The schedule did no favors for veteran coach Rick Hodge and his currently undermanned roster.
Platte County’s veteran coach knows Friday’s Suburban Conference White Division opener at Raytown presents a significant challenge. The Pirates do enter after winning 2 of 3 in the season-opening Savannah Invitational and then a week to prepare.
However, Hodge used just seven players in wins over Maryville and Savannah along with a 50-38 loss to Kearney in Friday’s championship game at Savannah High School.
Platte County’s run to a state championship in football kept the rest of the expected players occupied in the opening week. How many might be available against the defending conference champions remains to be seen.
Raytown (3-0) swept three games in the Arvest Bank Tournament over the weekend in Springfield. The Blue Jays also won both meetings last year with Platte County, which just missed a share of the White Division title.
Platte County senior forward Jaden Peterson, the only full-time returning starter from last year, and junior point guard Jayden Martin made the Savannah Invitational all-tournament team, but Kearney found a way to slow the duo with tough defense in the championship game. The Pirates averaged 64 1/2 point per game in the two victories but trailed 30-21 at halftime.
More players scored for Kearney (eight) than Platte County had available. The Bulldogs hit five of their seven 3-pointers in the second quarter to build a lead that held.
Peterson posted a game-high 20 points for Platte County and accounted eight of the Pirates’ 10 free throw attempts. He made seven.
Martin and Platte County junior guard Brennan McLaughlin combined for five 3-pointers but didn’t have any other shots made from the field nor the free throw line. Martin finished with nine, while McLaughlin added six.
Peterson scored nine in the fourth quarter after Kearney held Platte County to just five points in the third.
Platte County senior guard Anthony Morrison, who started much of the closing stretch of last season after becoming a breakout contributor off the bench, finished with two points, while senior forward Hayden Schultz added one. The Pirates made just six field goals inside the 3-point arc with a limited front line.
In the 59-43 semifinal win over Savannah last Wednesday, the versatile scoring of Peterson (30), McLaughlin (nine), Schultz (eight) and Martin (seven) helped Platte County overwhelm the hosts.
Savannah led 15-12 after the first quarter but only added six more points before halftime. McLaughlin scored all nine of this points before the break, while Peterson spread out his production on the way to a career-high for scoring, bettering the 26 he put up in last year’s Savannah Invitational third-place game against Hogan Prep.
Peterson nearly matched that with 24 in last Monday’s season-opener against Maryville nearly matched that total. He averaged 12.3 points per game as a first-year starter and finished second in scoring for Platte County behind Judah Vignery, a 1,000-point scorer who led the Pirates to a 13-13 overall record and 5-3 finish in conference play.
Platte County dominated start to finish in a 70-44 victory with all seven players scoring, including two each for senior guard Brett Mueller and debuting sophomore Elijah Hockaday. McLaughlin and Martin, who both broke into the rotation for the Pirates late last season, set matching career-highs with 12 points apiece. McLaughlin hit three 3s, while Martin added two.
Morrison started strong for Platte County with a pair of 3s in the first half and also posted 12 points for his best scoring output so far this season.
Platte County graduated five seniors total but also expects senior Archie Wesley and juniors Braiden Stevens and Jack Utz back from last year’s supporting cast after transitioning from football. Due to the expanded White Division, the Pirates have conference games against Raytown, Belton (home on December 17) and William Chrisman (road on December 20) before the holiday break.
