Platte County captures program’s elusive 4th state title in dominant fashion

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Platte County’s seniors packed tight at the middle of Faurot Field and impatiently waited for a moment more than two decades in the making. The Class 5 state championship trophy finally reached the players and the celebration commenced, starting on the turf but ultimately moving to the brick wall surrounding the playing surface to allow the students and fans to join a jubilant scene.

In dominating fashion representative of a historic season, Platte County controlled the proceedings start to finish in a 49-14 victory over Helias in Saturday night’s Class 5 Show-Me Bowl. The Pirates finished 14-0 for the fourth time in program history and the first time since winning three straight Class 3A/3 state championships from 2000-2002.

Platte County’s unique blend of experienced juniors and seniors tested and hardened while coming up just short of the playoffs last year produced dynamic results on the way to the title. This came as little surprise to the players and coaches in the locker room.

“We saw this coming for a while,” said Platte County head coach Bill Utz, who led the Pirates to the Class 4 semifinals in 2017 and back-to-back Show-Me Bowls in 2019 (Class 4) and 2020 (Class 5) before winning the first state championship of a career that also includes stops at Stewartsville in 8-man and Mid-Buchanan. “I will say that not even a day after the district championship game we lost last year, you could see the attitude that was going to to be there right from the get-go. We knew we had a special group. The big question coming into it was whether we would mesh from a junior-senior, defense-offense (standpoint), playing complementary football; that was the question coming into (the season).

“They did that from Day 1. Yeah, we saw it coming.”

Platte County scored on the offense’s first four drives, punted just once in the first half and led 28-0 at halftime. The Pirates piled up 497 yards of offense with junior quarterback Rocco Marriott going 17 of 24 passing for 279 yards and added 78 rushing on a team-high 13 attempts. The completions were spread to six different receivers with junior wide receivers Tres Baskerville (five catches, 93 yards) and Braiden Stevens (six catches, 97 yards) leading the way.

Marriott scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half and added a touchdown pass in each half — one each to Baskerville and Stevens. The 25-yarder to Stevens early in the fourth quarter provided the final points and punctuation to a commanding effort.

In addition, Platte County’s running back duo of junior Adam Gisler (109 yards on just seven carries) and senior Dayton Doll (58 yards on eight carries) both found the end zone. Gisler appeared to have a second, but officially, he fumbled into the end zone with senior right tackle Owen Rawlings alertly falling on the ball to end up credited with the score.

Platte County seniors Cobe Pollard, Caden McGhee and Bronson Ryan recorded interceptions in another dominant effort for a defense that produced three shutouts this season — two in five postseason games. Ryan and senior linebacker Brock Fowler led the Pirates with six tackles apiece, while sophomore Brody Hawk (four tackles plus a half for loss) and junior Cale Buntz (two tackles plus 1 1/2 for loss) shared a sack.

Helias (12-2) twice scored in the second half on long plays to briefly stop the 35-point running clock only for the Pirates to answer both times. The Crusaders fell behind 35-0 on Doll’s 3-yard touchdown run with 9 minutes, 37 seconds left in the third quarter.

Platte County put a running clock on an opponent for the 11th time in 14 games this season.

Helias had not allowed more than 29 points in a game this season and that came in an overtime loss to Class 6 quarterfinalist Rock Bridge. The Crusaders won their next eight games, including comeback wins in the state quarterfinals against Republic (24-21 in OT) and semifinals against Lafayette (Wildwood) (14-13 after scoring the final 14 points and holding the lead late on a controversial blocked field goal).

Platte County brought a emphatic end to the win streak with a balanced display of strength on both sides of the ball.

“We have a lot of really strong-minded kids,” Bill Utz said. “I mean very driven, very gritty to the point of we’re going to do anything we can to win, but there’s a lot of pride that goes along with it. Sometimes you can get teams like that that can conflict, and somebody’s got to take a step back once in a while. So the best thing I think that we did literally all year — if you take all the years I’ve done this — is this is the most complementary team we’ve put together.

“The offensive is obviously extremely explosive, but we don’t get explosive without the possession our defense gives us.”

Platte County’s complementary play quickly became evident in the state championship game.

Helias opened with the ball, and junior quarterback Austin Weaver, who finished 9 of 18 for 105 yards and a score, completed a 22-yard pass to senior tight end Luke Swan on the first play. Three plays later, Fowler stuffed Weaver on a quarterback draw at the line of scrimmage to force a punt from the Pirates’ 41.

