Fowler totals 3 TDs to help Platte County bounce back, stay above .500

Through the air or by ground, Kade Fowler looked comfortable in the perceptibly best performance so far in the early stages of a promising career.

Platte County’s sophomore quarterback played turnover-free in a a 37-0 blowout of Raytown critical to the Class 5 District 8 standings. He set a career-high with 201 passing yards on just 10 completions and totaled three touchdowns Friday night at Pirate Stadium while taking advantage of the defense’s second shutout of the season.

Coming off of a frustrating loss to Grain Valley, Platte County (4-2) stayed in the Suburban Conference White Division title race.

“Just being more comfortable in the system, just throwing to my guys — a better connection,” said Fowler, who threw a total of three interceptions over the previous two weeks and acknowledged the sixth start of his career felt like his best. “I don’t really feel the pressure. Just go out and have fun, play football.”

Raytown (4-2) didn’t gain a first down until more than 3 minutes into the second half and lost a second straight game in White Division play by a cumulative score of 77-0. Fort Osage beat the Bluejays 40-0 a week earlier.

Platte County remained ranked No. 6 in the most recent Class 5 Missouri Media poll but now hosts Fort Osage (3-3) this Friday in the matchup to determine the top seed in District 8. The winner also takes a big step toward earning at least a share of the conference title.

“I wouldn’t say angry (about the loss to Grain Valley),” said Platte senior cornerback Jordan Moore, who posted two tackles and an interception in the second half of the win over Raytown. “We knew what we had to do; we know what we had to fix. We practice hard this week. We came out and made a statement tonight.”

A week after allowing 25 points, Platte County’s defense looked suffocating from the start, recording a pair of turnovers and recording six sacks while making Raytown junior quarterback Kayden Downing uncomfortable. The Bluejays committed a holding penalty on the opening kickoff and immediately went three-and-out in a disastrous opening sequence that set a tone.

Platte County took advantage of a short field with Fowler faking a handoff and scoring from 22 yards out on a bootleg right, stumbling out of a late tackle attempt and falling into the end zone to put the Pirates up 7-0 less than 3 minutes into the first quarter.

After a second three-and-out, Raytown missed out on the lone chance to steal momentum.

Fowler’s 44-yard completion to senior wide receiver Noah Omoike set up a goal-to-go situation for Platte County, but the Bluejays produced a goal-line stand to take over inside their own 1. The Pirates’ defense immediately produced back-to-back stops on run plays that nearly resulted in safeties before Downing blindly chucked a third-down pass well out of bounds in the direction of no one in particular to set up another short punt.

“We harped all week: energy out of the gate,” Moore said. “I felt like we came out flat against Grain Valley, but I feel like we did a great job tonight.”

Platte County’s ensuing touchdown drive totaled just 37 yards with the final 9 coming on a pass over the middle from Fowler to senior wide receiver Jude Brown — his third of the season. The Pirates led 14-0 with 1:35 left in the first quarter.

Raytown’s first turnover came on a fumble Platte County senior safety Matt Cisco forced with senior defensive tackle Kyler Parker (one tackle for loss and one sack) recovering the loose ball. That set up the first of two 1-yard touchdown runs on back-to-back possessions from junior running back Caleb Hill.

Platte County ended up punting on the final drive of the first half but still took a 28-0 lead into halftime despite the missed goal-to-go situation.

“We did exactly what we needed to do to take control of the game,” Platte County coach Derek Yost said.

Platte County took the opening kickoff of the second half, and a 61-yard completion to Omoike set up the final touchdown. Fowler hit him for a 9-yard score three plays later with a third down pass, and a blocked extra point kept the running clock from going into effect until much later in the third quarter.

Moore’s third interception of the season came on an over-the-shoulder grab near the goal line, and a penalty negated the majority of a return to near midfield.

“We were practicing that concept, that deep post from that tall receiver all week,” Moore said. “D-line got pressure, so I feel like it’s just a good team play and I’m the one to get the highlight from it, I guess.”

Platte County still took advantage with senior kicker Sterling Wilson hitting a career-long 34-yard field goal with 45 seconds left in the third quarter. This marked his fifth straight game with at least one made field goal despite seeing his perfect season on extra points miss with the earlier block.

