Critical district game awaits South after loss

With their 31-6 loss to undefeated Lee's Summit West last Friday, the Park Hill South Panthers (3-3) saw their three game win streak snapped and will look to begin anew this week as they host St. Joe Central (3-3). Both teams have had similar seasons, having seen promising signs of momentum come and go. This game will be an opportunity for the winner to record a victory over a competitive opponent for their postseason resume.

While Coach Mark Simcox says his team didn't play as bad as the score may indicate, it was the big play ability of Lee's Summit West that had the most effect on the game. Having given up a punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter to put Park Hill South in an early 10-0 hole, Lee's Summit West found the end zone one more time before halftime to give the Titans a 17-0 lead.

Park Hill South's main focus coming into the game was on shutting down the Titan run game, which it did accomplish with some effectiveness, but this left the Panthers vulnerable to the deep pass as Lee's Summit West quarterback Thomas Ganaden would finish with 237 yards passing on the night.

Offensively, the Panthers struggled throughout the night. Other than a red zone threat in the third quarter which eventually ended with an interception, Park Hill South's only opportunity to score came when Carson Reid connected with Nick Griffith on a one-yard route for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to narrow the final margin to 31-7.

Park Hill focusing on task at hand after night they'll never forget

Few athletes are able to fulfill their dreams of playing professionally, but Park Hill soccer was afforded the unique opportunity to experience just what it would be like with a game at Livestrong Sporting Park against Northland rival Oak Park last Friday night. On the same night Sporting KC clinched a spot in the Major League Soccer playoffs, Park Hill and Oak Park would provide the closing act on a night that would live up to and exceed expectations for all those involved, providing memories which will last a lifetime.

“It was something they were jazzed up about all day,” Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. “Everyone was giddy and it was a phenomenal experience. I’ve been a (Sporting KC) season ticket holder for the last five years. I love coming out here so it’s a special moment for me and our guys to be able to sit on the bench and have all these fans out here.”

 While Sporting KC attracted a record breaking crowd to Livestrong for the main event earlier in the evening, about 1,000 fans between the two schools turned out for the high school game that followed. However, the circumstances of the contest were no random coincidence, but a testament to Oak Park senior Ray Saari, an all-state selection, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer as a sophomore and has battled through a recovery, all while continuing to play. His relationship with the stadium’s namesake organization, Livestrong, is what prompted the idea of hosting the first high school match to be played at the park. Saari and Oak Park selected Park Hill as their opponent because of the healthy rivalry between the two teams and, possibly even more important, the relationship Saari has with some of his Trojan counterparts.

“Playing with Ray, he’s a personal friend of mine and I love him so much. I want to thank him for picking us to play them here,” Park Hill senior Neal Sampson said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Oak Park and just being here with my team and family has been just awesome.”

The atmosphere had everything a professional game would. Players warmed up to stadium music anthems, were introduced by the public address announcer while their pictures were shown on the scoreboard, and sat on the comfortably designed chairs that traditionally are reserved for professionals only.

“I think the moment that got me was when we walked out of the tunnel for the first time. When these guys walked out to the FIFA anthem to play in front of 1000 fans, it’s a special experience,” Marchbank said. “It was incredibly loud. I looked at the guys faces and every set of eyes was popping out of their heads.

Excitement and anticipation were almost building to an unbearable point leading up to kickoff. It was so bad Marchbank says he thinks it was partially responsible for a tough 2-0 conference loss the night before to Lee’s Summit West. This night though would belong to the Trojans as Timmy Hay set up Keaton Anchors in the 13^th minute for the game’s only goal. Days and weeks of restlessness building up for the game were evident on the field as players competed with the desire and physicality of a state playoff game. The Trojans hope to use it as a building block for the rest of their season.

“We talked about it before the game that this can be a turning point in our season. It’s halfway through the season and we need to work out the fine things and really perfect things going into districts,” Marchbank said. “To get a win in an atmosphere like this is really going to give us the motivation to move forward and be successful.”

“We’ve been talking about this game every day. Came into this game excited, played well, and got a win,” Sampson said. “We have to take it one game at a time; this is a good place to start.”

The immediate task at hand has the Trojans, now 9-3 on the year, focusing on their appearance in the Park Hill South Panther Classic tournament this week, but the lasting memories of their Livestrong experience will remain for years to come.

“Great experience, great environment,” Marchbank said. “It’s awesome and I’ll never forget this night.”

