Hobbled and wobbled, Platte County survives OT thriller to capture 2nd straight state title

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The ball fluttered into the air, and an impressively raucous crowd at Spratt Stadium almost seemed to go silent at once.

Carthage didn’t have a receiver immediately in the area, and a delayed celebration began in earnest with no reprieve coming this time. Platte County found a dramatic, legendary, deserved finish to a second straight unbeaten season, surviving for a 34-28 overtime victory in Friday night’s Class 5 Show-Me Bowl. The Pirates extended the state’s longest winning streak to 28 and captured the fifth state championship in program history — all with perfect 14-0 records — despite senior quarterback Rocco Marriott playing the majority of the game with a clearly significant leg injury.

On the first play of the first half of the first overtime, Platte County senior running back Adam Gisler worked open and caught a pass, weaving through defenders for a 25-yard touchdown. Carthage created an opportunity with a blocked extra point, but four plays later and one controversial video review later, the Tigers threw an incomplete pass on fourth down to bring a conclusion to a tightly contested game that featured three ties.

“I told these guys before the game, I said No. 1, they were meant to play in this game. No. 2, they’re meant to win this game, and this group is meant to win this game,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “That’s not taking anything away from Carthage. They played their tails off. They’re coached well. Everything is great, but I have an unbelievably special group.

“It was just supposed to happen this way.”

Platte County survived. The Pirates never trailed but needed a series of defensive stops in the second half to give a hobbled Marriott the chances needed to deliver in epic fashion considering the stage. His emotions in the immediate aftermath of the final play were raw.

“This whole week I didn’t know how I was going to react when the clock hit zero, whether it was excited or obviously just sad like I was,” Marriott said. “Just growing up with the same group of guys, practices every single day in fourth grade all the way through now, it’s just crazy to think that’s all over, and it really all hit me at once. I’m just so thankful for my time here.”

Carthage (12-2) ran for 280 yards total and attempted only eight passes but went to the air on the decisive fourth and 2 play in overtime. On the previous play, senior quarterback Zane Browning gained 3 yards on a sweep left, but Platte County senior defensive end Cale Buntz appeared to punch the ball loose with Pirates senior cornerback Adeboye Akande (one pass breakup) recovering the fumble and bringing an apparent end to the game.

Platte County players and coaches spilled onto the turf in celebration of the turnover and seemingly a victory.

Instead, a long conference from the officials ended with a ruling of down by contact. The Missouri State High School Activities Association instituted limited use of instant replay for this year’s championship games, and a review resulted in the play being upheld.

“I threw my headset somewhere because I thought it was over so yeah, it looked to me like it was very obvious,” Utz said. “I know we’re using replay for the first time, and I know they only have a couple of different angles so I know it’s limited. I can understand that, but me and the rest of the 5,000 people thought (the ball) was out.”

“Emotions were high. I thought I punched it out. I thought he was still up, but evidently not,” added Buntz, who finished with 11 tackles (1 1/2 for loss) plus a half sack. “We had to get our minds back focused. We did that.”

Platte County regrouped the defense, and Browning dropped back to pass but faced significant pressure from Pirates junior defensive end Brody Hawk (eight tackles, one for loss, 1/2 sack) and junior linebacker Carlos Baskerville (team-high 13 tackles, one for loss). The pass came up well short of junior running back/wide receiver Jett Dalton, who dove back without putting a hand on the ball before it hit the ground.

After seeing the original celebration nullified by the ruling and review, Platte County players and coaches rushed off the sideline again in an emotional display of relief. The Pirates endured the runnerup presentation of awards and then collected another state championship plaque with a few members of the team eventually climbing their way into the home stands before being ushered back down off the railing.

“I was stunned, honestly,” Buntz said on his thoughts when Carthage went to pass. “I thought they were just going to run the same play they’d been running the whole time, beatin’ us up. He rolled out, and I thought, oh, that’s how you lose a football game.”

Platte County came out of halftime tied 21-21 with Marriott’s status in question.

Carthage scored the final 14 points of the first half, stealing a possession with a successful onside kick and grabbing clear momentum. However, the Tigers failed on a fourth down near midfield on the opening drive of the third quarter.

Platte County ended up punting but critically a defense that gave up yards in bunches during the first half held again with Akande breaking up a third down pass in what concluded a significant series of plays that shortened the game. Ultimately, Carthage scored just seven points in the second half and overtime on just four full possessions.

“It was about what we hoped. We hoped to run the football and chew up clock and keep their offense off the field, and it almost worked to perfection tonight,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “We had some momentum, I think, in the first half. We scored and got the onside kick. We had some things go our way.”

Following the incomplete pass near midfield, Carthage originally lined up for another fourth-down attempt only to then have Browning drop back and punt. The Tigers downed the ball at the 2.

