Gisler’s return helps spark another offensive onslaught in win over Smithville

Expected to provide a big boost to offensive balance, Adam Gisler wasted little time in showing how badly he missed playing a role in the state’s most dynamic offense.

Platte County’s star senior running back returned after sitting out the past two games with a shoulder injury and ripped off a big run on each of the first two touchdown drives Friday night in front of a packed homecoming crowd at Pirate Stadium. The Pirates ended up rolling start to finish in a dominant 49-7 victory over rival Smithville with senior quarterback Rocco Marriott tying a school record with six touchdown passes in one game — two to senior wide receiver Ty Christopher.

Gisler added a rushing score and went over 100 yards for the first time this season, helping Platte County improve to 6-0 overall and extend Missouri’s longest current active winning streak to 20 while the defending state champions continue to rank No. 1 in the Class 5 Missouri media poll with all nine first-place votes.

“Felt great. It was really energetic,” said Gisler, thrust into a starting role as a sophomore in a 1,000-yard season before playing a key role in a 1-2 punch during an all-state junior campaign. “We brought the crowd. It was really hype, really fun. Glad to be back.”

Gisler also factored into Marriott’s record night, beating double coverage to haul in a 28-yard touchdown reception at the back of the end zone. The catch came on a fourth-and-15 in the final minute of the second quarter and sent Platte County (6-0) into halftime with a 42-0 lead. The Pirates scored touchdowns on all six drives in the first half in another incredibly efficient effort.

Smithville (4-2), which entered ranked No. 6 in the Class 4 Missouri media poll but dropped to No. 7 with the loss, took a knee on the final snap before halftime.

Platte County brought out the starting offense out of halftime, and Marriott orchestrated a quick six-play scoring drive. He completed all five passes on the march with senior reserve running back Zach Burch also taking his only carry for 4 yards.

Christopher hauled in a short bubble screen and rumbled 17 yards for his second receiving touchdown, and with the lead at 49-0, the running clock continued to roll for the rest of the second half.

“It’s just kind of one of those momentum things,” Gisler said. “We were driving down the field, and once we got the momentum, we were good.”

Marriott finished 12 of 15 for 256 yards with half of the completions going for scores. He tied the school record of six touchdown passes in a game Tanner Clarkson set in Week 1 of the 2017 season against Grandview.

The performance came a week after Marriott completed 15 of 16 attempts for 336 yards and five scores with a backwards pass to senior wide receiver Braiden Stevens going down as an 82-yard touchdown rush to keep him from hitting the mark. Marriott threw his only three interceptions of the season in wins over Fort Osage (46-7) and Washburn Rural (Kansas) (60-28) in Weeks 3 and 4.

Marriott also recently broke the school record for total offense in a career, now well over 8,000 yards rushing and passing. Sherman previously set a mark of 7,936 from 1999-2002.

“If we have a full game, we could score more so props to (Rocco). He did a great job,” Gisler said.

Smithville managed less than 100 yards of offense but did gain five first downs in the first half. The Warriors didn’t see the ball until 7 minutes, 51 seconds remained in the third quarter and didn’t break the shutout until senior quarterback Peyton Steffen went 7 yards into the end zone on a quarterback draw with 3:36 left in the game.

Platte County’s defense just missed the first shutout of the season, having now allowed fourth quarter touchdowns in three games that ended up as the only score allowed. The Pirates were again dominant up front with senior defensive tackle Cole Johnson finishing with seven tackles (five for loss), while senior defensive end Cale Buntz ended up with a pair of sacks and junior defensive end Brody Hawk piled up a career-high eight tackles (two for loss).

“You always want to have a goose egg on the board, but it’s not the end of the world but definitely some frustration with the seven points,” Buntz said.

Smithville did come out aggressive early. The Warriors unsuccessfully gambled on a fourth and short deep in their own territory early, converted a fake punt to extend their second possession and blocked Platte County’s first extra point attempt. The Pirates were able to successfully counter each and forced a pair of turnovers to help fuel the offensive onslaught.

