercept two more passes in the second half to bring his total to three on the night, this time from Panther freshman quarterback Schaefer Schuetz.

“It was something we just couldn’t overcome,” Simcox said. “It wasn’t just the interceptions though because we couldn’t get a stop on defense when we needed to either.”

Park Hill South is looking to combine the return of previously injured key starters in running back Myles Hammonds and linebacker Robert Lane, who recorded an interception against North Kansas City, with some of the small positives they were able to take away from the game.

“We had some success running the ball on offense,” Simcox said. “They didn’t really march up and down the field on us on defense, just made a couple big plays like they needed to.”

For the Panthers it comes down to being able to string together small victories on a play by play basis and not giving opposing teams added advantages against them.

“We’re not good enough right now to the point where we can make penalties or have turnovers and overcome it. We don’t have the big-play ability for that right now.”

While the loss to North Kansas City was an unwelcomed start to district play, the Panthers have two weeks to earn the right to play a third in the state playoffs. Winnetonka and Fort Osage may present tougher obstacles for the Panthers, that adage remains the same going into the last two weeks of the regular season.

“Even before last week we knew that if we won two out of three (in districts), we’re in pretty good shape,” Simcox said. “The teams may be a bigger challenge, but we still have control over what we do.”

Fall Roundup: Oct. 10 - 15

Park Hill Volleyball
…split their pair of regular season matches this week against Kearney and North Kansas City as the Trojans beat lost to Kearney 25-23, 25-11 before coming back at the end of the week and beating North Kansas City 25-13, 25-20. Park Hill went into the weekend with a 10-14 overall record. The Trojans will be seeded fifth in the district tournament starting next week at Park Hill. They will play Oak Park in the first round Monday for the right to take on top seeded Liberty Tuesday.

Park Hill Soccer
..defeated Ruskin last week in conference play 9-0 with Timmy Hay and Brandon Riley adding two goals a piece in the onslaught. Alec Fiest and Chris Walker also contributed with two assists each. The Trojans dropped a tough 1-0 game to a nationally ranked Rockhurst team.

“Despite a 0-1 loss at Rockhurst, it was a good game for us. Players came together in a way they hadn’t in previous games and despite it being a loss, that game could very well be a turning point in our season,” coach Dustin Sollars said.

Park Hill South Soccer
…didn’t allow a goal last week in their two impressive victories against Winnetonka and Raytown last week. The Panthers tallied nine goals against in a 9-0 victory before beating Raytown 5-0 to finish the week. They are now 14-6-1 on the year with Fort Osage and Belton on the schedule as their next two opponents.

Park Hill Tennis
…cruised through team district play two weekends ago, but as the Missouri state tournament began this week knew it would only get tougher in the quality of opponents they would face. The Trojans would triumph though, advancing to the final four of the tournament which will be played Thursday to crown a new state champion. Park Hill easily defeated Lee’s Summit North 5-1 in the sectional round before needing every last point to edge St. Theresa’s Academy 5-4 in the quarterfinals. The Trojans now have Parkway Central (11-4) in the way of a matchup for the Missouri Class 2 state title against the winner of the Columbia Rockbridge/Lafayette semifinal.

Suzanne Barth advanced out of the sectional round of the singles tournament after her 6-1, 6-0 victory last week. Brooke Barnard and Kaylin Lake also advanced in doubles with a 6-3, 6-3 win. All three athletes will compete in their individual state tournament brackets over the weekend.

Park Hill South Tennis
…proved to be a force to be reckoned with their district title win two weeks ago, but were unable to generate the same momentum in the state tournament as they fell to St. Theresa’s in the sectional round by a score of 5-2 ending their team season. Adele Royle and Marie Gehrke, however, will play on in the doubles portion of the state tournament after their 6-1, 6-1 victory in sectionals. They will move on to the bracket portion of the final tournament for the right to play for a state title.

Park Hill and Park Hill South Cross Country
… will both participate in the Class 4, District 8 meet this upcoming weekend at Stocksdale Park in Liberty in hopes of advancing to the sectional meet next weekend at Longview Community College in Lee’s Summit.

Park Hill South Boys Swim & Dive
…is coming off a quality performance at the KC Classic over the weekend. The KC Classic brings together Kansas City’s top competition as well as from Springfield and Columbia. The Panthers have already qualified for state in ten events including Daniel Day, Liam Huff, and Tom Prinslow in the 200 meter free; Day and Huffman in the 200 meter individual medley; Huffman in the 50 meter free; Spencer Moran in diving, Day and Spencer On in the 100 meter fly; Huffman, Day, and On in the 100 meter free; Day, Huffman, and Prinslow in the 500 meter free; Aubrey Churchman, Jacob Fisher, Dan, and Huffman in the 100 meter backstroke; and Jacob Little in the 100 meter breast. Park Hill South also qualified the medley, 200 free, and 400 free relays. They’ll next prepare for the Conference meet to be held in two weeks.