Fall Round-up: Sept. 24-Oct. 1

Park Hill Girls Tennis
…concluded their regular season last week with a close 5-4 loss to a talented St. Joe Central team. Brooke Barnard, Kaylin Lake, and Abby Peoples won their singles matches early, but the Indians came back to win the match in the later rounds. The Trojans wrapped up their schedule with a record of 7-9 on the year.

Park Hill defeated NKC yesterday in the opening round of districts 7-2. They face #2 St. Theresa's today in semi's.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis

…clinched their second straight conference title last week with an 8-1 win over Lee’s Summit West. The Panthers finished their regular season with a 9-1 record and were competing in the Class 2, District 15 team semifinals as The Citizen went to press Tuesday evening. The individual portion of that tournament will be played over the weekend at Barry Park.

Park Hill South Softball

….went 2-1 in the final week of the regular season last week with wins over Lee’s Summit West (4-2) and Park Hill (4-0). Sandwiched in between those two victories was a 3-0 loss to Truman.

Alyx Hagen recorded both victories from the mound.

Park Hill South clinched a number one seed in the Class 4, District 16 tournament this week and will face the winner of the Oak Park/St. Joe Central game in the semifinal Thursday evening.

Park Hill South Volleyball

…kept rolling last week with a big win over Blue Springs South as the Panthers took the first game in overtime 26-24 before clinching the match in the second game with a 25-20 win. Now 19-1 on the season, Park Hill South looks to a rematch against Lee’s Summit West, the only team to have beaten the Panthers this season.

“It was a great match and our kids came so ready to play.  I can’t tell you how proud of them I am.  Blue Springs South is an awesome team and we so love that kind of competition. We have to get up again because Lee’s Summit West is coming to South on Thursday,” Park Hill South coach Debbie Fay said.

Park Hill Volleyball

…split their two matches last week with a convincing win over Ruskin in two games with wins of 25-2 and 25-4. They fell to conference leader Lee’s Summit West to end the week with losses of 25-13 and 25-18. The Trojans are now 10-8-3 on the season will have some time off with their next scheduled match at Raytown on October 8^th. Lindsey Grace continues to lead the team in kills (123) and blocks (40). While Olivia Nowakowski leads in digs with 211 and Kelsey Bearce in assists with 143.

Park Hill South Boys Soccer

…dropped a competitive conference game to Lee’s Summit West to start last week with a 2-1 loss as the Titans scored a late second half goal to earn the win. Brian Kissee scored the Panthers lone goal. Park Hill South win their remaining two games with a Brody Bouillon goal secured a 1-0 win over Truman followed by a 7-0 win over St. Joe Central where Kissee recorded three goals. Daniel Herrjon (2), Adam Weatherly, and Jordan Lindsey also contributed goals in the victory.

Kissee who had previously only had two goals on the year, now leads the Panthers’ in goals with six this season.

Park Hill South, who is now 12-3 on the year, is hosting their annual tournament this week and will play Smithville Thursday with the title game scheduled for Saturday. 

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…finished 25^th out of 37 teams at the KC Metro Classic over the weekend. Kainen Utt led the Trojans as he came in 20^th in the packed field of runners. Nate Thomas (90^th), James Adams (174^th), Cain Winebrenner (193^rd), Graham England (206^th), Carter Barajas (216^th), and Riley Fahrenholz (243^rd) competed for the Trojans. Park Hill will run in the conference meet this weekend in St. Joe.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…finished 20^th out of 37 teams competing at the KC Metro Classic over the weekend. Tucker Melles came in 16^th as the Panthers top finisher. Keyan Lunders (97^th), Lendon Calhoun (132^nd), Eli Williams (167^th), Jacob Bowlin (192^nd), and Isaac Frieden (201^st) rounded out the Panther field. Park Hill South will run in the conference meet this weekend in St. Joe.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…took 27^th out of 33 teams at the KC Metro Classic last week. Merecedes Robinson came in 61^st place while Kim Rau (70^th), Emma Gaiser (154^th), Brooke Bischof (195^th), and Gianna Tutorino (204^th) also competed for the Trojans. Park Hill will run in the conference meet this weekend in St. Joe.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…18^th out of 33 teams in the KC Metro Classic last weekend. Erica Guzman finished in 76^th place for the Panthers with Lizzy Jurries shortly behind in 78^th. Other Panthers competing included Margaret McKeon (89^th), Audrey Rother (116^th), and DeDe O’Toole (191^st).