On the game’s opening possession, Johnson led a combined stop for a loss of 2 yards on fourth and 1 to set up Platte County at Smithville’s 36. Gisler took the carry on the Pirates’ first offensive snap for 16 yards, and Marriott hit Baskerville for a 20-yard touchdown seconds later.

The blocked kick left the score at 6-0.

“We’ve been preaching to play the way we play and worry about ourselves and do what we do,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “I think by doing that they don’t get too high or too low, and that comes with some maturity from our guys, as well.”

Smithville’s next possession included a 24-yard completion and then a 7-yard fake punt run on a fourth-and-6 to reach midfield. The Warriors ended up punting and nearly forced a three-and-out.

Instead, Marriott scrambled for 19 yards to convert a third and nine, and on the next play, Gisler endured contact in the backfield and broke out of multiple tackles for a 53-yard gain down the home sideline, a play accounting for nearly half of his 114 total on 10 carries.

Marriott’s second touchdown pass went 7 yards to Stevens, who tied Platte County’s career record for receiving scores at 27 on the play. The two-point pass went to senior tight end Jack Utz to put the Pirates up 14-0 with 4:40 left in the first quarter.

“(Gisler) was chomping at the bit,” Bill Utz said. “We knew going into it right away we were going to start getting him involved and getting him back into the offense. He’s such an explosive player that we knew he would be able to do some good things.”

Buntz recorded sacks on two of Smithville’s next three plays, knocking the ball loose from sophomore quarterback Quentin Morse on the second with Platte County senior defensive end JoJo Wolo (one tackle) falling on the loose ball for the turnover at the Warriors 24-yard line. Making his first career start, Morse appeared to injure his leg on the play and did not return, putting Steffen back under center.

The duo combined to go 7 of 15 for 100 yards.

“I actually did not know I forced (the fumble),” Buntz said. “I saw Hawk, JoJo had the due wrapped up, and then he ran straight toward me. My eyes got big, popped him.”

Platte County ran on all three plays after the first turnover with Marriott going 19 to put the ball at the 5, and Gisler scored from 4 yards out to extend the lead to 21-0. He essentially missed three games after taking only three carries for 31 yards and a score against Fort Osage before exiting with the shoulder injury.

Gisler returned to a deeper line that still includes a trio of seniors — Quinn Lightle (left tackle), Michael Poncavage (left guard) and Lucas Dillingham (center) — plus junior right guard Reece Moppin and junior right tackle Cooper Koenigsfeld. Dillingham, Moppin and Koenigsfeld are all first-year starters, while freshman Jayden Horn continues to rotate in at both guard spots having filled in for Poncavage when he missed the Fort Osage game with a head injury.

“We all know what we can do, and we’ve got talent,” Gisler said.

Steffen’s first pass after replacing Morse came on a first and 10 early in the second quarter, and the deep shot down the left sideline ended up picked off.

Platte County senior Mudiaga Egbedeju tracked the ball over his shoulder and made a juggling catch before going out of bounds in a memorable first career interception. He continued to play more cornerback, having now appeared in the past three games after a delayed start to his season due to a lack of required practices. The Pirates’ deep defensive backfield now utilizes Egbedeju and senior Adeboye Akande (one tackle) and junior Jordan Moore at cornerback.

Egbedeju also finished with one tackle but also recorded a sack in addition to the interception.

Platte County then rotated senior Mogie Walkingstick (one tackle) and juniors Matt Cisco (five tackles), Devin Lumm (four tackles), Maverick Troncin (three tackles) and Jack Johnson (two tackles) at the safety spots. Pirates junior defensive tackle Kyler Parker, the starter next to Johnson, added two tackles, while the starting linebacker duo of senior KJ Stallings (three tackles) and junior Carlos Baskerville (four tackles, two for loss) were again solid before giving way to the reserves after halftime.

“One of the things we haven’t done a great job of so far this year is sudden change on a turnover and then capitalizing or doing the opposite,” Bill Utz said. “We made an emphasis on that this week in practice, and it worked out exactly the way we anticipated. The turnovers, correct, we haven’t got as many as we maybe have wanted, but Mudiaga’s play on the sideline was a tremendous play.”