Park Hill Boys Swim & Dive
...is strongly moving along through their regular season. The team has already qualified in three relays for the state meet in November including the 200 medley, 200 freestyle, and 400 freestyle. Senior Matt Johnson has qualified in the 500 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. Matt Wagner has qualified in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and 100 backstroke. Vince Tutorino qualified for the 100 butterfly while freshman Barry Change qualified for the 500 freestyle. As a team, the Trojans have second place finishes at the Park Hill and Red Bird Invitationals along with fourth place finishes in the Independence Invite and last weekend's KC Classic.
 
Park Hill South Volleyball
Improved their record two impressive victories last week before heading into the Truman Tournament over the weekend. The Panthers’ two wins were against Staley 25-10, 25-19 and Raytown South 25-10, 25-11. Park Hill South went 4-2 in pool play of the Truman Tournament, but did not make it onto the winner’s side of the championship bracket as they had in the Winnetonka and Lee’s Summit North tournaments earlier this year. Emma Hagedorn continues to lead South offensively, averaging over ten kills per game. The Panthers have secured a number one seed in the district tournament next week at Truman High School. They will take on the winner of the Fort Osage Truman game in the semi-finals Wednesday night at 5:30pm before hopefully playing for the district title at 7pm.

South continues losing skid, hopes to rebound in district opener

Park Hill South (3-4) gets to start anew this Friday as district play begins with a home matchup against North Kansas City (1-6). Although South lost to a tough Staley team last Friday 42-13, the Panthers have reason to be encouraged after they stayed within striking distance of the Falcons for a majority of the game. In a contest the Panthers will be heavily favored to win, they’ll have the chance to break a three game losing streak and begin the defense of the district title they won in 2010. North Kansas City is coming off a 51-14 defeat against Truman.

While Staley pulled ahead 14-0 early in the first quarter last Friday, South was able to post a score when Nick Gillespie caught a Carson Reid pass for a 55-yard touchdown reception. Staley quarterback Trent Hosick added a running touchdown in the second quarter to put Staley up 21-7 at halftime. Down, but not out against the top team in Class 5, Park Hill South was in position to make it a game in the second half.

Morgan Steward increased the margin for Staley with a 62-yard break away run for a touchdown in the third quarter, but the Panthers matched it when Alex Howe catch a 12-yard touchdown pass from Reid to make the score 28-13 going into the final quarter. But it was in that fourth quarter when Staley broke loose with Steward adding his second touchdown on 19-yard run. Rory Driscoll sealed the deal for Staley when he picked off a Reid pass and returned the interception for a 22-yard touchdown increasing the final margin to 42-13.

Last year, Park Hill South defeated North Kansas City 34-7 which was the beginning of a five game winning streak that propelled them to a district title and state quarterfinals appearance.

Trojans look to district play after steep loss to Lee's Summit West

It’s not something Park Hill (4-3) football fans want to get used to or see anything similar to anytime soon, but the Trojans’ 49-0 lose to Lee’s Summit West Friday night was the second straight home game in which they were unable to score. This followed a 42-0 lose to Jefferson City two weeks ago in a four week stretch where Park Hill faces three of the state’s top football programs. They’ll find themselves tasked with another tough test this week as they begin district play against the last of those three programs, Class 5’s top ranked program, Staley (7-0).

Staley is coming off a 42-13 victory over Park Hill South Friday. The Trojans defense will look to tame the Falcons’ quarterback-running back combo of Trent Hosik and Morgan Steward who combined for five of Staley’s six touchdowns last week. Steward is coming off an 18 carry, 219 yard performance last week while Hosik passed for 141 yards while running for 134 yards. Park Hill head coach Greg Reynolds said the Falcons are a very good team, but not to count the Trojans out after their lose Friday night.

“I don’t have that stat, but I know for a fact we don’t lose two games in a row too often. Not guaranteeing anything, but I think we’ll come back with a vengeance this week,” Reynolds said.

Park Hill will have plenty of motivation after Friday night’s tough loss to Lee’s Summit West. West jumped on the Trojans early and often as Morgan Strickland put two touchdowns on the board in the Titans first two possessions, one from seven yards out and the other a 15 yard run. He ended the night with 14 carries for 113 yards. When Park Hill was about to stop Lee’s Summit West for the first time, they received the ball deep in their own territory where a Tyler White pass was deflected into the air, intercepted by West’s Jaycie Pearson and returned for a touchdown putting them up 21-0 after the first quarter.