Platte County needed just four plays to take the lead back. Marriott ducked and dodged defenders in the pocket without his normal mobility on a second and 6 play near midfield and eventually found senior wide receiver Tres Baskerville open over the middle. He raced the rest of the way for a 66-yard touchdown to put the Pirates up 28-21 Utilizing the defensive stops with 1 minute, 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

That gave Platte County a second 98-yard touchdown drive.

“We knew with a team like Carthage you only get limited possessions just because of the style they play,” said Marriott, who hit senior wide receiver Braiden Stevens for 25 yards two plays earlier to move Platte County outside the shadow of the goal line. “So we’re just preaching like no matter no matter where we get the ball whether it’s at (our) 2 or if it’s at the other 2 about to score, you have to get points every single time you can. We were talking about that all week.”

Carthage didn’t blink and converted a pair of fourth downs on an 18-play touchdown drive that chewed up 70 yards and 9:41 of the clock, culminating with an 8-yard touchdown run from Browning.

Platte County took over with 3:50 remaining in regulation, and Marriott managed to drive the Pirates across midfield. He even gained 7 yards while converting a fourth and 2 with a scramble to his left that saw him hopping on one leg to get out of bounds.

Carthage senior defensive end Landon Bland, an Oklahoma State signee, sacked Marriott two plays later, and Tres Baskerville nearly corralled a deep pass that would’ve created a red zone opportunity on third down. Platte County opted to punt, and Carthage ran just one play before settling for a shot at overtime.

“Normally with this team, the (pass) we threw to Tres is a touchdown,” Utz said. “It just happened to drop this time, so they kept fighting and kept playing.”

Carthage won the toss ahead of overtime and opted start on defense

Marriott took the final snap of his career on Platte County’s 37th offensive play of the game and the only one needed in overtime. He managed to move around just enough to his right, allowing Gisler, who ran for 144 yards on just 12 carries, to leak out of the backfield and make his only catch then make multiple tacklers miss on the way to the end zone.

“I saw him catch that in open space. He just ran around two dudes like it’s nothing,” Platte County senior tight end Brooks Hall said.

The blocked extra point created an extra layer of intrigue to an already eventful game.

Carthage’s next three runs gained just 8 yards with Buntz credited with two stops and Carlos Baskerville the other, ultimately resulting in a difficult fourth down scenario.

Platte County came up big once again with Browning’s final throw leaving him with a final line of 4 of 8 for 84 yards. Carthage appeared in a state title game for just the second time in program history and first since winning the Class 5 championship in 2019, incidentally with a 27-21 overtime win against Jackson.

“Pretty painful, not gonna lie,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “Any time you lose, it’s hard. The manner in which we lost makes it even harder.”

Rotating through multiple defensive looks to combat the run-heavy attack, Platte County’s defensive tackle duo of senior Cole Johnson (five tackles, one for loss) and junior Kyler Parker taking on a more important role while occasionally utilizing senior Cooper Hammontree in a five-man front with Buntz, Hawk and rotational senior defensive end JoJo Wolo. The Pirates mostly maintained the 4-3 look that became the norm when junior Hank Fowler (five tackles) moved into the starting lineup in Week 9 against Raytown, putting him next to senior KJ Stallings (six tackles, two for loss) and Carlos Baskerville.

Platte County replaced 10 of 11 starters from last year’s Class 5 title team and stayed the course of rotating through defensive backs in an effort to balance a commitment to defenders in the box and staying disciplined against the pass. Late in the season, the Pirates’ starting cornerbacks were Akande and senior Mudiaga Egbedeju (four tackles) after he gained eligibility with the minimum number of practices prior to Week 5 while still rotating in junior Jordy Moore (three tackles). Jack Johnson (one tackle), another junior, played outside and at safety behind the starters — senior Mogie Walkingstick (nine tackles) and junior Matt Cisco (four tackles, one forced fumble). The Pirates also intermittently used junior Devin Lumm (four tackles) in certain situations while trying to sure up the defensive unit during a tough postseason stretch.

“Having a powerful offense like we did, it’s kind of fitting that they won it on defense because it’s the epitome of what a team is supposed to do and we had each other’s backs,” Utz said.

Marriott went 11 for 18 for 186 yards with a pair of touchdowns while rushing for 42 more yards on seven attempts, including one sack taken. He finishes one of the best statistical careers for an 11-man quarterback in state history with nearly 9,000 yards passing and 118 touchdowns.

However, the final game should be remembered much more for the circumstances of Marriott’s resolve while dealing with an injury than the numbers.

“My leg would’ve had to have been broken completely in half, to be honest. Nothing was going to take me off the field,” said Marriott, who spread his completions to to senior wide receivers Stevens (five catches, 63 yards), Tres Baskerville (three catches, 86 yards) and Ty Christopher (one catch, 14 yards) and Gisler. “I would do anything just to help win a game, help go out with the right note. Just had to be tough in that moment and did everything for my teammates.”

