Platte County completes 2-week sweep of Chrisman with another blowout

Platte County wanted to play the reserves and coast through the second half of a unique Class 5 District 8 opener that provided a unique challenge. After moving up to the No. 3 seed, the Pirates were forced into playing sixth-seeded William Chrisman for a second straight week, just seven days after a blowout of the Bears to close the regular season.

In the end, Platte County needed a dominant stretch in each half to pull away for a 54-23 blowout victory Friday night at Pirate Stadium — essentially déjà vu all over again.

William Chrisman’s scoring included a pair of pick-sixes to start the third quarter, but Platte County senior quarterback Dylan Zimmerman re-entered and finished with five touchdowns. A school-record-tying four of those scores went to junior wide receiver Dawsen Mizell, while sophomore Dayton Doll produced the first 100-yard rushing game of the season for the Pirates and added two rushing touchdowns.

Never particularly close in the rematch, Platte County (5-5) moved to .500 for the first time this season and did more than enough to earn a rematch this week in the Class 5 District 8 semifinals against No. 2 seed Oak Park (7-2), which earned a bye in the opening round.

“It was definitely different playing the same team two weeks in a row in a scenario like this,” Mizell said.

Zimmerman completed 19 of 25 passes for 294 yards, while Mizell benefitted from extra targets to the tune of seven catches for 108 yards while his four receiving touchdowns matched a performance from Aliek Reed in 2014 against St. Joseph Central. Doll shifted from wide receiver to starting running back and rolled up 138 yards on 17 carries with senior Nate Walls resting an injured shoulder.

The night appeared over for Platte County’s three biggest offensive stars before hitting those marks with the Pirates scoring the final 34 points of the first half unanswered to take a 31-point lead into the third quarter — just short of a running clock scenario.

William Chrisman junior cornerback Jamir Robinson-Smith returned interceptions for touchdowns in each of the first two drives of the second half, picking off Platte County freshman reserve Rocco Marriott both times. The second went 97 yards with the Pirates in position to build on a 34-10 lead.

Platte County reinserted the starters with the lead down to 34-17 but ended up punting the ball away.

William Chrisman would not draw closer than the three-score deficit, committing turnovers on each of the next three possessions to set up short touchdowns. Platte County quickly built the lead back out thanks to interception for senior linebacker Cameron Dean and junior cornerback Jordan Burnett (two tackles) plus a fumble recovery for sophomore linebacker Archie Wesley. The Pirates forced five turnovers total with senior cornerback Garrett Smith-Dean picking off a pass in the first half.

“Obviously, we came out with the reserves, and literally a perfect storm — or my worst nightmare of having to put people back in, which you never want to do,” Utz said.

Overall, William Chrisman managed just 130 yards of offense — 72 on a late touchdown drive with the running clock in effect against reserves.

Platte County sophomore linebacker Cobe Pollard finished with a team-high six tackles, a forced fumble and a sack, while senior safety Andy McClure (one tackle for loss) and sophomore Caden McGhee (one forced fumble) finished with five stops apiece. Trevor Hay, another sophomore safety, totaled four tackles in late work, while senior defensive end Chandavian Bradley also had a sack and a tackle in addition to four quarterback pressures.

“The defense was great,” Utz said. “You take off the late touchdown and the two pick-sixes and you’re talking about a tremendous output.”

Despite the dominant defensive numbers, Platte County trailed at one point in the rematch. The two teams traded punts to start the first quarter, and William Chrisman ended up with the better of the original exchange of field position despite Pollard’s sack on third down of the game’s opening drive. The Bears took over at the Pirates’ 31 after forcing a three-and-out, went 8 yards back after one play and a pre-snap penalty but ended up gaining 3 yards total and taking a 3-0 lead on a 45-yard field goal from senior Mitchell Cory, who also started at quarterback this week and went 5-for-18 for 26 yards with three interceptions.

Platte County scored 35 unanswered and never trailed in the previous week’s 42-14 victory when freshman Connor Elliott completed an early 77-yard pass to set up a tying touchdown in the first quarter.

“And the series they scored the field goal on, they got like 2 yards on that series. They got points on it. Sometimes that’s the way that is. This time of year you have to be able to get stops, and that was a win for us there.”

The lead lasted four minutes.

