Platte County comes back time after time to outlast rival Smithville

After only two weeks, Platte County can claim to run Highway 92 for this season but not without theatrics and dramatics.

Smithville held four different leads in Friday night’s rivalry matchup in Smithville, but Platte County drove for a game-winning score in a 43-36 victory with an epic finish at Pirate Stadium. Pirates sophomore quarterback Rocco Marriott connected with wide-open sophomore wide receiver Braiden Stevens for a 23-yard touchdown strike with 24 seconds remaining in regulation.

Platte County drove 66 yards in just 3 plays and 27 seconds to turn a 36-35 deficit into a second straight rivalry victory to open the season. A week earlier, the Pirates went on the road and held on for a 21-18 win over Kearney.

“Gosh, I’m just happy to be out here,” said Platte County senior Tucker McDowell, who recorded three tackles plus one for loss and recovered a fumble against Smithville — now fully healthy after dealing with injuries that limited his playing time each of the past two seasons. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m just so happy to be out here.”

Platte County (2-0) went from off the radar to ranked No. 7 in the most recent Class 5 Missouri state media poll after wins over Class 4 No. 2-ranked Smithville (1-1) and No. 4-ranked Kearney (1-1). The Pirates entered the season with juniors and sophomores dominating the lineup and questions to answer about potential.

So far, so good.

Smithville, which has reached the Class 4 state semifinals in four of the past five seasons, entered Friday having won two straight in the rivalry series. Continuing a trend of close finishes, the matchup featured four ties and five lead changes — two in the final 51 seconds.

Platte County came up with answer after answer with Marriott throwing for 231 yards and three touchdowns — two more to sophomore wide receiver Tres Baskerville plus the winner to Stevens — and adding 88 yards on the ground, while sophomore running back Adam Gisler recorded a second straight 100-yard rushing game and scored three times. So far this season, all nine touchdowns for the Pirates have come from sophomores running, throwing and receiving.

Smithville won the turnover battle 3-1 and benefitted from 104 penalty yards from the Pirates. Yet, the Warriors never led by more than seven.

“I’ve been blessed to watch these (sophomores) since they were in sixth grade,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “We’ve seen this. It’s kind of who they are and kind of how they play. Even going on the field with 51 seconds left, there was not a ducked head. It was more, ‘We get a chance. Now, we can go score’ They’re fun to watch.”

Platte County trailed 7-0, 14-7, 28-21 and 36-35, yet appeared ready to take control at two different points in the fourth quarter. Marriott converted a third and 9 with a scramble to his left before hitting sophomore tight end Brooks Hall for a toe-tapping 16-yard reception along the sideline. On the next play, Gisler broke a tackle and scored from 4 yards out to tie the score at 28-28.

Smithville’s next drive ended near midfield with a punt.

Platte County then overcame four different penalties to keep what became a touchdown drive alive. The key ended up being a 27-yard completion from Marriott over the middle to Baskerville to convert a third-and-18 play. Marriott then added scrambles of 16 and 26 yards before Gisler went into the end zone from 2 yards out for his third touchdown of the night and fourth overall of the young season.

Platte County went ahead 35-28 with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter — the Pirates’ first lead since late in the second quarter.

“We were just resilient the whole entire game,” Marriott said.

With the running game struggling, Smithville went back to the pass game and marched deep into Pirates territory. Warriors senior quarterback Jake Shaffer completed passes of 23 yards to senior Max McKenzie and 33 yards to senior Ben Murawski in between a pass interference penalty to reach the red zone.

An offsides penalty set up first-and-goal for Smithville at the 8, but on the next play, Platte County junior linebacker, Cobe Pollard, who finished with five tackles one week after leaving the win over Kearney in the fourth quarter on a stretcher after a heat-related medical episode, forced Warriors running Austin Clevenger to fumble. McDowell fell on the loose ball, and the Pirates took over at their own 2 and just 5:08 on the clock.

Gisler ran 16 yards for an initial first down, but after two more rushing attempts, Platte County faced third and 7 from its own 26. After a timeout, the Pirates called a pass play, and the ball pinged between Hall and Murawski before the Warriors defensive back managed to scoop the ball up for an interception just before it hit the ground.

“Ironically, there was a coach that said all we had to do was not throw an interception,” Utz said. “So I was mad that was in the universe. Why would you say that? But sure enough, there it did happen. We had a timeout, and I thought a lot about it. In that situation, they were going to call a timeout anyway. They were going to be in a spot to get the ball back, so I thought it was risky, yes, but thought it was the right move to go for the win there.

“If we get that, then we’re done. With what I told those kids when we started the drive on the 3, if I didn’t go for it and just punted the ball away, it would have went against what I challenged them to do.”