The Titans would score on three of their next four possessions to increase the score to 42-0 at halftime. Park Hill was unable to generate any substantial offensive production in the first half with only 43 total yards and their sole first down coming on the last play before halftime. On the other side of the ball, Lee’s Summit West racked up 270 first half yards. With the game’s outcome fairly evident coming into the second half, Reynolds was looking for something simple out of his team.

“Who doesn’t quit. That’s what I’m looking for. I just want to see kids play hard,” Reynolds said.

Lee’s Summit West would tag on another early second half touchdown before pulling their starters and letting the clock tick away on the 49-0 final score. Reynolds says his team has made progress since the beginning of the season, but because of the role key players have play, injuries to them have plagued the team more than in years past.

“I think we’re lining up better, that part of the game we’re doing alright,” Reynolds said. “This year we’re kind of built around a couple key guys that have not been playing due to injuries. When that happens you have to retool your whole defense.”

While each loss provides the chance to improve, the start of districts this week also allows for a fresh start.

“If you don’t learn something from each lose, then you loss an opportunity to teach a kid something. Everyone wants to talk about 100 wins, but I think I’ve been a better coach the day after from those 36 losses,” Reynolds said in reference to the Trojans record of 12 years. “I told the seniors after the game we’ve got three weeks to decide if we play a fourth week.”

Park Hill South takes title in Panther Classic

The Park Hill Trojans soccer team left the field at the Park Hill District Athletic Complex on Saturday with an unsettling and unfamiliar feeling following the championship game of the Park Hill South Panther Classic. That feeling came from the 3-0 loss they suffered at the hands of host school Park Hill South (12-6-1), the first such time they have not won the Classic since it started four years ago.

“We’re very disappointed. Since this tournament started we haven’t lost it,” Park Hill Coach Dustin Sollars said. “I think we’re disappointed in our own effort, especially since we did have the ball so much. I think they recognize they can do better.”

Park Hill’s loss was South’s gain and while the Trojans had possession of the ball on the Panthers side of the field for a good majority of the game, South was able to capitalize on break away opportunities to bust the game wide open in the second half.

“They (Park Hill) did a real good job of possessing the play and territory,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said. “That’s not usually the way we like to play. All of our goals came on quick stuff.”

That tone was set almost immediately out the gate in the first half, when South got their first goal just a minute and a half into the game when South converted a re-start into the Panthers’ first goal. It would remain 1-0 at halftime before South tagged on two more late second half goals. Expectedly, the rivalry between the two teams began to show more signs of life in the second half when both increased their physicality.

“I told our players this is like a college game, it’s going to be physical and the refs aren’t going to call it a lot of the time,” Toigo said. “In the upper levels, many of those plays won’t be fouls.”

Toigo said his team has been focusing on playing with the mentality that the rest of their games are playoff games and hopes it will pay off when they actually do get into games where they face elimination.

“We talked about being prepared to play now like every play is the last,” Toigo said. “We can’t just turn it on October 31st for districts. It’s important to play the whole game as if it is the end of the season.”

Park Hill South defeated Winnetonka (7-0) and Ray-Pec (2-0) to advance to the title game while Park Hill beat Platte County (2-0) and Smithville (3-2, 2 OT). For Park Hill, the Trojans realize there’s a need to improve and judging by the long faces following the match, they’ll have plenty of motivation to make adjustments in case the two teams meet again in the postseason.

“If we don’t want to be a .500 team then we need to do better, we’ve had several games in our eight losses where we’ve controlled the possessions and lost,” Sollars said.

“We could see each other again in the playoffs,” Toigo said. “This was big for us, because we haven’t had much success against them in the past couple years, but we finally got to win our own tournament.”

Both teams will focus their efforts on the conclusion of their conference schedule, which both teams will be competing for title banners, before district tournaments begin at the end of October. Depending on results going forward, Park Hill and Park Hill South should find themselves in the top portion of the district seedings along with Oak Park who has been on an impressive winning streak over the past month.

Fall Roundup: Oct. 3 - 8

Park Hill Softball
…despite advancing to the title game the previous two seasons as a low seed, Park Hill was unable to reach it for a third last week as the second seeded Trojans were upset in the semifinals by Staley by a score of 21-7. The loss was particularly disappointing for Park Hill due to the fact they handedly beat the Falcons in their two previous meetings this season.

“They’re peaking at the right time. They were really good today,” coach Stuart Sullinger said of Staley. “They scored in every inning and we just couldn’t gain any traction.”

Even though their season was cut shorter than they would have liked, Sullinger says it doesn’t take away from what the team accomplished during the season, their first conference title since 1994.

