Platte County holds the line in another convincing victory

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two long gains on busted pass plays — the second leading to a fracas that resulted in a pair of ejections — were more annoyances than concerns.

Platte County dominated start to finish in a 55-14 victory in Suburban Conference White Division play Friday night at Ruskin High School. Five different players, including four running backs, scored rushing touchdowns for the Pirates in another high-powered offensive showing.

For the second straight week, Platte County safety Trevor Hay recorded a pair of interceptions, but the defense’s only blemishes came as a result of ongoing big-play vulnerability. Both of Ruskin’s touchdowns came as a result of the long passes — one directly and one indirectly.

“Could be a lot better,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “Obviously, we won a lopsided game, but sometimes you get to some of these games and it’s a bit uglier than you anticipate it to be or want it to be. We had some of those plays. We had some things we could go back to and do a little bit differently, but I’m never going to be dissatisfied with a win.”

Platte County (8-0) remained unbeaten and continues to rank No. 2 in the Class 5 Missouri Media poll behind unbeaten Cardinal Ritter (7-0), the Class 3 state champion in 2022 before moving up two tiers and taking another last fall.

However, Ruskin (4-4) came up with a touchdown late in the first half and another to open the third quarter to briefly close within 35-14. Platte County ran off the final 20 points unanswered and ended up with a running clock late with senior Isaiah Seymour and junior Zach Burch — backup running backs — punched in the final two touchdowns on short runs. The Pirates finished with 159 yards rushing, and the co-starter duo of senior Dayton Doll and junior Adam Gisler also scored in the first half while junior quarterback Rocco Marriott added a pair.

Marriott also threw for two touchdowns — one each to junior wide receivers Tres Baskerville (five catches for 129 yards) and Braiden Stevens (two catches for 44 yards).

“It makes us a hard scout for sure,” Utz said. “You can’t focus on one thing. We’re stronger by number than individual.”

Platte County led 35-6 at halftime and seemed on the verge of a quick second half.

Instead, Ruskin created a scoring opportunity in an unorthodox fashion. On a third-and-10 at 35, Adarious Brown — one of two quarterbacks the Eagles used — saw a shotgun snap go over his head, but he managed to collect a fortunate bounce and roll right before finding Quinten Henderson behind the defense for a 40-yard gain.

After the play, two Ruskin players were ejected for throwing punches in a confrontation with Platte County’s defensive players, but after the assessment of a 15-yard penalty, the Eagles completed a 29-yard swing pass to Leonard Butler and scored on a sweep right two plays later. Brown’s two-point pass Roger Haney closed the deficit to 35-14.

“There was some ugly stuff,” Utz said. “There was some selfish play, really, on both sides of it that we need to clean up before we get into the postseason. It’s kind of lack of focus and not doing what you’re coached to do, and that’ll get you in trouble.”

Platte County struck right back with Marriott converting a third and 20 with a pass to Baskerville for 40 yards. Two plays later, Marriott scored his second rushing touchdown on a 17-yard run, and the Pirates took possession right back on Hay’s second interception. He stepped in front of a pass from Brown on a second-down play.

A week earlier, Hay returned both of his interceptions for scores. Against Ruskin, Platte County turned both of the turnovers into short fields and easy scores.

“He’s doing a good job,” Utz said. “He’s seeing the field very well. He was so close on so many of them and finally got one caught last week, and I don’t think he’s dropped one since that’s come to him. He’s got a nice string going.”

The first play after Hay’s second pick nearly went for a score when Marriott hit Stevens for a screen and a massive block from senior wide receiver Lane Webb sprung a 28-yard gain down to the 1.

Seymour, who carried six times for 9 yards, scored on the next snap to put the running clock into effect with Platte County up 49-14 with 2 minutes, 47 seconds left in the third quarter.

Ruskin’s final two drives ended with turnovers on downs, and Burch carried three times for 36 yards after the second and capped the scoring with a 4-yard run at the 2:21 mark of the fourth quarter. He went 32 yards on the play before his second touchdown of the season — one in each of the past two weeks.

Platte County started fast and scored the first 27 points before offering the slightest of openings in a second straight blowout of an overmatched conference opponent. The Pirates’ first six games included tests when trailing at some point before eventually beating Grain Valley (52-21), Fort Osage (28-13), Washburn Rural (49-20) and Smithville (51-14).

Ruskin entered with a an above-.500 record, but the four victories came against four teams with a combined three wins.

Platte County went right down the field off the opening kickoff with Marriott finding a mismatch on the outside with Baskerville, who had three catches on the first drive. Marriott also hit junior wide receiver Ty Christopher for 25 yards, and Gisler capped the march with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Gisler finished with 31 yards on seven carries with Platte County junior Michael Poncavage receiving a third straight start at left guard in place of senior Gus Keeton, injured early in a Week 5 win over Belton. The Pirates’ other four up front remained the same — junior Quinn Lightle (left tackle) and seniors Riley Hixson (center), Drew Doll (right guard) and Owen Rawlings (right tackle).

