Platte County’s fourth state championship in program history resulted in a 10 total Missouri Football Coaches Association (MFCA) Class 5 all-state selections while Bill Utz earned coach of the year honors for the first time in his career. The Pirates finished 14-0 as the only undefeated 11-man team in the state of Missouri this season.
Following a dominant 49-14 win over Helias in this month’s Class 5 Show-Me Bowl, Platte County seniors Trevor Hay (safety), Brock Fowler (linebacker) and Kameron Doyle (defensive tackle) plus juniors Rocco Marriott (quarterback), Quinn Lightle (offensive tackle) and Jack Utz (tight end) all made the first team, while versatile senior defender Darrell Smith and junior wide receiver Braiden Stevens were selected to the second team. The Pirates’ third-team picks were juniors Adam Gisler (running back) and Tres Baskerville (wide receiver).
Finishing off one of the best seasons for any Platte County quarterback, Marriott also earned Class 5 Offensive Player of the Year honors from the MFCA. He set Platte County’s single-season passing touchdown record with 39 compared to only five interceptions — just one in five postseason games. He broke Clarkson’s mark of 38 from 2017 and goes into his senior season with 63 in his career, also a program record.
A second-year starter, Marriott passed up a decorated top three on the all-time list of Chris Ruhnke (52, 2018-2020), Brandon Gutshall (56, 1997-2000) and Justin Mitchell (59, 2013-16), among others. Gutshall led the Pirates to their first state title as a senior, while Ruhnke became the first in program history to start two state championship games at quarterback.
Mitchell started three seasons but missed the majority of one due to injury.
Marriott also became just the third in program history to put up more than 3,000 yards passing, and his 3,081 ranks behind only Tanner Clarkson’s 3,382 in 2017 and just in front of Chris Ruhnke’s 3,046 in 2020. Adding in rushing totals, Marriott totaled 3,704 yards of offense and 58 touchdowns — two more school records. Clarkson previously held the yardage mark at 3,559 and touchdowns mark at 43.
Lightle made the move to left tackle as a junior after starting the majority of the past two seasons on the right side. He moved into the starting lineup early his freshman year and missed the start of his sophomore campaign due to injury.
Platte County used just two different starting combinations on the offensive front that produced consistent results. Lightle started all 14 games and helped the Pirates average 49.3 points per game while totaling 5,701 offensive yards — 3,209 passing and 2,492 rushing.
Jack Utz made contributions as an end-line blocker for Platte County but also hauled in 12 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. This included scores against Grain Valley and Central (St. Joseph) and a catch over the middle in traffic at a pivotal point of a state semifinal win over MICDS.
Platte County’s balanced offense accounted for more than 200 yards passing in 11 of 14 games and rushed for more than 150 11 times.
Stevens finished with a team-highs of 48 catches and 15 touchdown receptions with 886 yards. He caught three touchdowns in a season-opening win over William Chrisman and added two more in the Class 5 District 8 championship game victory over St. Pius X. His single-season touchdown total of 15 ranks behind only the 16 for Jim Myers (1968) and Devin Richardson (2017).
Baskerville led Platte County with 1,049 yards on 44 catches with 10 touchdowns. He recorded just the sixth 1,000-yard receiving season in program history, trailing only Dylan Gilbert (1,171 in 2018), Scottie Wilson (1,138 in 2012), Kyle Knox (1,105 in 2006) and Richardson (1,079 in 2017).
Despite missing three games due to a shoulder injury, Gisler just missed a second straight 1,000-yard season rushing and finished with 855 on 78 attempts. This included going over 100 in each of the three playoff games — successive wins over Webb City, MICDS and Helias.
Gisler scored at least one touchdown in each of Platte County’s final nine games after sitting out Weeks 3, 4 and 5 against Fort Osage, Washburn Rural (Kansas) and Belton. He totaled 13 rushing scores despite entering the postseason with just 43 total carries in the Pirates first 11 games.
Gisler goes into his senior season as only the eighth in program history to go over 2,000 career rushing yards. His mark of 2,109 ranks behind Joe Brown (2,184 from 2009-11), Cayden Davis (2,403 from 2018-20), Krae Kelson (2,527 from 2009-11), Joe Henson (3,193 from 2002-2005), Michael McNair (3,516 from 2013-16) and record-holder Zach Sherman (7,727 from 1998-2001) career rushing yards at 2,109.
While the offense commanded most of the attention in Platte County’s first state title run since winning three straight in Class 3A/3 from 2000-2002, the defense limited opponents to 21 points or fewer in all but two games. The Pirates held a running clock at some point in all but three games with the closest calls coming against Fort Osage (28-13 when the Indians scored a touchdown on the final play of regulation), St. Pius X (45-23 after putting in reserves with a 38-point lead and running clock in the third quarter) and MICDS (44-30).