Platte County took advantage of a short field on the game’s opening possession after Tres Baskerville returned the opening kickoff 62 yards deep into Carthage territory. Gisler went around left end for an 8-yard touchdown that put the Pirates up 7-0 after less than 3 minutes.

Carthage then put the run game on display with a combination of junior running back Landon West (37 carries, 198 yards) and Browning (19 carries, 65 yards) on a drive that took up more than 6 minutes. West ran in from 2 yards out to cap the march and create the first tie.

One touchdown drive later, Platte County started to deal with the reality of Marriott’s injury while senior tight ends Jack Utz and Hall were both limited. Jack Utz left the game with a potentially serious leg injury, while Hall battled flu-like symptoms just to play. Gisler also went down with an ankle injury late in regulation before returning to score the winning touchdown, while Buntz missed multiple plays with a calf cramp after combining with Hawk on a sack in the second half.

“We’re beat up,” Bill Utz said. “We haven’t had injuries all year and finally got some this game. We kinda pieced together a bunch of stuff and were able to get some things done and make some plays.

“We literally took half of our offense and scratched it. What you guys don’t see that second half was even more impressive on how that was able to work.”

Platte County seemed to take control early in the second quarter, but Marriott came up limping after a 7-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-7 in what became an extremely consequential play. The Pirates then came up with what seemed like the crucial stop, only to have a punt pin them at their own 2.

Two plays later, Gisler went around right end and broke multiple tackles before delivering a brutal stiff arm to the final defender in his path along the home sideline, racing 98 yards for a touchdown and then celebrating with Christopher as he sprinted into the end zone with him. Gisler totaled eight touchdowns in the final two games of his career with the longest touchdown run in state championship game history — incidentally breaking a mark of 91 yards shared by multiple players including Platte County graduate Matt Prout in the 2002 Class 3 Show-Me Bowl against Salem — pushing the Pirates’ advantage to 21-7 with 9:15 left in the first half.

Gisler also scored on an 80-yard run in the 2024 state title game, a 49-14 blowout of Helias. His final standout performance put him at 3,296 yards rushing for his career — passing both Joe Henson (3,193; 2002-2005) and R.B. Miller (3,225; 1959-1962) and now third in program history and behind only Mike McNair (3,516; 2013-16) and Zach Sherman (7,727; 1998-2001).

“Yeah, he’s a talent,” Jack Utz said of Gisler. “Adam’s a tremendously hard-working kid and to see him succeed these last couple of weeks like we’ve all seen him do, especially these last two weeks when it means the most, it just means the world.”

However, Marriott went down behind the play with what was originally thought a hamstring injury but ended up later diagnosed as a strain of the ACL and PCL plus a bruised meniscus suffered on his earlier touchdown run. He required assistance to reach the sideline as a heavily packed home grandstand underneath the press box chanted, “Rocco, Rocco, Rocco.”

Unsure of the star quarterback’s status moving forward, Platte County ceded a quick scoring drive that started with Browning’s biggest completion — a 55-yarder to junior wide receiver Tate Nichols behind the defense — an bizarrely finished with a fumble into the end zone that Carthage recovered for a touchdown despite Akande coming out of the pile with the football. The extra point brought the Tigers within seven, and they followed that up by attempting and recovering a quick, well-executed onside kick.

Carthage took full advantage when Browning scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 21-21 with halftime approaching. The score came on fourth-and-goal, four plays after Cisco forced a fumble from West.

The ball went out of bounds on the play with the officials originally awarded possession to Platte County, ruling a touchback based on the ball hitting the pylon. However, the first of two video reviews reversed the call on the field and give the Tigers possession back at the Pirates’ 5.

“We hadn’t dealt with that (adversity) all year,” Bill Utz said. “We were in a situation where obviously we’re tied. That wasn’t that big of a deal. They made a great play on the onside kick to get the possession and then of course get it out of halftime so we knew it was 0-0. That’s how we approached it.”

Marriott took the field on the final possession of the first half but showed signs of lacking his normal versatility as a dual-threat quarterback.

Platte County eventually punted and settled for the tie at halftime and then formulated an unforgettable way to overcome a potentially daunting scenario. The Pirates finished with 370 yards of offense and managed to match Carthage despite the limitations to the normal and expected personnel — a credit to the starting offensive line of seniors Quinn Lightle (left tackle), Michael Poncavage (left guard) and Lucas Dillingham along with junior Cooper Koenigsfeld (right tackle) and freshman Jayden Horn (58), who started the final six games of the season and seven overall.

“They’re like a small college football team over there with their size and speed and physicality and athleticism,” Guidie said.

The closing stretch of the season featured varying levels of adversity.