Smithville took over inside the red zone at the 17, and two completions set up first and goal from the 4.

McDowell dropped Shaffer for a 2-yard loss on the next play, but after a timeout, he threw his fourth touchdown of the night — this one six yards to wide receiver Colin Downey. The Warriors took another timeout and then went for a two-point conversion and the lead.

Shaffer completed a quick slant to McKenzie that put Smithville in front for the last time at 36-35 with only 51 seconds left in regulation.

“We were just thinking, ‘Gotta win a game — no matter how,'” Marriott said. “We can go down there, get a field goal, that wins the game. We can go score. We just knew we were going to win the game as soon as we got the ball back. They gave us too much time.”

After a squib kickoff, Platte County took over at its own 34.

Marriott scrambled 22 yards around left end on the next play before going out of bounds. He then lofted what looked like a dangerous pass to wide receiver Lane Webb for 16 yards down to the 28. The Pirates took a timeout, and Smithville came out of the stoppage with 12 men on the field and gave up five more yards.

On the next snap, Marriott dropped back out of the shotgun from the right hash and threw all the way back across the field. Stevens started in the slot and lost his defender with a fake inside before cutting back out. He initially turned himself around while standing wide open before reaching up and hauling in the pass.

“Helluva catch. What a catch,” said Marriott, who finished 16-for-34 passing in his second career start with completions to five different receivers — Baskerville (six for 70 yards), sophomore tight end Jack Utz (two for 54 yards), Webb (three for 49 yards), Hall (three for 32 yards) and Stevens (two for 26 yards).

Marriott hit Webb in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion and the game’s final points.

Smithville then took over still with 24 seconds left, leading to a unique scenario where Platte County went from potentially not enough time to score to possibly leaving too much for the Warriors.

“That one was right up there (with the wildest I’ve coached),” Bill Utz said. “Back and forth really the whole game, but that was just a mess. We did some good stuff, obviously. We did some stuff that they took advantage of that put them in some good spots.

“I think you’re looking at two good teams who played their hearts out on a Friday night. There wasn’t much time left, but I guess we had enough time. “

Shaffer completed an initial pass for 24 yards to McKenzie, but Smithville only ended up with two more snaps both from the Platte County 49. The first fell harmlessly incomplete, and McDowell provided just enough of a pass rush off the left edge on the second to force Shaffer to release the throw a touch early and the ball falling to the turf with no receiver in the area.

“I got a hand on his leg there, kind of turned him around,” McDowell said. “I don’t know. I was pretty tired on that last one but knew I had to give everything.”

Shaffer finished 14-for-27 for 288 yards and four touchdowns.

Platte County’s pass defense struggled with both coverage and missed tackles on catch-and-runs that led to three long scores in the first half. Pirates senior cornerback Jordan Burnett (three tackles) went down with a leg injury early, adding to depth issues with junior linebacker/safety Trevor Hay set to miss significant time after suffering a broken wrist against Kearney.

With Burnett in and out of the lineup, Platte County relied on junior Tyler Stamberskey (two tackles), senior Ayden Watts (one tackle) and sophomore Brennan McLaughlin for snaps at cornerback, while juniors Caden McGhee (four tackles plus two for loss) and Montez Clemons (four tackles plus one for loss) and sophomore Ty Christopher (five tackles) didn’t leave the field.

After the teams exchanged punts on their first drives, Smithville found holes with Shaffer hitting junior Jet Coleman for a 69-yard touchdown on a third-and-long less than 5 minutes into the first quarter then McKenzie for a 50-yard score on a catch-and-run. Those two early scores gave the Warriors leads of 7-0 and 14-7.

“They found some big plays,” Bill Utz said. “Credit to their receivers. They were great plays. They were right where they needed to be and turned them into big gainers. Just shooting ourselves in the foot the whole time was how we felt.”

Platte County remained balanced despite the early deficits and ultimately gained an impressive 30 first downs while rushing for 234 yards and passing for 231 more. The Pirates continued to show off the rejuvenated rushing attack despite not having junior starter Dayton Doll, out for an indefinite amount of time after a shoulder injury he suffered early in Week 1.

After not having a carry entering the season, Gisler improved on his 122 rushing yards against Kearney with a career-high 143 on 24 carries against Smithville.

Platte County’s offensive line remained static for a second straight week with seniors Muyonta Maxwell (left tackle), Gage Fulk (right tackle) and Becker Grego (center) split inside and outside of junior guards Riley Hixson and Drew Doll. Only Maxwell was a full-time starter last year, and the Pirates remain without sophomore expected starter Quinn Lightle (knee), who should return at some point mid-season.