“As bad as this game was, they can’t let it take away from what they accomplished this season,” Sullinger said. “This was a special group and they’ve always taken care of each other.”

Park Hill South Softball
…started off district play last week with an 11-1 victory over William Chrisman to advance to the semifinals against Winnetonka. The offensive spark wouldn’t last though as it was the Griffins who came out swinging the bats. Winnetonka’s 14 runs gave them plenty of breathing room to advance to a district title game appearance, ending Park Hill South’s season with a 14-4 victory. South ends the season with a record of 15-14.

Park Hill Girls Golf
…posted their best round of the year at the absolute best time as the Trojans shot a 374 in the sectional tournament last week. Although fourth place was not high enough to qualify the team for state, three of the Trojans top five golfers qualified as individuals. Anna Kloeppel and Adrianna Elliott’s score of 86 and Bailey Wharlen’s 96 were good enough to advance them to the state tournament in Sedalia next week.

Park Hill South Girls Golf
…placed fifth at the sectional tournament last week with a team score of 404. The Panthers’ top golfer was Sydney Sanders, whose 99 left her just three shots short of qualifying for the state tournament next week. Lindsey Gile and Kelli Mulligan tied for 27th place with their scores of 101.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country
…Joey Walton continued his season as the Trojans’ top runner as he took first place in the Suburban Conference Red Division race last weekend with a time of 16:32. Also placing high were Nathan Huffer who finished in seventh place and Kainen Utt who finished in ninth. Park Hill finished third overall, just three points shy of the second place finisher, Lee’s Summit West. They’ll next compete in the district race over the weekend.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country
…Kim Rau brought home the Trojans top girls finish in last week’s conference meet with her eighth place finish. Emma Gaiser followed with her 16th place finish while Maddie Bischof, Mercedes Robinson, and Libby Lund came in consecutively at 19th, 20th, and 21st. The team finished third overall. The district race is next for the Park Hill Cross Country teams this weekend.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country
…Tucker Melles continued his successful season with a first place conference finish last week, edging out Raytown South’s Daniel Worthington by a slim two seconds. Lendon Calhoun finished seventh along with Peter Thomas (11th), Mason Homoly (13th), Gus Whitman (16th), Barrett Hudson (22nd), and Westly King (23rd).

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country
…won their second straight conference championship last week by 17 team points in front of Winnetonka. Lizzy Jurries led the Panthers with her fourth place finish while Madeline Homoly came in sixth and Lauren Blair placed eighth. Other finishers included Erica Guzman (10th), Audrey Rothers (11th), Raven Jennings (13th), Rachel Evans (15th), and Kerry Maas (27th). They’ll compete next weekend in the district race.

Park Hill Volleyball
...saw two conference defeats last week against Lee's Summit West and Truman. Park Hill came out slow against Lee's Summit West and never recovered, falling by scores of 25-6, 25-11. They came up short in both sets against Truman losing by a score of 25-21 in both sets. The Trojans are now 9-13 on the season with an appearance slated at the Grain Valley tournament over the weekend.

Park Hill South Volleyball
...continued their tear through the regular season as they improved to 22-2 last week with wins against Winnetonka and Raytown. South handedly took the first match against Winnetonka Tuesday before dropping the second and coming back to seal the victory as they take two of three from the Griffins (25-14, 20-25, 25-17). The Panthers made quick work of Raytown, only giving up nine points in two matches (25-6, 25-3). They'll play Raytown South Thursday before heading off to their last weekend tournament of the year at Truman.

Park Hill Girls Tennis
…advanced past Kearney (5-0) and St. Joe Central (5-3) on their way a fifth consecutive district team title sweeping the team and individual portions of the tournament. Brooke Barnard won her second straight doubles title with Kaylin Lake by defeating St. Joe Central's doubles team in three sets 6-2, 0-6, 6-1. Suzanne Barth climbed through the singles bracket unscathed on the way to her individual district title. She defeated Alex Massey of Kearney in convincing fashion 6-0, 6-0. Barth, Barnard, and Lake all competed Tuesday in the sectional tournament for the right to advance to the state tournament. The team portion of sectionals will be held over the weekend at Macken Park.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis
…rolled through team district play last week, only losing one match, on their way to a district title. The top seeded Panthers defeated Fort Osage 5-0 before topping Liberty 5-1 in the championship round. The team will compete over the weekend in hopes of advancing to the team tournament next weekend in Springfield. Adele Royle and Marie Gehrke defeated Liberty's doubles pair by a score of 6-3, 6-3, advancing to individual sectionals at Rockhurst University which were still being played as of press time Tuesday evening. Emily Jackson and Addison Helling came in fourth and sixth place respectively in singles play. South ends their regular season with a 10-2 record.