Platte County overcame a slow start in their postseason opener to blowout St. Pius X but need Marriott’s 1-yard touchdown run on the final play of the Class 5 District 8 championship game to best Rockhurst 29-22. In the quarterfinals, the Pirates survived a back-and-forth second half in the state quarterfinals to beat Grain Valley for the second time this season before an offensive display of 64 points against Kirkwood in the semifinals to set up the first-ever meeting with Carthage, which entered with a lone loss to Class 6 finalist Nixa (13-0).

“Couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” Bill Utz said. “I don’t keep track of how many (wins) we have in a row. I say one, but everybody else has been telling me, and to come in with the pressure of an undefeated last year, where the only thing we could do is do this to just meet expectations is a lot harder than it looks.

“When you have great players like I do, people think that it’s an easy job, and it’s actually harder when the expectations are as high as they are. And you can’t get it done without great kids who believe in what we’re doing.”

This marked the final unimaginably indelible imprint on one of the state’s most historically successful programs from Platte County’s 25 ’26ers making up this year’s senior class. A large contingent of three-year starters helped the Pirates engineer a 9-3 record in 2023 in a quick turnaround from a rare losing season the year before.

Marriott became the unflappable conductor of Platte County’s prolific offense and set lofty career and season school records in every passing category, spreading out completions between Stevens and Tres Baskerville and Jack Utz and Hall and feeding Gisler out of the backfield. Christopher flipped from starting safety as a sophomore to join the wideout contingent and further diversify the Pirates’ attack the past two seasons.

Stevens leaves as Platte County’s all-time leader in receiving yards (2,539) and touchdowns (37), while Tres Baskerville and Christopher still put up some of the best statistical seasons in program history. Utz (Kansas) and Hall (Central Florida) both signed to Power 4 Division I schools.

Lightle anchored the offensive line after taking a tackle spot midway through his freshman year, while Poncavage joined the front five as a junior and Dillingham earned the nod at center over the summer. A fifth senior could have been on the starting unit, but an offseason knee injury cost tackle Ian Gold his entire season.

Zach Burch served as a backup running back the past two seasons and capably made a pair of starts as a senior in addition to serving as the holder on kicks while taking long snaps from Grant Fadler, a special teams ace who overcame an elbow injury suffered in Week 2 to make a return during the postseason run.

Buntz earned a starting role at defensive end as a sophomore and never gave up the spot after an injury provided an initial opening. Cole Johnson earned All-Suburban Conference White Division honors as an impact reserve last season at defensive tackle and became even more dominant with increased snaps a senior.

Stallings and Walkingstick stayed the course and became impact starters as seniors, while Egbedeju and Adakande emerged in a crowded secondary to play a vital role.

Additionally, Hammontree and Wolo became valuable rotational defensive linemen, Drew Tyson and Kylar Howren were both contributors at safety and Nick Clark (offensive tackle) and Andrew Lanier (wide receiver) rounded out a group that will go down a one of the most influential in more than 100 years of football played at Platte County. This particular group of seniors formed a core of team unity in kindergarten and added pieces along the way while cultivating a winning tradition at every level that concluded in an appropriate manner.

“I just don’t know any different with these guys,” Bill Utz said. I don’t even think it was about the winning in this game. I think it’s more that this isn’t the way it’s supposed to happen. This isn’t going to happen this way.”

Platte County went 37-3 combined over the past three seasons, but now comes undeniable change.

This marked the final games for offensive coordinator Jeff Humburg, the only coach on staff for all five of Platte County’s state championships, and defensive coordinator Eric Mitchell, who have spent more than four decades combined on the coaching staff with Humburg having been around for all five of the team’s state championships. Mitchell played football in college at Missouri Western, playing his final game there in 1995. He returned to Spratt Stadium on Friday and called the blitz on his final play in charge of the defense based on the spread formation with Carthage faking a jet sweep to Nichols before Browning tried in vain to quickly find an open receiver.

“When in doubt, send the house,” Mitchell told his assistants of the final decision that delivered the win.

Platte County also must quickly integrate a talented group of underclassmen that have ended up with understandably limited playing time behind a group responsible for the third-longest unbeaten run in program history.

In addition to a record 52-game winning streak that included three unbeaten state titles in Class 3A/3 from 2000-2002, Platte County went 29-0-4 during a stretch from 1959-1963. The Pirates have reached the state semifinals 10 times in the past 27 seasons — five of those since 2017 — and want the next group to have the confidence to immediately add to a growing legacy.

“Expectations have always been the same,” Bill Utz said. “Whether I have kids coming back from a championship before or whether you might have struggled a little bit. The expectations don’t change, and it’s been that way for years.

“We build up from the young kids and try to put the best kids in the best spots and that’s why we coach and get the best out of every kid with every opportunity we get.”