“Hats off to (Gisler),” Bill Utz said. “He’s a kid that’s done nothing but work. From the moment last season ended to now, he’s put a ton of work into it. It’s good to see him get the rewards. He was huge for us.”

The commitment to the run paid off.

After going behind 7-0, Platte County immediately responded thanks to a 43-yard kickoff return from Christopher. Marriott hit Jack Utz for a 21-yard completion to jumpstart the drive before Gisler broke off runs of 14, 3 and 2.

Baskerville then caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Marriott on third and 5.

Platte County’s second game-tying drive came after Gisler lost a fumble late in the first quarter at the end of a 23-yard gain. The Pirates then forced a three-and-out with McLaughlin’s resulting 46-yard punt return creating a short field.

After an 18-yard pass to Webb, Marriott and Baskerville hooked up for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 14-14 on their third scoring connection in two weeks.

“Lane had a couple nice catches,” Marriott said. “Brooks had an amazing catch in a very critical spot, doing an amazing job of getting his feet down. Of course, Tres had the big day again. I thought we got Jack open for a couple of big plays. Can’t forget Braiden with the big touchdown, so we’re spreading it around pretty good, especially with Rocco extending plays.”

After forcing a second straight punt, Platte County went ahead for the first time at 21-14. A 33-yard completion to Jack Utz and an 18-yarder to Baskerville on third and 15 set up Gisler’s 9-yard, tackle-breaking touchdown up the middle with 4:09 left before halftime.

Smithville punted for the third straight time after blitzing Platte County senior linebacker Seth Martin batted down a third-down pass. However, the Pirates couldn’t take advantage after a deep pass intended for Stevens fell incomplete on third down. Stevens appeared to win a battle with a Warriors defender only for an official 40 yards behind the play to rule the ball hit the turf.

Platte County, which went 10-for-17 on third down, ended up punting and going into halftime tied 21-21 because on the next play, Shaffer found Murawski streaking up the seam for a tying 53-yard touchdown with 1:40 left in the second quarter.

“We were really determined,” Marriott said. “We were just all calm, keeping to ourselves (at halftime). We had confidence in ourselves.”

The situation deteriorated on the first snap of the third quarter.

A deflected pass resulted in a Smithville interception returned to the Platte County 1-yard line. After an initial stop, Shaffer bowled his way into the end zone on a quarterback power play to put the Warriors ahead 28-21.

However, Platte County’s defense then met the challenge, not allowing anymore points until inside a minute of the fourth quarter in part of the chaotic closing sequence. The Pirates forced one punt and then created their only turnover of the night after forcing three the week before.

“The chemistry this year has been great,” McDowell said. “We’ve got a lot of great senior leaders this year — and junior leaders, as well. It’s just holding people accountable, staying in the right mindset. We’re really gelling as a team.”

While the rush defense appeared a potential concern entering the season, Platte County looked strong again with a tighter rotation in Week 2. McDowell and junior defensive tackle Kameron Doyle (one tackle) and junior defensive end Jordan Miller (one tackle) anchored the defensive line, while senior Markus Delfin and junior Archie Wesley (one tackle) provide valuable pass rushing snaps.

The play up front allowed Pollard, Martin (four tackles) and junior Darrell Smith (six tackles) plus the versatile defensive backs to make plays to stop the run game. Smithville finished with just 20 yards rushing on 18 attempts.

All of this despite the key injuries.

“I felt good about the run defense,” Bill Utz said. “We made them one dimensional and then just needed to make some big plays. They do a good job. They get the ball out quick and take your pass rush away because they’re so fast at releasing the ball and that puts a lot of pressure on those DBs.

“We made enough plays to keep giving ourselves a chance and making stops here and there so it didn’t get away from us.”

Smithville entered ranked No. 1 in Class 4 and only dropped one spot, while Kearney’s Week 2 win over Fort Osage — the two-time defending Class 5 District 8 champion and potential postseason roadblock for Platte County — pushed the Bulldogs up from No. 5 to No. 4. The Pirates have gone from unranked in Class 5 to No. 10 and now No. 7 as a roster some thought might be a year away continues to gel early against a punishing schedule.

Platte County travels this week to face North Kansas City (1-1), which lost 27-10 to Raytown South (2-0) on Friday, before hosting Class 5 No. 2 Grain Valley (2-0) in Week 4. Both of those carry District 8 seeding implications. The Pirates want to keep building on the momentum created in the rivalry wins even with key injuries and senior wide receiver Dawson Mizell, their top returning pass catcher, still yet to see the field this year.

“We’ve got to enjoy tonight, maybe even Sunday,” McDowell said after the win. “Monday as soon as we come back, we’ve just got to get focused on NKC. We’re not overlooking anybody.”

“Obviously, we’re building for the future, but this is our year, too,” Marriott said.