Platte County extends season with milestone 700th win in program history

With no indication of the potential historical significance, Platte County not only extended the season but did so in overly convincing fashion.

A milestone win came in the form of a 49-7 blowout of Lincoln Prep in Friday’s Class 5 District 8 semifinal at Pirate Stadium. The Pirates’ dominated start to finish, scoring all the points in less than 18 minutes of game play with six touchdowns on offense plus senior cornerback Jordan Moore’s third defensive score of the season.

The result pushed Platte County back into the Class 5 District 8 championship game but more significantly marked the 700th win in program history, which dates to 1907. According to research, Platte County unofficially becomes just the eighth Missouri school to hit that mark and joined an exclusive list that also includes Rockhurst (791), Webb City (757), Jefferson City (738), Jackson (716), Webster Groves (711), MICDS (710) and Marceline (707).

“Obviously, this is an absolute privilege,” Platte County first-year head coach Derek Yost said. “The heart of the Platte County football program is the winning tradition and great community. I still wake up some days and question whether or not this is real. I feel like I’m living out my dream, so I’m just happy to be a part of this and have the opportunity to lead these young men. I’m extremely grateful for the guys who came before them, and this is a credit to all of those coaches.”

Platte County scored on the first six offensive possessions of the 12th all-time meeting with Lincoln Prep — first since a 23-8 victory for the Pirates in a Class 4 District 8 championship game in 2019. Four of the touchdowns came on the ground with junior running back Caleb Hill (13 carries, 117 yards) finding the end zone three times, while two more came through the air for sophomore quarterback Kade Fowler, who tossed one each to senior wide receivers Noah Omoike and Jude Brown.

Meanwhile, Platte County’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown for a fifth straight game, a stretch that includes three shutouts sine a loss to Grain Valley in Week 5. Moore picked off a pair of passes, upping his team-high total to six, and returned the first for a touchdown midway through the first quarter that extended the Pirates’ lead to 20-0.

Lincoln Prep’s lone points came late in the first quarter on a fluke play where an errant snap nearly went backward and out of play but ultimately led to an ill-advised pass attempt that resulted in an interception in the end zone.

“Nothing we didn’t expect coming and playing a team like this but we’re ready to win and move on,” Platte County senior center Reece Moppin said.

Platte County (8-2) showed no adverse effects from a layoff after earning the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the district bracket. Hill set the tone with physical runs early behind an offensive line unit now officially minus junior center Miller Bigus for the rest of the season, while Fowler (7-for-9, 88 yards) made big throws in limited passing opportunities. The Pirates continued to start Moppin at center with fellow seniors James Moiyallah (guard) and Cooper Koenigsfeld (tackle) on the left side and juniors Gabe Mitchell (guard) and Max Shuey (tackle) on the right.

Mitchell moved into the lineup after Bigus’ shoulder injury forced Moppin to shift over.

Platte County ran for just 162 yards total due to consistently short fields while also rotating in junior Brady McDaniel (four carries for 24 yards, one touchdown) and senior Devin Smith (three carries, 16 yards) early at running back, while Fowler added 5 on one designed run. Hill’s fifth 100-yard game of 2026 put him over 1,000 for the season, becoming just the 13th in program history to reach that mark.

“We’ve been working hard during the bye week, and it really showed tonight, and we dominated,” Koenigsfeld said.

Class 5 District 8 No. 5 seed Lincoln Prep (4-6) entered off of a one-point win over Winnetonka but never gained any footing against the two-time defending state champions.

Two full weeks after shutting out Belton in the regular season finale, Platte County opened on offense Friday night and marched right down the field, mostly behind chunk runs for Hill. The Pirates then committed back-to-back penalties but didn’t let that stall the momentum with Fowler hitting Omoike (two catches, 27 yards) wide open over the middle for a 17-yard touchdown to put the Pirates up 7-0 less than 3 minutes into the first quarter.

“We played great with the ball control early on that first drive,” Yost said. “We wanted to come out and establish the O-line and the running backs, and we did a good job of that. We battled through the two penalties, but we want to make sure we’re playing some games where we’re free of those negative plays. Still some cleaning up to do there and things we can continue to work on.”

Platte County’s defense then forced a quick three-and-out, and after a very short shanked punt, the Pirates took advantage of a short field with Hill scoring the first of his three touchdowns. The extra-point attempt turned into an unplanned two-point pass that fell incomplete to limit the damage to a 13-0 lead.

However, Lincoln Prep’s next snap resulted in disastrous pass from junior quarterback Evan Tucker that seemingly went directly to Moore in the flat rather than senior wide receiver Faison Chism II. He waltzed 16 yards untouched into the end zone, adding to a pick-six against Truman and a fumble return for a touchdown vs. Fort Osage in his breakout senior season, to put the Pirates ahead 20-0 with 5:04 left in the first quarter.