 Park Hill South Girls Golf
...finished fourth at the district tournament Monday afternoon. Lindsey Gile led the way for the Panthers with her sixth place score of 91. Sydney Sanders and Laiya Smith, who shot 101 and 102 respectively, joined Gile in qualifying individually for the state sectional tournament. Other scores for Park Hill South included Ashley Kildow's 118 and Tarah Patneau's 123.

Park Hill Girls Golf

...had a historic week last week culminating in a district title Monday. In their final dual of the regular season, the Trojans posted a all-time low score of 184 as a team. Bailey Warlen, medalist, and Adrianna Elliott led the way with their first and second place scores of 40 and 42. That performance set the stage for their first-ever district title win Monday afternoon when Elliott posted a third place score of 88 with Warlen not far behind with her fifth place score of 90. Elliott, Warlen, and Sydney Paulak, who shot a 103, all qualified individually for the state sectional tournament prior to clinching the team title, which allows the Trojans to compete all five of their varsity golfers. The closest Park Hill has been to winning a district title in recent years came last year when they placed second. Elliott and Warlen were honored as Applebee's Athletes of the Week for their performances.

Park Hill to play at Livestrong Sporting Park

Every young soccer player has dreams at one time or another of playing at the next level and maybe even professionally someday. With a successful professional soccer franchise such as Sporting Kansas City and the beautiful Livestrong Sporting Park right here at home, the dream can take the form of an even clearer vision. While the odds are most high school players won’t go onto a career in professional soccer, the players at Park Hill and Oak Park will get to see, touch, smell, and feel what it is like to play in a professional stadium this Friday as they match-up in a special opportunity to play at Livestrong Sporting Park following the regularly scheduled professional game.

The game won’t be just any randomly selected game between healthy Northland rivals though. It will be a testament to Oak Park senior forward Ray Saari, who was diagnosed with testicular and lung cancer as a sophomore. Saari is a two time all-state selection who was selected as a player of the year recipient in several categories last season. Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank says he’s watched him play for several years and sees an extraordinary young man.

“He’s now been through chemotherapy and went through the worst. I saw him play indoor soccer when he was going through that. He’s a great person,” Marchbank said. “A lot of these guys (Park Hill players) are best friends with Ray and have played club soccer with him. They’re all very familiar with him and his story.”

Saari’s battle with cancer allowed him to form a close relationship with the Livestrong organization, which helps support those affected by cancer, and cyclist Lance Armstrong who is the group’s founder.

“At the opening game at Livestrong Sporting Park this season, he walked out with Lance Armstrong. So they’ve met on several occasions,” Marchbank said. “This is kind of a testimonial to him. They asked Oak Park if they wanted to play a game for Ray. He wanted to play a quality opponent with a friendly rivalry, so they asked us.”

Oak Park is expected to be wearing yellow jerseys, which is the theme color of the Livestrong organization. Livestrong Day, which is October 2, will try to organize and promote the largest single display of support for cancer survivors in history.

Park Hill, Park Hill South girls golf conference results

Park Hill finished second in the conference tournament Monday while Park Hill South finished one place behind in third.

All Trojans medaled by placing in the top 15. Bailey Warlen won the tournament with a medalist score of 85.

Adrianna Elliott (5th), Sydney Paulak (9th), Jaque Yang (12th), and Josie Stevenson (14th) all contributed for Park Hill and were awarded all-conference honors.

Park Hill South's Lindsey Gile was named first team all-conference, Sydney Sanders was named to the second team, and Ashley Kildow and Laiya Smith were named honorable mentions.

The district tournament is scheduled for October 1st.

PHS extends win streak to three

After outscoring their opponents 111-6 over the previous two games including last Friday's 41-0 win over Grandview, Park Hill South (3-2) will see a significantly different level of talent this week as they travel to Lee's Summit West (5-0) to take on one of the top-ranked teams in the state. The Panthers are not naive about the quality of their opponent, but hope they can use the momentum from their three game winning streak to take another step forward this week.

"We've been watching video to find some things we might be able to do. There are some things that look good for us on paper, but they're talented and really good. They've got a lot of kids that can run. We think we have some things we can do," Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. "It (Friday's win) definitely helps us confidence-wise. That was something we were concerned about with our 0-2 start, but now we've won three in a row and they're feeling better about themselves. We think we're better than we were three weeks ago, so we'll see."

