Doll, Seymour both rush for more than 100 yards in another dominant Platte County win

The disappointment and optimism from an undefeated start both involve not playing up to full potential yet.

Platte County again self-imposed challenges in a rare interstate matchup Friday night at Pirate Stadium. The Pirates fell behind for a second straight week because of an early turnover and directly supplied a pair of touchdowns to Washburn Rural (Kansas) but still pulled away for a dominant 49-20 victory.

Improving to 4-0 and still ranked No. 2 in the Class 5 Missouri media poll, Platte County showcased another facet of this team’s depth with senior running back Dayton Doll totaling three touchdowns, and with junior Adam Gisler out, senior reserve Isaiah Seymour took advantage of additional opportunities with a team-high 123 yards rushing and two late long runs into the end zone to provide the exclamation point. The Pirates pummeled overmatched William Chrisman in Week 1 then navigated three straight top-tier challenges from Grain Valley, Fort Osage and Washburn Rural, a returning Class 6A state semifinalist, despite specific struggles in each.

“This was a tough part of the schedule,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “We knew we had to get an early start. If we played perfect, I’d probably be more concerned, but we haven’t played perfect yet and I don’t know how many games are perfect in a football season. Our kids are playing hard, and they’re making plays and compete like crazy. We’re going to be in every game if we stick with that recipe.”

Platte County led for all of the final three quarters and held Washburn Rural to around 60 yards of total offense until allowing a long touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Yet, the advantage didn’t reach double digits until Doll hauled in an improvisational pass from junior quarterback Rocco Marriott that resulted in a 33-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 4 minutes, 57 seconds left in the third quarter.

Marriott finished 13 of 24 for 223 yards and a touchdown but also threw three interceptions, two returned for touchdowns on the first possession of each half.

Platte County countered with three forced turnovers, including fumble recoveries for sophomore defensive end Brody Hawk and junior defensive tackle Cooper Hammontree, to win the first ever meeting between the two schools. The Pirates have played just 21 games against teams from Kansas in a program history dating to 1907 and improved to 8-9-4, having also most recently swept a home-and-home with Lansing in 2020 and 2021.

“It was just good to get in the mix and get (the turnovers). Once we got that done, we already knew we was gonna win,” said Platte County senior safety Caden McGhee, who matched Smith with seven tackles and added one for loss and a forced fumble. “It did make a difference at the end.”

Platte County’s defense limited Washburn Rural (1-2), which entered off a 38-7 loss to Kansas Class 5A No. 2 Blue Valley, to just 38 yards rushing when factoring in six sacks of junior quarterback John Hoytal — two for senior defensive tackle Kameron Doyle (two tackles), 1 1/2 for junior defensive end Cale Buntz (two tackles, one for loss, forced fumble), one each for senior linebacker-turned-safety Darrell Smith (seven tackles) and sophomore linebacker Carlos Baskerville (four tackles plus one for loss and a forced fumble) and a half for senior defensive end Archie Wesley. The Junior Blues gained 31 on a scramble for Hoytal on the second play where officials appeared to incorrectly flag defensive holding as he escaped the pocket instead of on the wide receiver who was no longer running a route.

Hoytal finished with 29 yards rushing and went 7 of 14 passing for 102 yards, while Washburn Rural junior running back TJ Minikwu totaled just 5 yards on six carries and senior running back Lafayette Thompson added 2 yards on four attempts. The Junior Blues were under 100 yards of offense until Hoytal hit senior wide receiver Blake Recinos for a 77-yard touchdown to pull within 35-20 early in the fourth quarter.

“Defense was solid the whole time,” Utz said.

Hoytal’s long scramble on the opening drive put Washburn Rural across the 50 before punting at the Pirates’ 44. Three plays later on third and five, the Junior Blues defensive line batted a Marriott pass into the air, and junior linebacker Jordy Heim came up with an interception he returned 16 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead less than 4 minutes into the game.

A week earlier, Fort Osage took advantage of a muffed punt to score the opening touchdown in what ended up a 28-13 come-from-behind win for Platte County.

“Any time you give the other team points when we’re on offense that’s really frustrating because our defense is really good and they’re doing everything they can to not give up those points,” Utz said.

Different from the win against Fort Osage, Platte County finally created some critical turnover luck to tie the score. The Pirates were forced into a punt on the next possession, but Thompson didn’t catch the kick cleanly.

Platte County junior defensive lineman Cole Johnson (one tackle) fell on the loose ball to create a possession deep in Washburn Rural territory. The Pirates needed just two plays to take advantage, a 30-yard completion from Marriott to junior wide receiver Tres Baskerville and a 2-yard touchdown plunge for Doll — the first for him since his sophomore year.