All three of Moore’s touchdowns have come during the current five-game winning streak. His six interceptions as a senior rank as the fourth-most in a single season ever at Platte County, while the nine in his career sits seventh in program history.

“Jordan just has a nose for turnovers,” Yost said. “It’s hard to explain with some guys. Some guys show it in practice and drills but it doesn’t always translate to games. He comes out and applies that ability on the field week in and week out.”

Platte County ended up ahead 28-0 after the first quarter after Hill capped the fourth offensive drive with another trip to the end zone before Fowler tossed a two-point pass to junior tight end Hank Marriott (one catch, 11 yards).

The next three touchdown drives all occurred in the first half of the second quarter. McDaniel dashed in from 9 yards out with 9:24 left before halftime, and Hill upped his season total of rushing scores to 17 in 10 games just over 2 minutes later.

Platte County senior linebacker Hank Fowler (two tackles) recorded the lone sack of Tucker on Lincoln Prep’s next drive to force another three-and-out. One play after the resulting punt, Kade Fowler hit Brown on a post pattern over the middle for a 45-yard touchdown that capped the scoring and pushed the Blue Tigers’ deficit to 49-0 with 6:13 still left in the first half.

Kade Fowler’s completions ended up spread between five players with Yates matching Omoike’s two catches to finish with 22 yards, while Brown, Marriott and Seifert (18 yards) all made one grade each.

In the second half, Platte County junior Paxton Bennett and freshman Jacek Kwiatkowski both saw time at quarterback and completed a pair of passes — one each to wide receivers junior Will Jackson (10 yards) and freshman Brayden Simms (5 yards).

“You’re always concerned (about layoffs),” Yost said. “Our conversation after the Belton game was how we would handle the bye week. I think we put together a solid plan as a coaching staff, so I’m extremely proud of how they came out ready to compete.”

Platte County limited Tucker to only a few long completions with Moore and junior Eric Dooley (one tackle) back in the starting lineup. Dooley missed the win over Belton after an unconventional pregame ankle injury, and the Pirates ended up with three interceptions total.

The rotation at safety included starting senior safeties Matt Cisco and Jack Johnson (one tackle apiece), while seniors Brandon Reynolds (four tackles) and Devin Lumm (one tackle for loss) also rotated in at multiple spots.

A former backup quarterback who earned a first career start against Belton in place of Dooley, Reynolds made four tackles and added an interception — also the first of his career — in the end zone to end a Lincoln Prep drive late in the second quarter.

“Impressed with how (the defense’s) focus looked throughout the week,” Yost said. “They understand what’s at stake and where we’re trying to go. They got better during the bye week and carried that through to the preparation. Practices can get long and arduous, but our defensive guys have done a really nice job of paying attention to detail.”

Platte County consistently with the starting defensive end duo of senior Brody Hawk (three tackles) and junior Greyson Reik (one tackle) plus the defensive tackle tandem of senior Kyler Parker (two tackles) and sophomore Phin McMain (three tackles) all having one stop for a loss each. In addition to Hank Fowler’s sack, Carlos Baskerville (three tackles, forced fumble) and Maverick Troncin (four tackles) — the Pirates’ other two senior linebackers — made a pair of stops behind the line apiece.

The dominance continued well into the second half, played entirely under a 35-point running clock.

Platte County sophomore Elijah Lewis (two tackles) and sophomore linebacker Carter Lanning also finished with a tackle for loss apiece. The Pirates faced very few total snaps and sophomore defensive back Kaiden Byng (three), senior cornerback Jaden Mathurin (one), sophomore linebacker Trey Keraus (one), freshman linebacker Brig Nelson (one) and freshman defensive lineman Jason Nava (one) also made the stat sheet with at least one tackle.

Now, Platte County’s focus turns to potentially the 701st win in program history and a third straight Class 5 District 8 title. The Pirates host second-seeded Fort Osage (6-5) at 7 p.m. Friday night in a rematch of a highly competitive Suburban Conference White Division matchup in Week 7.

Platte County won the first meeting 24-3.

“We’ve been there done that; we beat Fort O,” Koenigsfeld said. “We just can’t get ahead of ourselves, and we’ve just got to play the football we know.”

In the previous matchup, Fort Osage led 3-0 at halftime and remained within striking distance late in the second half before Troncin forced a fumble that Moore scooped up and returned for a touchdown and the final points late in the fourth quarter. The Indians opened district play with a 51-0 trouncing of winless Truman and pulled away to beat third-seeded Raytown (7-4) in Friday’s other semifinal.

Platte County plays in a district title game for the 11th time in the past 12 seasons, the lone exception in 2022 when Fort Osage advanced to the Class 5 championship game and finished as state runnerup.

“Fort O’s going to be great,” said Moiyallah, who missed the previous game against the Indians due to illness. “I’m glad to be back, and I’m fully ready to take on whatever challenge comes my way.”