There were many things to point to which led to the Panthers 41-0 victory over Grandview, but the damage that resulted in an old-fashioned stomp down was mostly done before the Bulldogs could even run a successful offensive play from the line of scrimmage. A Grandview penalty before the game even started due to unsportsmanlike conduct gave Park Hill South good field position after they returned the opening kickoff. Myles Hammonds would put the game's first points on the board with a one-yard touchdown run, his first of two touchdowns on the night. Grandview would then fumble the first snap of their first drive to turn the ball over to the Panthers, who would score on a ten-yard Shaefer Schuetz touchdown pass to Craig Scott. The Bulldogs would do it all over again on the next possession, fumbling the ball for a turnover, which led to another Schuetz-to-Scott touchdown connect.

Park Hill South was up 21-0 having had only a mere six minutes expire off the game clock.

"We were up 21 points, so at that point there wasn't too much left," Simcox said. "I think they would have been better, but when you get down 21-0 without really running an offensive play, it just kind of got away from them I think."

The Panthers would improve their lead on the defensive end with two interceptions returned for touchdowns, the first by Alex Augspurg was a 38-yard return in the second quarter, while the second was a 45-yard touchdown play by Bryan Robinson early in the second half.

Shelving their passing game as the game became out of reach in the second quarter to limit Schuetz and Scott's potential stats, they used Hammonds on the ground to use up the remainder of the clock before he ended his night with 26 carries, good for around 100 yards and two touchdowns. All in a good night's work for an overall quality effort for the Panthers.

Park Hill thumps Ruskin, looks to Kearney

Two consecutive wins fueled by strong second half play, including Friday’s 56-14 win over Ruskin, lead Park Hill (3-2) into this Friday’s matchup against Kearney (3-2). Kearney is coming off a devastating 28-27 loss to Platte County which saw the Pirates come back from a 27-0 second half deficit to win in the game’s final moments. Park Hill and Kearney haven’t played against each other since 2001 when both teams met in Class 4 district play, so there will be a certain amount of unfamiliarity between the two teams, this time as Class 5 district opponents again.

“I don’t know what to expect, but I know they’re a good team. They’re very physical and like to run the ball,” Park Hill Coach Greg Reynolds said. “It’s going to come down to taking care of business on the front lines and tackling. I think it’s going to be a pretty even game when it comes to talent level. Turnovers can be big in games like this. Bottom line is it’s a district game and will help us in seeding.”

Kearney will present a significantly more challenging opponent than the one Park Hill faced in Ruskin last week. The Trojans came in as a strong favorite and looked like it early as they drove the field on their opening drive for quarterback Clay Ford to run in the game’s first touchdown to put Park Hill up 7-0. Stefan McCarthy would tack on a 39-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0, but the Trojans would squander several chances to increase their margin in the second quarter after two fumbles and failed fourth down conversion. Ruskin would break loose a 64-yard run for a touchdown before halftime to make the score 14-7 going into the break, a surprisingly close game for observers at the halfway point.

“We fumbled the ball at inopportune times after big plays and made mental mistakes on short yardage plays,” Reynolds said of the first half. “I think some of our kids were trying to hit a home run each time instead of just doing what they do. Making moves for touchdowns instead of just getting what you can get.”

The second half would be a different story, much as it was the previous week in Park Hill’s comeback victory over Ruskin.

The Trojans came alive in the third quarter as they scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, all the first six minutes of the quarter. Park Hill would add another touchdown before the end of the period. All in all, scores were recorded from Kenyatte Harris, who would score touchdowns on runs of ten and 29 yards, a ten-yard touchdown pass from Clay Ford to Austin Truvillion, and McCarthy who added to his earlier touchdown total with two from a 19-yard run and 16-yard reception. Before it was all said and done, the Park Hill offensive would produce 35 third quarter points, giving them a 49-7 lead going into the fourth.

“That might just be the way this team is, we have moments when we loss focus. We don’t have the amount of experience to stop it once it starts,” Reynolds said. “But what we were doing (in the second half), that’s what we should be doing.”

While Ruskin saw success with the screen pass in the first half early and often, they were unable to convert it into the points they needed in the second half. Eagles quarterback Kiestan Burrell was 20 for 37 passing and threw for 189 yards with a touchdown.

Ruskin’s Terrello Holden pulled in a 46-yard touchdown reception to narrow the game’s margin, but Park Hill’s Carter Bates would record the final points of the game with a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Trojans run away with a 56-14 victory.

Harris would end the game with 20 carries for 157 yards rushing and two touchdowns while his running back counterpart McCarthy would contribute 62 yards rushing and three touchdowns (two runs, one reception). Ford was eight for 13 passing for 121 yards with three touchdown passes on the night leading the Trojans to an offensive night which totaled 397 yards.