Platte County immediately answered with a touchdown drive of 85 yards on seven plays while overcoming an early holding penalty on a 20-yard scramble for a first down from Marriott, who later completed back-to-back passes to Baskerville and junior tight end Brooks Hall to move to the 1. The first came on a scrambling throw to the visitor’s sideline for 27 yards, and on the second, Hall outleaped Helias junior safety Logan Hillman for a jump ball near the goal line for 32 yards on his lone catch.

Marriott ran in from 1 yard out on the next play to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead with 7:42 left in the first.

Platte County didn’t relinquish the lead in another fast start reminiscent of convincing wins over St. Pius X in the Class 5 District 8 title game (45-23) and playoff wins over Webb City (35-0) and MICDS (44-30).

“I feel like the main key is just the mental game, just coming to the sideline talking about what we see, coming together as a group and then just being aggressive, knowing when to take shots, when to play it smart,” Marriott said. “And our defense is just came up huge, giving us short fields all year.”

Pollard (four tackles plus one for loss) intercepted Weaver on the next play from scrimmage.

Platte County took over just outside the red zone, and three snaps later, Gisler ran 6 yards and lost the ball as he crossed the goal line leading to Rawlings’ unorthodox touchdown and a place in Pirates lore.

Helias’ best chance at a comeback came after an ensuring three and out. Doll muffed a punt, and the Crusaders recovered at the 22.

With coaches urging the defense to pull possession back, Platte County responded just two plays later. McGhee ranged over in the back of the end zone for a diving interception.

“It means a lot to me because that’s my dog, that’s my guy,” McGhee said. “We’ve been through a lot so to be able to pick (Doll) up right there and help get the team some roll that’s pretty good for us.”

Doll’s longest run of the day — a 37-yard jaunt through the teeth of Helias’ defense — keyed the ensuing touchdown drive that featured diverse contributions from Platte County’s run game. The Pirates threw just twice with a completion each to Baskerville and Stevens, and Marriott capped the march with a 5-yard rushing touchdown on a third-and-1 play for a 21-0 lead.

Helias immediately went three and out after Platte County senior defensive end Archie Wesley stopped Weaver for a 4-yard loss on another third-down run play.

Baskerville’s 9-yard touchdown reception with 8:19 left in the second quarter gave Platte County a 28-0 lead. The Pirates didn’t score again before halftime with a punt and a 2-minute drill that stalled out short of the end zone due to penalties and a costly sack. The final two passes intended for Baskerville near the goal line fell incomplete.

The final drive of the first half featured Marriott’s lone completion to senior wide receiver Lane Webb (13 yards) plus one of three catches for junior wide receiver Ty Christopher. He finished with 35 yards.

Platte County had over 300 yards in the first half, alone, showing off the dynamics of an offense that produced more than 35 points in all but two games this season.

“I feel like all year nobody’s been selfish,” Marriott said. “I mean everybody wants each other to do good.

“It’s almost my job to try to make sure everyone gets involved and making sure everyone gets their touches and stays happy.”

Platte County then scored on each of the offense’s first three drives of the second half while alternating on the 35-point running clock. Coming out of halftime, the Pirates marched 70 yards on eight plays and never faced a third down.

Gisler went 15 yards on a run he nearly broke for a touchdown, and Marriott added a 19-yard scramble. He then hit Baskerville for 22 yards down to the 3 to set up first and goal.

Doll burrowed into the end zone on the next play for a 35-0 lead and the first spell of a running clock.

Gisler answered Helias’ first score with an 80-yard burst around right end for a touchdown on the next play, and Marriott orchestrated a nine-play drive to respond to the second. Stevens came open along the home sideline on the 25-yarder and beat a defender to the corner to the pylon and pushed the lead to 49-14.

Platte County used the final 8:15 to bring on reserves on both sides of the ball to experience a state championship game atmosphere.

“I didn’t see anything out there I didn’t expect,” Utz said. “That’s not saying we expected a lopsided score. What I’m saying is they answer to the adversity. We had a few things that went wrong. The halftime was very calm. It was just a matter of what we got to do, we come out and we did it. That’s what we’ve done all year.”

Marriott finished off one of the best offensive seasons in program history. He ended up setting Platte County’s passing touchdown records for a season with 39, one more than Tanner Clarkson in 2017, and a career — now at 63 and counting after passing a decorated top three of Chris Ruhnke (52, 2018-2020), Brandon Gutshall (56, 1997-2000) and Justin Mitchell (59, 2013-16), among others. Gutshall led the Pirates to their first state title as a senior, while Ruhnke became the first in program history to start two state championship games at quarterback.

Mitchell started three seasons but missed the majority of one due to injury.