Doll, who started the season as a change-of-pace running back and wide receiver, broke off runs of 14 and 18 yards on the next drive, while Mizell caught a 32-yarder to push Platte County into the red zone. Doll’s longer run moved the Pirates to the 6, but after a run for a loss of 2 yards and a sack, they faced a third and goal at the 10.

On the play, Zimmerman dropped back and found Mizell wide open over the middle for a 10-yard score to put Platte County ahead 7-3 with with 2:28 left in the first quarter. The Pirates’ next drive included a 40-yard completion to senior wide receiver Dom Spears down the field in a one-on-one jump ball situation, and on the next play, Doll took a handoff and sprinted left, tip-toeing the sideline before diving inside the pylon for his first rushing touchdown since Week 1 in a loss to Kearney.

Doll, who added a pair of catches for 48 yards, has been used almost exclusively as a wide receiver since senior three-year starter Carter Salzman suffered a broken collarbone in Platte County’s Week 2 loss to Smithville. Doll leads the Pirates with 41 receptions with Mizell now up to 38 and Spears at 28 after hauling in three passes for 82 yards on Friday.

“If Nate’s not injured, he’s in that spot, too,” Utz said. “Luckily, Dayton’s such a great athlete with great balance. It shows his versatility really to be able to line up at receiver and then come in as a tailback. Luckily, getting through this week, we were able to get Nate some rest and that makes us altogether better next week.”

Doll’s first touchdown run pushed the lead to 14-3 early int he second quarter, and the next three touchdowns came in quick succession.

After a three-and-out, Zimmerman completed passes to Mizell for 16 and 4 yards then hit freshman tight end Jack Utz for 11 before Doll busted a 17-yard run into the red zone. Zimmerman then capped the drive with a 2-yard pass to Spears before scrambling around and hitting senior wide receiver Tristan Magnuson for a 15-yard touchdown — his second of the season and the only to not go to Mizell on the night.

Magnuson finished with three catches for 21 yards, while Utz added two for 27. Zimmerman completed passes to eight receivers total with senior wide receiver Brennan Rich contributing two receptions for 23 yards, and Bradley — the 6-foot-6 Division I edge rusher recruit still being occasionally used on offense — grabbing one for 1 yard.

“He’s a great quarterback, helping us win these games,” Mizell said of Zimmerman’s play lately.

Smith-Dean’s team-leading fourth interception of the season came four plays later, and the 2021 all-state defensive back returned it 46 yards down the William Chrisman sideline to inside the Bears’ 10. A horse collar tackle set up first and goal at the 2, but Platte County faced fourth and goal at the 1 after three straight run plays didn’t result in a score. Zimmerman increased the Pirates’ lead to 27-3 with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Mizell.

Platte County’s final scoring drive of the first half went just three plays. Spears caught another 40-yarder, and Doll’s 6-yard run put the Pirates at the 31. On the next play, Zimmerman hit Mizell along the left sideline, and after letting a Bears defender fly past him with a stop move, he cut inside for a shifty 31-yard touchdown to make it 34-3 with 1:50 left in the half.

“It felt great. I haven’t been much of a shifty receiver this year,” said Mizell, who played sparingly in Week 1 due to a knee injury, didn’t return to action in full until a Week 4 loss to Grain Valley and now has all six of his career touchdowns in the past two weeks against William Chrisman. “Getting open right here, getting past a couple guys felt nice to get into the end zone for a third time.”

Platte County would force a punt and take the ball back looking to extend the lead out to at least 35 with another touchdown, but Zimmerman’s lone mistake of a dominant first half came when he took a sack and lost a fumble. The Pirates continued to hold William Chrisman scoreless and knew they were taking the ball out of halftime. Only the two defensive touchdowns for the Bears against the reserve offense changed the plan.

The flurry of turnovers gave Platte County easy separation again.

Dean’s interception led to a 14-yard touchdown pass from Zimmerman to Mizell, who then ended his day after tying the school record in unexpected fashion. Burnett’s second interception of the season came near midfield, and Zimmerman nearly ended up with a sixth score when he found Doll down the middle for a contested, over-the-shoulder 38-yard catch to convert a third-and-15.

On the next play, Doll plowed into the end zone from a yard out to cap his career-best day and put Platte County fully back in control at 48-17 with 1:26 left in the third quarter.