Soccer rivals get first look at each other

If last week’s matchup between Park Hill and Park Hill South is any indication of the future excitement between these two rivals, there will be a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks for these two teams. In front of a near-capacity crowd last Wednesday, both teams, who are considered two of the best in the metro, squared off in the first of what could be four matchups this season. Park Hill South would pull out a 2-1 victory over Park Hill, but the anticipation and physical nature of the game left plenty on the field for the next scheduled game between the two Oct. 15 or even earlier during the tournament the Panthers host next week.

Even with strong senior classes at the helm of both teams, each knew the advantages and disadvantages of playing in front of a highly fueled crowd, each hoping to stay focused on the task at hand.

“We tried to take this just as any other game,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said. “We need to keep doing what we’ve prepared ourself for all season. We didn’t put anything extra on this game. It’s hard to keep high school kids settled with this much yelling and screaming. I think they kept their composure pretty good tonight."

“We told ourselves coming into this game that the team that would win is the team who stayed the most emotionally balanced, focused and didn’t let those tie into the game,” Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. “It’s tough when you have an atmosphere like tonight.”

Park Hill South’s Jordan Lindsey sent the Panther faithful into a roar when he scored the game’s first goal just minutes in to put the Panthers up 1-0 early. Scoring would not be what defined the contest though, as tough and physical play went back and forth throughout the night. Park Hill South would widen its lead in the second half when Andrew Gonzalez added a goal to put the game solely in the Panthers’ control. Park Hill would fight back though when Timmy Hay scored around the nine-minute mark. Several Park Hill attempts to tie the score late went unconverted as the Panther defense held, giving the first matchup between the two teams to the Panthers.

“We’re probably going to see them three more times this year. This is only game one. What counts is how we respond,” Marchbank said. “It was disappointing, I think we lost focus for a bit and they slipped it behind us. Two simple mistakes cost us the game tonight. We have a week off, which is good because this game takes a physical and emotional toll.” 

While Park Hill, now 8-2, had the chance to rest with the remainder of their week off before preparing for another round of tough conference matchups, Park Hill South continued on with a tough stretch that runs into this week. They defeated Ruskin 9-0 before playing tough Olathe East in a previously rained out tournament title game where the Panthers won 2-1 on penalty kicks. While running up an impressive 10-2 record so far this year, Toigo says his team has played a lot of close games and in order to improve they need to make sure they don’t leave themselves vulnerable to game-costing mistakes.

“We’ve played a lot of close games. We’re not even averaging 2 goals a game,” Toigo said. “We need to finish better. We’re 8-2, but could easily be 2-8 because our margin of error is so narrow with the amount of goals we’re scoring."

Park Hill South plays at Truman and hosts St. Joe Central this week before starting their own tournament next week while Park Hill looks next to this week’s games against Lee’s Summit West and then Oak Park at Livestrong Sporting Park.

Fall Roundup: Sept. 17-24

Park Hill South Girls Tennis 
…after winning all four of their matches last week, the Panthers finished off a successful week with a bang by bring home a title in the Northland tournament over the weekend. They did so in convincing fashion as well by winning three of the four brackets. With 62 team points, the Panthers topped the closest second point earner St. Joe Central’s 44. Adele Royle won her first two matches as the Panthers top singles player in the A Bracket to earn her a spot in the title match against Park Hill’s Brooke Barnard. The two battled to a close 11-9 decision in Barnard’s advantage. In the singles B Backet, Rachel Brown would win all three of her matches on the way to a first place finish. Marie Gehrke and Katie Smith would team up to win the doubles A Bracket while Emily and Shay Jackson would take first in the doubles B Bracket.

The Panthers had victories against St. Joe Central (6-3), Truman (9-0), Park Hill (6-3), and Ruskin (9-0) earlier in the week. Royle went 3-1 as the Panthers top singles player while Royle and Shay Jackson went 2-1 as the top doubles duo.

Park Hill South hosts Lincoln Academy before traveling to Lee’s Summit West to conclude their regular season Thursday. District play begins next week.

Park Hill Tennis

…finished third in the Northland Tournament over the weekend with 37 total team points. Brooke Barnard took first place in the singles A Bracket with a close 11-9 victory over Park Hill South’s Adele Royle. Abby Peoples placed fourth in the singles B Bracket while Breanna Donahue and Evan Kutz took fourth in the doubles B Bracket.

Park Hill finishes off the regular season Thursday when they host St. Joe Central.