“It’s the offense,” Utz said. “It’s not just an individual person, and so a lot of people throughout the season have made contributions and will continue to make contributions.”

Ruskin quickly went three-and-out, and the Eagles’ punt went just 1 yard. However, Doll fumbled to prevent a second quick score.

Platte County’s defense continued the strong start and after another quick drive and short punt, Marriott went 10 yards on a designed keeper to increase the lead to 14-0 with 55 seconds left in the first quarter. Ruskin didn’t have a sack, and both of his carries went for touchdowns. His first touchdown pass came on the Pirates’ first possession of the second quarter when he hit Baskerville down the home sideline for a 46-yard touchdown. He caught the pass and slipped around three defenders on the big play that increased the advantage to 21-0.

“That’s kind of the way our offense is rolling,” Utz said. “We have a lot of great receivers, but it does seem to be that each game we can find a mismatch with one that tends to rise above some of the others in catches. Tonight, it was Tres’ turn.”

Platte County senior cornerback Bronson Ryan (three tackles) and sophomore defensive lineman Brody Hawk (three tackles plus one for loss) made big stops on the next drive, but Ruskin recorded its second first down to that point to keep the drive alive. After a sack for senior linebacker Brock Fowler (seven tackles), Hay recorded his first interception, which led to Marriott’s second touchdown pass — a 16-yarder to Stevens wide open in the left-side of the end zone.

The 27-0 lead after a failed extra point could have indicated a potential shutout.

Instead, penalties were committed on the next seven plays, including the ensuing kickoff, to muddy up the game. Henderson, who moved between wide receiver and quarterback for Ruskin, took a snap from the Eagles’ 11 and managed to roll left to avoid pressure and connected with wide receiver Larry Douglas for an 89-yard touchdown.

A penalty negated an original missed extra point, and Ruskin also missed the retry to leave the lead at 27-6.

Platte County answered right back with another touchdown drive, and Dayton Doll, who overcame the early fumble to finish with a team-high 56 yards rushing on just eight carries, scored from the 1 with just 49 seconds left in the first half. The 35-6 lead carried into the second half but the varsity ended up needing play the majority of the first two drives in the third quarter.

Marriott finished 11-for-14 for 227 yards with Christoper totaling three catches for 52 yards, and junior tight end Brooks Hall adding one reception for 2 yards.

“It doesn’t matter what the score is. You’re still playing against another team with a lot of pride and want-to,” Utz said. “If you do take your foot off the gas a little bit, per se, you run a risk. “We got a little sloppy on somethings,” Utz said. “Momentum shifted a little bit. They were able to take advantage of it and do good things.”

Platte County’s defense has yet to give up more than 21 points this season, and Grain Valley’s total in that game included a pair of safeties. Washburn Rural’s 20 included a pair of defensive scores, and the majority of the opposing offense’s production has come on long touchdowns or against the reserves.

The depth continues to be impressive.

Platte County senior safety Caden McGhee matched Fowler with seven tackles and added a 1 1/2 sacks, sharing one with sophomore defensive lineman Kyler Parker. The Pirates gave extended time to the backup rotation up front with Parker, Hawk, junior Cole Johnson (three tackles plus one for loss) and junior Cooper Hammontree (one tackle plus one for loss) all productive behind the starting unit of senior defensive end Archie Wesley (five tackles plus two for loss) and junior Cale Buntz three tackles and senior defensive tackles Kameron Doyle (one tackle) and Jordan Miller (three tackles plus one for loss).

Cobe Pollard, a senior linebacker, finished with just on tackle for Platte County while sophomore reserve Carlos Baskerville provided support late with another stop. The Pirates’ defensive backs continued to shine with senior safety Darrell Smith (four tackles) rounding out the starters while Ryan and senior Montez Clemons (two tackles plus one for loss) were again strong in run support as the starting cornerbacks.

Ryan has made six consecutive starts for Platte County since senior Taylor Stambersky suffered a season-ending foot injury in practice after a Week 1 blowout of William Chrisman. The Pirates have been able to look at other sub packages and backups in recent weeks with sophomore defensive backs Jack Johnson, Jordan Moore and Matthew Cisco all recording a tackle against Ruskin, as did junior Mogie Walkingstick.

Platte County might have a wait before receiving the next strong test. The Pirates close the regular season Friday at home against Raytown, which has won five of the pst six but none against opponents with a winning record.

From there, Platte County likely earns the No. 1 seed in Class 5 District 8 and the first-round bye accompanying that spot in the bracket. Additionally, Fort Osage’s 15-8 win over Grain Valley put the Indians (5-3) in position to hold the No. 3 seed with a potential semifinal matchup against Class 5 No. 3-ranked St. Pius X (7-1) in the semifinals.

William Chrisman (1-7) and Lincoln Prep (2-6) sit at the bottom of the district standings with Platte County in position to see either Central (St. Joseph) or Winnetonka in the semifinals on the second Friday in November. Both of those teams sit at 4-4.