Doll split time between slot wide receiver and the backfield in 2022 for Platte County and opened his junior campaign as the No. 1 running back only to suffer a season-ending injury in the first half of a Week 1 win over Kearney. The Pirates eventually saw Gisler run for 1,200 yards in 2023 during a breakout sophomore season and had split the two backs fairly evenly through the first two weeks before Gisler suffered a shoulder injury early against Fort Osage.

Back in the featured roll, Doll ran for over 100 yards for just the second time and first since going for a career-high 138 in a Class 5 District 8 win over William Chrisman in his sophomore season.

“Feels real good. All credit to my O-line,” said Doll, who finished with 121 yards on 20 carries to go with three catches for 36 yards. “It’s been a battle from the surgery to now; it’s been a struggle, but just hard work and grinding.”

Platte County took the lead for good on the next drive. Marriott hit Tres Baskerville for 28 yards, and Seymour’s first carry went for 13 yards to quickly put the Pirates in the red zone. A third-and-9 completion to leaping junior wide receiver Ty Christopher resulted in a 14-yard touchdown and capped a 70-yard drive.

Up 14-7 with 18 seconds left in the second quarter, Platte County continued to control proceedings but didn’t score any more points before halftime. The Pirates bypassed a 42-yard field goal attempt and turned the ball over on downs on the first possession of the second quarter, and Marriott threw a contested interception in the end zone on another fourth down play in Junior Blues territory.

Platte County also saw Marriott flagged for an illegal forward pass after crossing the line of scrimmage before hitting senior wide receiver Lane Webb for an apparent touchdown. Then a holding flag negated the dual-threat quarterback’s scramble into the end zone on the same drive, which ended with a missed field goal as time expired in the second quarter.

“Kind of a situation like any first half where you have to see what the other team is going to do — how they’re going to defend you and vice versa,” Utz said. “I felt like we were a little bit out of sync all around for whatever reason, but not so much out of sync that we were completely destroying ourselves. It was something we were able to work for.”

On the first play out of halftime, Marriott threw late into the flat for Tres Baskerville, and Washburn Rural junior linebacker Elijah Gaines stepped in front, tipped the pass to himself and returned the interception 35 yards for another touchdown.

However, a missed extra point kept Platte County ahead 14-13.

“You wanna score on that last possession of the half and then come back and get the score and go up two scores (after halftime). We literally did the exact opposite,” Bill Utz said. “Didn’t take advantage and then game them points. Honestly, them missing the kick and keeping us in front by a point provided some relief.”

After the second pick-six, Marriott immediately led a 75-yard touchdown drive with a highlight 36-yard completion where Tres Baskerville shook a defender and rumbled into Washburn Rural territory. Doll carried on the next two plays, breaking multiple tackles on the second attempt before stretching the ball across the goal line for his second touchdown.

Washburn Rural, which didn’t have a first down in the second half until the final two drives, immediately went three-and-out. Marriott completed three straight passes, the last the 33-yarder to Doll that put the Pirates up 28-13 with 4:57 left in the third quarter.

Marriott entered the game with 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions in the first three weeks but overcame the miscues to finish with more than 250 yards of total offense and two scores. Tres Baskerville finished with team-highs of six catches and 146 yards but didn’t find the end zone for the first time this season, the same for junior wide receiver Braiden Stevens, who didn’t record a catch after putting up seven touchdowns through three weeks.

Platte County junior tight end Jack Utz (21 yards) and Christopher (20 yards) finished with two catches each, including Christopher’s third touchdown of the season.

“That’s growth,” Bill Utz said. “That’s Rocco a year older, and we see the improvement. We started to do some other stuff by design to get his mind off (the turnovers) and run the ball. He’s such a talented athlete and can do multiple things, so we aren’t forced to just keep passing it. We’re able to move some things around, get the ball in other people’s hands, and he doesn’t have to do it all if it’s not quite clicking. He was able to get his focus back and make a lot of plays in the second half.

“Adversity happens, and he worked his way through it.”

Washburn Rural’s next drive ended with Buntz strip sacking Hoytal and Hammontree recovering, but Platte County’s ensuing drive ended in a blocked field goal. The Junior Blues punted after another three-and-out, and Doll’s 23-yard run on the next play went to their 18-yard line.

Seymour nearly scored to cap that drive, but on the first snap of the fourth quarter, Marriott ran around right end for a 2-yard touchdown to increase Platte County’s lead to 35-13. Seymour’s highlights came on the next two possessions, breaking a 47-yard touchdown up the middle with a few broken tackles along the way to answer the Junior Blues’ long passing score and then a similar 38-yarder for the Pirates’ final points with 6:20 left in regulation.