The running clock did limit the remaining plays in an overall successful all-around performance.

Raytown did successfully limit Platte County’s previously consistent rushing attack with Hill gaining just 63 yards on 21 carries but pushing his season total of touchdowns to 11 — at least one in all six games. The Pirates were without junior center Miller Bigus (shoulder) for a second straight week, and senior Reece Moppin shifted inside to replace him, while junior Gabe Mitchell made a second start at right guard next to junior tackle Max Shuey.

Platte County seniors Cooper Koenigsfeld (tackle) and James Moiyallah (guard) remained on the left side, while senior Tiernan Nedved received rotational snaps at guard. The Pirates have also been without sophomore Daxton Leuschen (knee) since Week 2, testing the depth of offensive line’s interior. Fowler added 51 yards on three attempts — the other two after the designed run both productive scrambles — and junior running back Brady McDaniel totaled 25 yards rushing on seven attempts.

Late in the game, Platte County senior running back Devin Smith, an emerging special teams ace who totaled three tackles, ran twice for 20 yards in his first carries since Week 3.

“I don’t know if I believe int he whole coach cliche, but there’s a whole lot of fight in that dog,” Yost said. “Doesn’t matter about our size. We’ve got some of those guys on our O-line.”

Fowler went 10-for-18 passing and set a career-high for passing yards in a second straight game. He threw for 181 in the loss to Grain Valley. His completions were spread out to five different receivers with junior Nolan Sipes out due to a knee injury suffered a week earlier.

Omoike finished with four catches for a career-high 122 yards, nearly double his previous best total of 62 against Grain Valley, while Brown added two receptions and sophomore wide receiver Owen Yates made one grab for 10 yards. The other three completions were to tight ends — freshman Braxton Seifert (two for 15 yards) and junior Hank Marriott (one for 16 yards).

The 20.1 yards per completion continue to back up Fowler’s consistently accurate deep balls.

“That’s exactly what you want to see out of a sophomore quarterback is that steady progression and somebody who is hungry week in and week out,” Yost said. “He’s been great about just going about doing his business — staying super level-headed and doing exactly what we ask of him. I couldn’t be more pleased with his performance.”

Platte County sophomore defensive tackle Phin McMain recorded a team-high five tackles (two for loss) plus a half sack in the Pirates’ first shutout since blanking William Chrisman 38-0 in Week 3. Brody Hawk, a senior, started at one defensive end and posted 1 1/2 sacks plus a tackle, while junior Sam Smith (four tackles, one for loss) made his season debut and split snaps with fellow junior Greyson Reik.

Hawk now has a team-high five sacks this season.

Platte County senior linebackers Carlos Baskerville (four tackles, three for loss), Hank Fowler (four tackles, one for loss plus a forced fumble and a sack) and Maverick Troncin (one tackle) saw production limited due to the front four’s solid play, while Moore and junior cornerback Eric Dooley were noticeably stronger in coverage after some miscues in the loss to Grain Valley.

Platte County senior safeties Cisco (one tackle, one forced fumble), Jack Johnson (three tackles, one for loss) and Devin Lumm (two tackles, one sack) were again productive, while sophomore linebacker Trey Keraus and freshman Rowdy Hawk finished with on tackle apiece in late work to preserve the shutout as did McDaniel and sophomore Collin Taylor on special teams.

Raytown never truly threatened to score in a dismal showing for a team that bolted to a surprise 4-0 start that included an upset of Grain Valley.

“They’re unbelievable, man — best in the state,” Kade Fowler said of Platte County’s defense.

The two-time defending state champions, Platte County still leads the Class 5 District 8 standings with Fort Osage in second and Raytown now fading to third. However, head-to-head results can flip seeds regardless of point totals, meaning the winner of Fort Osage and Platte County on Friday almost assuredly ends up with the No. 1 seed and the corresponding first-round bye.

Fort Osage started 0-3 in a stretch that included a 20-15 loss to Grain Valley, but the three wins over the past three weeks have been by a combined score of 145-8 against William Chrisman, Raytown and Truman.