Johnson’s disruptive day on defense stands out in Platte County’s Week 1 romp at William Chrisman

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Amid all the expectations and anticipation, Platte County’s players and coaches were just ready for a game — any game.

William Chrisman ended up on the unfortunate end of untethered fervor from the defending Class 5 state champions in Week 1. Despite a relative slow start, the Pirates were solid in all phases in a 56-7 victory Friday night at William Chrisman High School with the starters not playing after halftime.

Platte County’s experienced offense performed as expected, but senior defensive tackle Cole Johnson led a rebuilt defense that looked disruptive, recording seven tackles (four for loss), a fumble recovery and a blocked punt he returned for a second quarter touchdown.

“Man, you can ask anyone of us. We’ve all wanted to play since spring seven-on-seven,” said Platte County senior tight end Jack Utz, who caught three passes for 39 yards and two touchdowns. “We’ve worked all offseason, and I’m glad it’s finally here.”

Platte County senior quarterback Rocco Marriott finished 14 of 15 for 203 yards and five touchdowns, two to Utz and one each to senior wide receivers Ty Christopher, Braiden Stevens and Tres Baskerville, while senior running back Adam Gisler reached the end zone twice on just eight carries. However, the Pirates needed 10 plays to score on the opening drive with Baskerville fortunate to see a fumble go out of bounds on one, Marriott’s lone incompletion on another and an illegal procedure penalty preceding Gisler’s first touchdown run, a tough 11-yarder up the middle.

Gisler added a 5-yard rushing score on the second drive despite a holding penalty that erased a slithering catch-and-run to the end zone from Stevens.

Platte County led 14-0 with 3 minutes, 29 seconds left in the first quarter but were not even close to top gear yet. The Pirates eventually scored on all seven offensive possession in the first half in addition to Johnson’s score on special teams on the way to a 15th straight victory dating to last year’s unbeaten state championship run — the third longest winning streak in program history and fifth longest unbeaten streak.

As expected with the dominant performance, Platte County earned all nine first-place votes and debuted at No. 1 in the Missouri Media Class 5 state poll released Monday night.

“Not necessarily a slow start but just one of those things where you’re getting back into a new season and probably too amped up,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “You’ve got these high expectations and something may not go quite right, you just circle back and make sure things are in a good place. Once everything got kind of settled down and we got squared away, I thought things looked really good.”

William Chrisman (0-1) didn’t have a first down until after going behind 21-0 late in the first quarter when Marriott found Christopher completely uncovered for a 29-yard score down the right sideline. Immediately after moving the chains, a botched exchange led to a fumble with Johnson pouncing on the loose ball for Platte County’s first turnover of the season. The Pirates ended up allowing just 126 yards of offense with the majority coming with a running clock in the second half against the reserves.

Platte County senior defensive end Cale Buntz, the lone returning starter on defense, ended up with a tackle and a sack, while juniors Brody Hawk (one tackle) and Kyler Parker (one sack) joined Johnson in going from a deep rotation to starting roles. The Pirates went with senior KJ Stallings (three tackles) and junior Carlos Baskerville at linebacker, while rotating through different looks with a deep group of defensive backs that included seniors Mogie Walkingstick, Adeboye Akande (one tackle, one pass breakup), and Drew Tyson and juniors Maverick Troncin (two tackles, one for loss), Matthew Cisco (three tackles), Jack Johnson (two tackles, one for loss) and Jordan Moore.

“I feel like it’s as much my job (to be a leader) as anyone else on our field,” said Cole Johnson, who earned All-Suburban Conference White Division honors as a junior despite not starting a game. “We all keep each other responsible and try to make sure we work together as a team.”

Cole Johnson could be a key to Platte County’s defensive development, now up to four fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks in two year.

“I’ve said it all along; I started saying it last year. As an offensive lineman, Cole Johnson would be the most annoying person I’d ever have to play against,” Bill Utz said. “He just gives tremendous effort. He’s quick; he’s smart. He does things that are different from other kids, and his motor never stops. His productivity on what he does is really, really solid. That’s just a testament to how hard he works.”

Following the fumble recovery for Cole Johnson, Marriott led a three-play drive capped with the first touchdown pass to Utz, a short 6-yarder.

William Chrisman gained an initial first down on the next play from scrimmage but ultimately ended up facing a fourth and 21 and went back to punt. Cole Johnson heeded instructions from coaches to rush if uncovered and broke through to block Alex Freeman’s kick and then scooped up the loose ball and rumbling 10 yards to the end zone for his second career touchdown and first since recovering a fumble in the end zone against Belton last season.

This particular sequence looked very similar to Cole Johnson’s attempt to take a fumble recovery to the end zone in last year’s Class 5 state semifinal against MICDS when he slipped down on a slippery playing surface due to morning snowfall.