Following Egbedeju’s interception, Marriott needed just three plays to score another touchdown, hitting Christopher for 47 yards to increase the lead to 28-0. He found the end zone twice for a second straight week after having penalties erase a long touchdown against both Fort Osage and Washburn Rural — each instance coming in the closing minutes of those first halves.

Smihville actually reached the red zone on the next drive thanks to a 42-yard run from senior running back Austin Clevenger, but Egbedeju’s sack led to a fourth and long and eventually a turnover on downs.

Marriott hit Utz for a 36-yard gain down the sideline, while Gisler ran twice for 25 yards to set up a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Brooks Hall. After forcing a punt while up 35-0, Platte County added to the lead before halftime. Two of Marriott’s incompletions plus a false start penalty set up the fourth and 15 with Gisler running a seam route out of the backfield and ended up the target in a tight window with just 25 seconds on the clock before halftime.

“I just kind of saw the ball and had to make sure I got it, and I did so I’m pretty happy. It was a great ball by Rocco,” Gisler said. “It was a play designed for me to go straight and him to throw it (there), and it worked perfectly.”

Marriott went 7-for-10 in the first half around 10 rushing attempts for Gisler with five of those passes going for scores.

Tres Baskerville ended up leading Platte County in receiving with three catches for 81 yards, while Christopher also finished with three receptions for 69 yards and the two scores. Jack Utz (47 yards) and Stevens (19 yards) hauled in two apiece while Gisler and Hall saw their only catches go for touchdowns.

In the limited time of possession after going up 49-0, Platte County did let junior quarterback Brandon Reynolds throw, and he completed 2 of 4 passes for 40 yards with one of the connections going 30 yards on a juggling grab for junior wide receiver Jude Brown. Will Jackson, a sophomore wideout, also came up with his first career catch for 10 yards. The Pirates’ reserve running backs were sophomore Caleb Hill (three carries, -6 yards) and junior Cassius Guillory (one carry, 8 yards), while sophomore quarterback Paxton Bennett also gained 3 yards on one attempt.

“There’s a lot of weapons,” Bill Utz said. “I don’t think there’s enough room for everyone to make plays every night, but they’ve done a nice job of spreading the ball around and taking turns and letting the offense happen where it happens.”

Platte County’s defense nearly held the shutout with the limited production after halftime. The Pirates rotated through multiple looks with senior defensive end Cooper Hammontree (five tackles) and junior linebacker Hank Fowler (four tackles, one for loss) seeing snaps in both halves.

In addition, Platte County sophomore safeties Hank Marriott and Nolan Sipes finished with two tackles apiece, while sophomore defensive tackle Miller Bigus and sophomore cornerback Eric Dooley added one each for a unit continuing to build depth with a clear focus.

“Get better every day,” Buntz said.

Coupled with Rockhurst’s 36-29 loss to Blue Springs, Platte County moved into first place in the Class 5 District 8 standings for the first time this season, but the points can continue to shuffle in the coming week. Rockhurst now sits at 5-1 but continues to play a strong schedule, while the Pirates will be heavy favorites against Truman (2-4), Ruskin (1-5) and Raytown (5-1) in the next three games.

Raytown has won five straight since a 34-7 loss to Grain Valley in Week 1.

Platte County’s six wins this season have included a running clock at some point in five of them — the lone exception coming against Washburn Rural when a botched punt snap and interception helped set up a pair of short fields that the Junior Blues turned into two touchdowns in the first half. The Pirates have yet to trail this season and haven’t been behind since Week 3 of the 2024 undefeated state championship season when Fort Osage held an early 7-0 lead in an eventual 15-point loss.

“Our streak, we won one game this week and we hope to win another next week,” Bill Utz said. “I purposely let these guys focus on the present and deal with that. I worry about the other stuff and let them know what the track ahead looks like. You keep track of some of this stuff, but right now, we’re in a situation where we’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing, and there’s too many things still left to fall into place to see where we’re going and how the postseason is going to play out.

“We want to finish these last three games in a positive manner, and then we’ll take the next challenge as it comes.”