Platte County experienced its most success on the ground despite not having its leading rusher, and the key could have been a strengthened offensive line. The Pirates have kept junior left tackle and junior left guard Tyler Burch in place all year, but senior Sage Lutz recently moved back to center — a spot he manned at the end of his junior year — while senior Braden Parker started a second straight game at right guard next to surprising freshman right tackle Quinn Lightle.

In addition, Platte County continued to look at senior Brody Gates at multiple spots after his recent return from a Week 5 knee injury suffered against Oak Park, while sophomore Drew Doll worked some at left tackle with Maxwell resting a sore ankle for most of the second half.

On William Chrisman’s next play after Doll’s second touchdown, the quarterback fumbled a shotgun snap and couldn’t get back on the ball. Wesley recovered at the Bears’ 3, and Platte County immediately went back to the reserves. Pirates junior running back Grant Archibald, who finished with 20 yards on six attempts, scored on the next play and put the running clock into effect for the final seconds of the third quarter and all of the fourth quarter. The Pirates also had a second extra point blocked — one in each half — while in a unique situation with senior Jordy Hedrick subbing in at placekicker and going 6-for-8 on extra points. He came up with a key RBI to lead the baseball team to a Class 4 state championship game victory this past spring and has now been recruited as the starting goalkeeper for the soccer team and fill in for football with senior and fellow soccer player Aaron Cordova unavailable against William Chrisman. Hedrick also dressed out the previous week but did not have a chance to kick in that meeting with the Bears.

Marriott reentered in the fourth quarter and finished with 17 yards rushing on three carries and went 2-for-6 passing for 20 yards.

“It was a crazy game all around,” Bill Utz said. “Everything’s going really smooth and then a couple of things gets them back into it. We have to make a few changes then we get the turnovers and blow it out that way. I think the third quarter took three days.”

The rematch mostly went as expected and now sets up a chance for Platte County to avenge a prior loss and earn a spot in a district championship game for the eight straight season. The Pirates have won four of five since the loss to Oak Park dropped them to 1-4 after losing back-to-back games to start the year to Class 4-ranked Kearney (No. 1, 9-0) and Smithville (No. 3, 9-1) then back-to-back games to Class 5 Grain Valley (RV) and Oak Park (No. 10).

The only win in that opening stretch ended up coming against North Kansas City (6-4), which dropped to District 8’s No. 4 seed based on that head-to-head result.

Fort Osage (7-2, ranked No. 7) defeated North Kansas City and Oak Park in the final two weeks of the regular season to earn District 8’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. Oak Park won the prior matchup with Platte County 47-25, taking an early lead with a 9 1/2-minute touchdown drive and extending the advantage on a pair of fumbled kickoff returns at inopportune times.

“Oak Park’s had a great season so far. They’re going to want to keep that going,” Bill Utz said. “That was kind of a point in the season where we were able to start turning things around after that game. Any time in the playoffs, it’s easy motivation.”

The key for Platte County could be a fully healthy defense that dealt with a shorter defensive line rotation plus a dinged-up secondary in the loss to run-heavy Oak Park. The Pirates’ used seniors Bradley, Mar’Ques Brown and Blake Rueckert; juniors Tucker McDowell and Kohry Woessner; and sophomores Kameron Doyle and Jordan Miller on Friday in three- and four-man fronts against William Chrisman with all seven recording one tackle. Miller’s went for a loss.

In addition, Platte County sophomore Darrell Smith returned from two weeks out due to a concussion and finished with two tackles (one for loss) while splitting snaps with Dean (three tackles, one for loss), Pollard and Wesley. The Pirates have also shuffled their defensive secondary with Smith-Dean and Burnett now the first-choice cornerbacks, while McGhee, McClure and senior Cameron Wolfe (one tackle) start at safety.

A hamstring injury limited or kept Wolfe out against North Kansas City, Grain Valley and Oak Park plus a Week 6 win over Raytown before he returned with two interceptions in a victory against Belton. That’s left sophomores Montez Clemons (two tackles) and Taylor Stambersky (one tackle) into reserve roles alongside Hay.

In addition, Platte County could also have Salzman back on offense which could lead to Doll and Walls having more time split in the backfield and additional receiving options for Zimmerman, who is nearing 2,500 yards passing and has nine of his 25 passing touchdowns during the past two weeks.