Platte County rarely played defensive starters in the fourth quarter, resulting in decreased statistical numbers for a complementary unit of evenly distributed contributors with 10 senior starters.
Hay led the way with seven interceptions — third most for a single season in program history behind the nine for Austin Soendker (2005) and Ryan Weedin (2002).
A second-year starter, Hay recorded an interception in his first career start as a junior in Week 1 against Kearney but then missed the next six games with a broken wrist.
Hay moved to free safety as a senior and also totaled 55 tackles (three for loss) and also recovered a fumble. All seven of this season’s interceptions came in the final eight games, starting with three in a 77-7 win over Truman on homecoming. He returned two of those for touchdowns, then picked off two more passes the following week against Ruskin and added a third defensive score in the rout of Central in the Class 5 District 8 semifinals.
Doyle quietly anchored the defense as a third-year starter up front. After leading Platte County in sacks as a junior with four, he finished this season with 35 tackles (nine for loss) plus three more sacks and a fumble recovery. He recorded two of the sacks against Washburn Rural and recovered the fumble in a blowout of rival Smithville.
A transfer who played the first three seasons of his career at Staley, Fowler made up half of a dynamic linebacker duo freed up to make a lot of plays. He grew into the role as the season progressed and finished with 70 tackles (10 for loss), four sacks, an interception, one fumble forced and one fumble recovered.
Fowler’s biggest play came against MICDS when he picked off a pass and returned the ball all the way to the Rams’ 1, diving for the pylon but coming up just short of the end zone. He played the final two games of the season with a broken finger.
A third-year starter, Smith made the all-state second team as a linebacker while playing a pivotal role as an in-the-box safety. He finishes his career with 248 tackles (28 for loss), six sacks, three fumbles forced, three fumbles recovered and two interceptions — the first returned for a touchdown as a junior in a blowout of William Chrisman to close the regular season.
Smith played linebacker the past two seasons but shifted back with Fowler’s return to Platte County. He led the Pirates with 82 tackles and 16 for loss as a dynamic and consistent playmaker on both defense and special teams.
MISSOURI FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION CLASS 5 ALL-STATE
First Team
Offense
QB — Rocco Marriott, Jr.; OL — Quinn Lightle, Jr.; TE — Jack Utz, Jr.
Defense
DL — Kameron Doyle, Sr.; LB — Brock Fowler, Sr.; DB — Trevor Hay, Sr.
Second Team
Offense
WR — Braiden Stevens, Jr.
Defense
LB — Darrell Smith, Sr.
Third Team
RB — Adam Gisler, Jr.; WR — Tres Baskerville, Jr.
Offensive Player of the Year — Rocco Marriott, Jr.
ALL-CLASS 5 DISTRICT 8
Offense
QB — Rocco Marriott, Jr.; RB — Adam Gisler, Jr.; Dayton Doll, Sr.; WR — Tres Baskerville, Jr.; Braiden Stevens, Jr.; TE — Jack Utz, Jr.; OL — Quinn Lightle, Jr.
Defense
DL — Kameron Doyle, Sr.; Cale Buntz, Jr.; LB — Darrell Smith, Sr.; Brock Fowler, Sr.; Cobe Pollard, Sr.; DB — Trevor Hay, Sr.; Caden McGhee, Sr.; Montez Clemons, Sr.
ALL-SUBURBAN CONFERENCE WHITE DIVISION
First Team
Offense
QB — Rocco Marriott, Jr.; OL — Quinn Lightle, Jr.; Michael Poncavage, Jr.; TE — Jack Utz, Jr.; WR — Braiden Stevens, Jr.; Tres Baskerville, Jr.
Defense
DL — Kameron Doyle, Sr.; Cole Johnson, Jr.; LB — Brock Fowler, Sr.; Darrell Smith, Sr.; DB — Trevor Hay, Sr.; Caden McGhee, Sr.
Second Team
Offense
OL — Riley Hixson, Sr.; RB — Adam Gisler, Jr.; WR — Ty Christopher, Jr.
Defense
DL — Archie Wesley, Sr.; DB — Montez Clemons, Sr.
Special Teams
K — Jackson Goodale, Jr.
Honorable Mention
Offense
OL — Drew Doll, Sr.; Owen Rawlings, Sr.; RB — Dayton Doll, Sr.; Isaiah Seymour, Sr.; TE — Brooks Hall, Jr.; WR — Lane Webb, Sr.
Defense
DL — Jordan Miller, Sr.; Cale Buntz, Jr.; LB — Cobe Pollard, Sr.
PrepsKC McCarthy Elite Team
QB — Rocco Marriott, Jr.; DB — Trevor Hay, Sr.
Offensive Player of the Year — Rocco Marriott, Jr.
Overall MVP — Rocco Marriott, Jr.
ALL-SIMONE TEAM
QB — Rocco Marriott, Jr.; WR — Tres Baskerville, Jr.
Simone Award Finalist — Rocco Marriott, Jr.