Marriott finished with 58 total touchdowns this season, adding 19 rushing, and also broke Clarkson’s single-season record of 3,559 yards of total offense from 2017 after ending up with 3,729. Marriott also became just the third in program history to finish a season with more than 3,000 yards passing, and his 3,081 ranks behind only Clarkson’s 3,382 in 2017 and just in front of Ruhnke’s 3,046 in 2020.

“We’ve been blessed with some really good quarterbacks Rocco’s a little bit different,” Utz said. “He’s obviously blessed with a cannon of an arm and can put the ball wherever he wants. The real scary with him is when he gets out in the open he can run. It’s a very frustrating thing for defenses; it has to be.”

Platte County put up 218 yards on the ground in another balanced offensive showing. The Pirates were able to rotate six offensive linemen in the final game of the season with junior Michael Poncavage returning at left guard after missing the first two playoff wins with a head injury. The other four starters in the lineup looked the same as every other game this season: seniors Riley Hixson (center), Drew Doll (right guard) and Rawlings plus junior Quinn Lightle (left tackle).

Gus Keeton, a senior, started the first five games of the season and the past two games. He saw time at both guard spots against Helias.

The offensive line along with Hall and junior tight end Jack Utz helped Platte County run for more than 200 yards in all three playoff games. The Pirates put up 153 against St. Pius X in the Class 5 District 8 championship game, but the starters only played one drive in the second half because of a running clock in effect to start the third quarter.

Platte County’s running production came in a variety of ways despite coming into the season with some external questions about the ground game.

After running for more than 1,300 yards last season, Gisler missed three games this season with a shoulder injury but scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of the last nine games of the season. Maintaining a starting role, Doll also led the backfield in pass receptions, although Gisler had the only catch (a 9-yarder) for a running back in the title game, and often came in on as a pass protecter in key passing downs.

Marriott led Platte County in rushing touchdowns on the season, often utilizing a power shotgun formation late in the season on goal-line run plays with three running backs to boost that number. The Pirates gave senior running back Isaiah Seymour five carries in the second half against Helias, but he ended up with -2 yards.

Seymour proved vital during the regular season and started one game when Gisler and Doll (toe) were both held out of a Week 5 win over Belton.

“They work really, really well together,” Bill Utz said. “(Running back’s) a very competitive position that they could’ve argued about carries and this and that. They’re each other’s biggest fan, and honestly, what it did is it kept us fresh legs all the way through this which definitely paid off.”

Helias managed under 75 yards of offense in a dismal first half that featured the two early turnovers. The Crusaders were able to close within 35-7 in the third quarter on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Weaver to senior wide receiver Sam Lopez on a third down play originally featuring a potential flag for illegal formation before officials waved off the penalty.

Helias converted two third downs and a fourth down on the scoring drive, and after Gisler’s long touchdown run, the Crusaders found the end zone again on an option play to senior running back CJ Howell that went 63 yards up the middle off of a pitch from Weaver. The two touchdowns accounted for 96 of 250 yards of total offense.

Platte County’s defensive line combinations of senior tackles Kameron Doyle and Jordan Miller (one tackle), plus Wesley (two tackles plus 1 1/2 for loss) and Buntz at the starting end spots and junior reserve Cole Johnson (three tackles) and Hawk effectively freeing up Pollard and Fowler (one tackle for loss) to make plays from their linebacker spots. The Pirates defensive backfield also excelled even after an ankle injury forced McGhee (three tackles) to leave the game in the second quarter.

That led to extended playing time for Platte County junior Matt Cisco (one tackle) alongside senior safeties Darrell Smith (five tackles) and Trevor Hay (three tackles) with seniors Montez Clemons (three tackles) and Ryan (half tackle for loss) at the cornerback spots until late in the game. The Pirates were able to put different combinations of brothers on the field together in the final minutes including Brock Fowler and sophomore Hank Fowler, Cole Johnson and sophomore Jack Johnson and sophomore Carlos Baskerville at linebacker, while senior defensive back Seth White made three tackles on the final drive.

Christopher, junior long snapper Grant Fadler and Jack Johnson all made tackles on special teams for Platte County.

After the two teams combined to score touchdowns on the first five drives of the game, Ryan picked off Weaver for a third time with Helias down 49-14.

Platte County eventually punted and then ended the game on defense with Buntz and Hawk slinging Weaver to the ground in tandem. That allowed the players to douse Utz with Gatorade on his way to the midfield handshake after the veteran coach led Platte County to the first state championship outside of Class 3A/3. The Pirates moved up to Class 4 in 2009 — his first season as head coach — and then to Class 5 in 2020.