Park Hill Volleyball

...won their two matches last week against Truman and St. Joe Central in straight sets (2-0). Park Hill is now 9-7-3 on the season with road games against Ruskin and Lee’s Summit West on the schedule this week. At the midway point in the season, senior Lindsey Grace leads in the team in kills (117) and blocks (37) while Olivia Nowakowski leads the team in digs with 191.

Park Hill South Softball

…went 2-1 last week to bring their overall record to 13-8 with wins against Ruskin (15-0) and St. Joe Central (4-1) and a loss to Blue Springs (6-1). Julia Switlik struck out eight batters against Ruskin while Kylie DeClue, Jordin Woodward, and Courtney Todd contributed RBI’s in their win against St. Joe Central. Todd’s was a solo home run. They will compete in the St. Joe Benton Tournament over the weekend before starting district play next week.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…Tucker Melles placed first in the Grandview Invitational last week with his top time of 16:47. Keyan Lunders (7^th), Lendon Calhoun (16^th), Jacob Bowlin (17^th), Eli Williams (18^th), and Matt Robbins (20^th) rounded out the Panthers’ field. Park Hill South finished third as a team overall. They will compete in the KC All Metro Classic this weekend before the Conference meet next weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…finished fourth at the Grandview Invitational last week as Lizzy Jurries led the Panthers with a ninth place time of 20:57.30. Erica Guzman (15^th), Margaret McKeon (29^th), Charlie McFarlane (30^th), DeDe O’Toole (41^st), and Sophie Hardin competed for Park Hill South. They’ll next look to the KC All Metro Classic this weekend before competing in the Conference meet next weekend.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…placed in the middle of the pack at the Rim Rock Classic last weekend with a 21^st place finish out of 43 teams. Cainen Utt led the way with his 13^th place time of 16:42.50. Cain Winebrenner (85^th), Hanok Tekle (96^th), Nate Thomas (126^th), James Adams (205^th), Riley Fahrenholz (218^th), and Noah Barajas (254^th) competed for Park Hill.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

… Mercedes Robinson led the Trojans in the Rim Rock Classic last weekend with her 40^th place time of 17:00.90. Kim Rau (56^th), Gianna Tutorino (110th), and Brooke Bischof (133^rd) competed for Park Hill.

Park Hill Boys Swimming

…traveled three hours to Springfield this weekend for the Splash Out Cancer Invitational and came home with a first place finish out of seven southwest Missouri teams. Park Hill took first in the 200 yard medley, 400 free relay, 500 freestyle (Barry Chang), and 100 backstroke (Matt Wagner). Top three place finishers included Wagner in the 200 freestyle, Chang in the 200 individual medley, Joe Johnson in diving, Vince Tutorino in the 100 butterfly, and Kyle Allen in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Park Hill posts second half comeback victory

A 24-14 come-from-behind victory against Truman (0-4) last week was a great way to build momentum into this Friday’s homecoming game against Ruskin (0-4). The win evened the Trojans’ record to 2-2 on the year and gives them added confidence as they next face a Ruskin team who was deeply bruised by a 70-6 loss to Park Hill South last week. Making the trip to Park Hill District Stadium for the second week in a row, the Eagles are a team known for their speed and big play ability, but will see themselves at a disadvantage in regards to Park Hill’s size and athleticism.

While every team would prefer to be described as a second-half team if they had the option, the Trojans have certainly lived up to it in their two wins so far this year, both of which have resulted from comebacks staged in the game’s final minutes. Park Hill would have no other choice last Friday against Truman as they found themselves in a 14-0 hole at halftime after committing three turnovers in the first half.

Park Hill sophomore Kenyatte Harris gave the Trojans a spark late in the third quarter when he took a handoff 41 yards for a touchdown, leaving them with only a 14-7 deficit. For Harris, it would be a breakout game, racking up 159 yards on 15 carries by the end of the night. A Mitch Tittone 11-yard touchdown run and extra point would eventually tie the game 14-14 in the fourth quarter.

After a strong defensive stand, the Trojans received the ball back and took full advantage of their opportunity to convert their comeback victory. An 11 play,  55 yard drive led to a 26-yard go-ahead field goal from Tittone to give Park Hill their first lead of the game, up 17-14 with less than two minutes to play. On the ensuing possession, in need of another defensive stop, Park Hill’s John Balsamo put the game out of reach when he intercepted Truman quarterback Alex Ryan’s pass and returned it for a touchdown, sealing a 24-14 victory for the Trojans.