“Just keep under my feet, keep going,” he said. “It’s great. I just enjoy being there with my team. They all come and celebrate with me. It’s a fantastic feeling.”

Up 35-0 at that point, Platte County added three more touchdowns in the final 4:35 of the first half. Stevens’ 19-yarder also came after a blown coverage, and Marriott found Jack Utz in the right side of the end zone for a 15-yarder with just 57.3 seconds left before halftime.

On the very next play, Platte County sophomore Greyson Reik (two tackles, one for loss) forced a fumble that senior defensive end Cooper Hammontree (two tackles, one for loss) recovered at the William Chrisman 25-yard line. Marriott then found Tres Baskerville uncovered for a 25-yard score, and junior kicker Sterling Wilson’s extra point, the last of his 8-for-8 performance as a first-year starter, pushed the Pirates’ lead to 56-0 going into halftime.

“The last thing they’re going to do is let up. They were begging me to call timeouts and try to get another (touchdown),” Bill Utz said. “That’s just the mentality they have, and it was good to see. We thought it was a perfect opportunity. We’re going to run a 2-minute drill and get some work out of it, but instead, they took advantage (of the defense) and got a quick one.”

Platte County’s starters were done at that point.

Gisler totaled a team-high 57 yards, while Platte County senior running back Zach Burch received one carry for 9 yards in the first half as the top backup.

Marriott ended up with just two rushing attempts, both on scrambles, for 17 yards, while picking apart William Chrisman’s defense. Tres Baskerville led the Pirates with four catches (34 yards), while Christopher (team-high 62 yards) matched Jack Utz with three. Stevens (two for 35 yards) and senior tight end Brooks Hall (two for 33 yards) complete the rest of a balanced five receivers in the season-opener.

Platte County specifically targeted the tight ends out of different sets with both of Hall’s grabs coming at big moments on scoring drives.

“I think the game plan, at least going into this game, was just let everyone eat, especially getting up early,” Jack Utz said. “We really all ate. It could’ve been two touchdowns from anybody, and I was blessed to get the two today. Tight end-wise, it’s great, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Platte County’s efficient offense relied on a mostly new-look offensive line that returned senior starters Quinn Lightle (left tackle) and Michael Poncavage, while senior Lucas Dillingham (center) and juniors Cooper Koenigsfeld (tackle) and Reece Moppin (guard) were on the right side. The Pirates expected senior Ian Gold to potentially earn a tackle spot, but he will be out indefinitely due to a knee injury.

“Our offensive core obviously brings the attitude, but that O-line brings a whole other attitude, expecially when they’re getting after it,” Jack Utz said. “At least seeing Michael and Quinn on my side of the ball seeing Michael and Quinn make big plays and big blocks, it’s exciting to watch.”

Platte County tested the defensive depth in the second half with a large group of mostly new contributors now filling reserve spots. William Chrisman eventually scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter off of an interception of Pirates junior quarterback Brandon Reynolds (1-for-4, -7 yards). His lone completion went to sophomore running back Caleb Hill, who also ran once for one yard.

In addition to Marriott and Reynolds, Platte County also gave snaps to sophomore quarterback Paxton Bennett who ran for one yard on his lone attempt and threw two incompletions.

In addition to Reik and Hammontree, Platte County junior end Nick Fetterman (three tackles, one for loss) and sophomore tackle Miller Bigus (four tackles, one for loss) have moved into he second unit for the defensive line, while juniors Hank Fowler (two tackles, one for loss), Noah Omoike (one tackle) and Jaden Mathurin (one tackle) and sophomores Nolan Sipes (four tackles), Hank Marriott (one tackle), Gunner Horn (one tackle) and Boston Wasserman (one tackle) also made plays.

Platte County junior Devin Lumm (five tackles) excelled both on special teams and as a reserve at linebacker after an injury-riddled 2024, while Burch also made three tackles on kickoffs and punts.

“We had some really good play on the D-line, and it’s just so disruptive,” Bill Utz said. “And when it’s so disruptive like that, it creates havoc for the other team. I thought we swarmed to the ball well and a lot of team tackling. They played as a unit, no matter who was in there.”

Platte County now preps for likely the toughest stretch of the regular season over the next two weeks, while hosting Grain Valley (1-0, receiving votes in the Class 5 poll) and Fort Osage (0-1). Grain Valley pulled away for a 34-7 win over Raytown after having just three points at halftime, while Fort Osage stuck around early but lost 36-8 to Class 4 Kearney, which opened the season ranked No. 2.

“It’s not like Grain Valley’s going to sneak up on us or us on them,” Bill Utz said. “There’s a ton of competition between the two of us in the past several years, so we’ll be ready, and our kids will be ready. The expectation’s there, and they’re going to continue to work and get better. They’re just itching to play at home in front of our crowd.”