Platte County completed a quick turnaround from 5-6 in 2022 — just the fourth losing season for the program since 1983 — to 9-3 a year ago with a disappointing loss to Grain Valley in the Class 5 District 8 championship game. Ranked in the top three of the Missouri Media Class 5 polls all season, the Pirates were back in the playoffs for the first time since the last two Show-Me Bowl appearances and went through 14 games where the closest final scores ended up being 28-13 over Fort Osage in Week 3 when the Indians scored on the final play of regulation and the semifinal against MICDS when the Rams scored on their final play late in the fourth quarter.

“Obviously, we’re extremely happy with tonight,” Bill Utz said. “I couldn’t be more proud of these guys, the work that’s put into it. It’s been a true year process that we’ve gone through, and the performance we put on tonight is similar to what we’ve done all year.

“It’s been a really fun year, obviously — great way to cap it off.”

While the future looks bright with a standout group of juniors including Marriott, Stevens, Baskerville, Gisler and many more, this state title adds to a strong legacy of modern success four decades in the making.

Platte County’s 22 seniors gave a subtle tribute to their deep roots of history wearing orange jerseys with black pants for the first time this season — the traditional combination from Platte County Youth Football League (PCYFL). The Pirates have made nine state semifinal appearances since 1999 — four in the past eight seasons under Bill Utz — and now have a potential start to another dynastic run.

“It meant a lot because our last game, championship game, orange on black, lost by a field goal,” Smith said. “But that wasn’t the thing here. It was seventh grade, seventh grade year, and then from there, it’s been on.”

The seniors include a divers group of contributors.

Platte County started 10 on defense with Kameron Doyle and Jordan Miller playing the majority of the past three seasons next to each other at defensive tackle. Archie Wesley oscillated between linebacker and his eventual home as a disruptive defensive end.

Brock Fowler’s transfer back home from Staley to rejoin his PCYFL brethren allowed him to pair with Cobe Pollard at linebacker and shifted Darrell Smith back to a dynamic group of safeties that also included Trevor Hay and Caden McGhee, who both overcame significant limiting injuries as juniors to finish off their careers in style. Smith and Pollard started the majority of the past three years together as disruptive and emotional playmakers.

The shuffling also allowed Montez Clemons to move over to a cornerback spot after spending two years as a contributor at safety, and Bronson Ryan, playing his first year of tackle football, won the job opposite him after a season-ending foot injury to fellow senior Taylor Stambersky, who started the majority of the past two seasons and opened this season back atop the depth chart. He went on the field for the final play of the win over Helias.

Seth White also saw time at corner as a reserve before a broken leg pushed him out for the majority of the postseason before returning Saturday, and Brayden Eschliman, who came back to football after two years away from the sport, played as a reserve defensive end and special teams starter until a torn ACL ended his year after Week 2.

On offense, Drew Doll (right guard) and Riley Hixson (center) helped anchor the offensive line each of the past two seasons, while Owen Rawlings completed the rare shift from wide receiver to right tackle for his senior season. Gus Keeton opened as a starting left guard and continued to contribute in wake of a Week 5 knee injury that cost im multiple games, while Anthony Jaquez was a reserve center. The continually developing group up front blocked for a trio of running backs, including seniors Dayton Doll and Isaiah Seymour.

Dayton Doll started as a sophomore at slot receiver and then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the first half of a Week 1 win over Kearney as a junior. His return this year gave additional depth in the backfield, and Seymour totaled seven touchdowns in extended relief duties while also coming in as part of three-back heavy packages in the postseason.

In a deep group of pass catchers, Lane Webb served an important role as a part of regular rotation at wide receiver and ended up as one of seven players with at least 10 receptions this season, including a key touchdown in a state semifinal win last week against MICDS. While Marriott accounted for every key pass, Brady Davis served as his backup, an offensive signal-caller and holder on extra points and field goals.

Collectively, the seniors took Platte County back to the top of Missouri football, the only undefeated team in 11-man this season.

“I just think after this state championship, we’ve got guys coming back next year, and they’re going to bring the momentum, energy, and I think we’re going to do it again,” Hay said.

Emphasis on the “we” because Platte County built one of the most consistently successful programs over the past four decades with just two head coaches since 1988. The Pirates have now made state semifinals in four of the past eight seasons after a lengthy drought, and this group can now rightfully have a claim to the best in Utz’s tenure and one of the best in a history spanning more than 100 years.

“I’ll never compare this team to any other (Platte County) team because they’re unique,” Bill Utz said. “High school football is unique; it changes every year. I’d like to sign these (seniors) as free agents, but I don’t get to do that. Every one is unique, and every one is a little bit different. Obviously, to get to this place, you have to be really, really good or lucky along the way. I’d like to think this team is really, really good, but you know, I’ve been so blessed with so many great people around me that this is just one of the teams.

“They’re definitely up there, for sure.”