Platte County players rushed to celebrate the second of Seymour’s touchdowns with junior left tackle Quinn Lightle taking the opportunity to “fly” him high into the air with a celebratory lift.

“That’s my guy, Seymour,” Doll said. “He’s been grinding for so long. He hasn’t had his time to shine, and he finally let it shine. You know, he did all he could. It was amazing.

“I didn’t know he had it like that, but he showed me.”

Now with three touchdowns on the season, Seymour set a career-high for rushing yards in a game and Platte County totaled 270 on the ground. The Pirates’ previous season-high of 160 came in Week 1 against William Chrisman.

Platte County’s scoring average now sits at nearly 47 points per game, but the offensive line combination of Lightle, senior left guard Gus Keeton, senior Riley Hixson, senior right guard Drew Doll and senior right tackle Owen Rawlings seemingly provided evidence of the expected run-pass balance. The Pirates gashed Washburn Rural’s consistent three-man front in the best run-blocking performance to date for a unit with three returning starters.

Marriott finished with 25 yards rushing while sophomore running backs Ben Horsely (2 carries, 3 yards) and Devin Smith (one carry, -1 yards) and sophomore reserve quarterback Brandon Reynolds (two carries, -1 yards) all made their varsity debuts with the large lead in place late.

“We knew going in that if we kind of lean on (Washburn Rural) a little we might be able to get things going,” Bill Utz said. “It was great to see Seymour go. Dayton had a great night, as well, and then it’s fun to watch Seymour get going and show what he can do.”

Platte County’s defense continued to provide somewhat deceptive point totals to opponents. After a 58-0 shutout of William Chrisman, the Pirates allowed two 80-yard touchdown runs and gave up a pair of safeties in a 52-21 blowout of Grain Valley, and Fort Osage’s two touchdowns came on a short field off of an early turnover and a score on the final play against reserves.

Washburn Rural’s two defensive scores and one long pass play clouded an otherwise stellar performance.

“Big credit to the defense,” Doll said. “We had a lot of three-and-outs and some turnovers, and they just came right back and stopped them and stopped them and stopped them.”

Platte County even did so with Carlos Baskerville receiving his first start in place of senior star Cobe Pollard alongside senior linebacker Brock Fowler (three tackles plus one for loss), a transfer from Staley in just his fourth game with the Pirates. However, the defensive line continued to shine, especially Doyle — a third-year starter on the inside who led the team in sacks last season and now is tied for second behind Fowler’s three.

The deep rotation up front also includes starting senior defensive tackle Jordan Miller (two tackles) with Hawk, Johnson, Hammontree and sophomore Kyler Parker (one tackle plus one for loss) helping back up him, Buntz, Wesley and Doyle.

Platte County continues to navigate a list of injuries that grew to include Pollard (foot), while senior cornerback Taylor Stambersky (foot) will miss the rest of the season. McGhee, who added a pass breakup suffered a scare with a shoulder injury in Week 2 but has played the majority of the last two weeks in one of three safety spots along with Darrell Smith and senior Trevor Hay (four tackles, one pass breakup), while senior Bronson Ryan (two pass breakups) received his second straight start in place of Stambersky and opposite senior Montez Clemons (five tackles). The Pirates have also given additional time to sophomore safety Jack Johnson (two tackles plus one for loss).

“I felt more comfortable this week and just being able to trust my guys and everyone do their job, we were real successful,” said McGhee, who missed the majority of his junior season after suffering a torn ACL in a Week 3 win against North Kansas City.

With Carthage losing to Class 6 tied for No. 3-ranked Nixa on Friday, Platte County received all but one of nine second-place votes in the most recent Class 5 Missouri Media Rankings and remained No. 2 behind two-time defending state champion Cardinal Ritter (4-0), the Class 3 winner in 2022 and Class 5 last year. Carthage dropped one spot to No. 5.

Platte County also has the top spot in the current Class 5 District 8 standings in front of No. 4-ranked St. Pius X (3-1 with lone loss to Class 6 No. 1 Rockhurst), Central (St. Joseph) (2-1) and Fort Osage (2-2) in the seven-team field. The Pirates have now passed the most difficult part of the schedule and travel to Belton (1-3), which has lost three straight since beating Excelsior Springs in Week 1, for a Suburban Conference White Division matchup before a road game at rival Smithville (3-1), which continues to rank No. 3 in Class 4 after beating Class 6 Oak Park on Friday a week after a decisive loss to Class 4 No. 2 Kearney (4-0).

“We’re surely not gonna take anyone lightly,” McGhee said. “We’ve still gotta keep pushing, keep working.”