Platte County loses star senior Salzman in late stages of comeback bid vs. Smithville

SMITHVILLE, Mo. — As the final desperation Hail Mary fell incomplete, the reactions from players and coaches looked frustratingly familiar.

Platte County could have an unbeaten start while navigating troublesome injuries and younger-than-expected rotation on both sides of the ball. Instead, a miscommunicated, mistimed faked punt and some costly penalties overshadowed an otherwise stellar performance from the Pirates’ rebuilt defense Friday night against the defending Class 4 state champions at Smithville High School.

Smithville held on late for a 10-7 victory, all but running out the clock with one grinding late drive after Platte County senior quarterback Dylan Zimmerman provided life with a touchdown scramble midway through the fourth quarter. The Pirates have endured a pair of tight non conference losses and now sit at 0-2 for the first time since 2008 and two games under .500 for the first time since ending the 2013 season at 4-6 on a four-game losing streak.

“As I told them, you’ve done all the work,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “You’ve gone to practices; you’re doing all the hard work, and then when you come up empty without celebrations, you’re at a crossroads. You’ve got to see if you really love it or if you don’t. That’s kind of where we’re at.”

Platte County’s situation became even more dire during the fourth quarter touchdown drive when senior wide receiver Carter Salzman went down along the visitor’s sideline with what appears to be a broken collarbone that could very well end his season. The Pirates were already without junior defensive end Tucker McDowell (shoulder) for a second straight game, while sophomore linebacker Archie Wesley (knee) and junior wide receiver Dawsen Mizell (knee) missed the game after both started Week 1.

In addition, Platte County senior wide receiver Dom Spears and junior cornerback Jordan Burnett were out for disciplinary reasons, and freshman reserve wide receiver Tres Baskerville also missed due to injury after debuting with two catches in an overtime loss to Kearney a week earlier.

“We need a vaccine for the injury bug because right now we can’t get away from it,” Utz said. “Obviously, Salzman is at the top of that list right now.”

Smithville (2-0), ranked No. 2 in the Missouri Media Class 4 rankings, hasn’t lost since 2020, came up with just enough offense and points.

Platte County held senior all-state quarterback Austin Hedgecorth to a 9-for-19 line passing for just 48 yards. In what became a defensive struggle, both teams ran exactly 48 plays with Smithville winning the yardage battle 191-179 with the majority of the Warriors’ production coming on a touchdown drive right before halftime and the final march that left the Pirates with just 21 seconds and a long field to navigate without a timeout.

Despite some cramping issues late, Platte County sophomore linebacker Darrell Smith continued to shine with eight tackles, one for loss and the Pirates’ first sack of the year, while senior Cameron Dean (five tackles, one for loss) and sophomore Cobe Pollard (six tackles) rotated in at the other spot. Andy McClure, a senior safety and first-year starter, added eight tackles and a key pass breakup, while senior safety Cameron Wolfe came up with four tackles, one for loss in another solid defensive effort.

“What’s special about it is you have so much inexperience, and we’re learning from some mistakes,” Utz said. “We’re getting better, and I thought we played well tonight, too. With all the different pieces we’re running out and getting them in the right spots and inexperience with it, they’re fighting. I give them that, and we just have to make sure it’s positive effort all the time.”

However, Platte County went into the fourth quarter scoreless and trailing 10-0 due to another inconsistent offensive effort.

The turnaround started in the final seconds of the third quarter after a Smithville three-and-out and punt that left the Pirates at their own 29-yard line. Zimmerman hit Salzman for a 28-yard gain out across midfield and sent them into the fourth quarter with some momentum. However, this would the last of his four catches for 48 yards and possibly the last of a three-year career as a star wideout.

A defensive pass interference penalty plus a quick 5-yard completion to senior running back Nate Walls (four catches, 44 yards) eventually set up a third-and-five at the 25. Zimmerman lofted a pass along the sideline, and Salzman attempted to run under it while out of bounds and taking a push that forced an awkward landing.

Salzman stayed down in obvious pain and eventually walked off the field with his right arm pulled close to his body. He eventually had the limb tightly wrapped to his chest.

After a long injury delay, Platte County resumed in a fourth and 5, and Zimmerman converted with a 6-yard scramble for a first down. He hit Walls up the seam for a 14-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal at the 5, but two straight runs for minus-2 yards apiece from Walls led to a tough third-and-goal at the 9.

Zimmerman dropped back and didn’t find a receiver before scrambling left and just inside the left pylon for a 9-yard touchdown run — the first of his career — to pull the Pirates within 10-7 with 9 minutes, 9 seconds remaining.

“That was the positive outside of that drive, even though the injury outweighs everything,” Utz said referencing Salzman, who had 10 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown in the first two games. “But you lose a kid like him that everybody counts on, and then to go ahead and answer out of it with a score, obviously, they stepped up and played for more than themselves. So that’s good. You like that.”

Smithville took over after a touchback and immediately committed a holding penalty. However, the Warriors worked out of a second and 18 with a long run and an offsides penalty to convert on third-and-3.

Platte County would later force a first and 22, but Hedgecorth’s biggest throw of the night found junior wide receiver Max McKenzie for a 14-yard gain with Pirates sophomore safety Tyler Stambersky just missing a potential interception. Instead of a game changing turnover, the Warriors lined up for a third and 1 and gained 2 to keep the drive moving.

Eventually, Smithville ran 14 plays and rove all the way to the 10 with just over 2 minutes left in regulation, assisted along the way by a 15-yard facemark penalty against Platte County.

“We made too many mistakes that don’t need to be made,” Utz said. “That’s just unacceptable. We’ve got to buy into what we’re doing as a program, and until we avoid those kind of conflicts, we’re going to make things difficult for ourselves.”

Smithville then ran into its own penalty issues.

After running for an apparent crushing first down, an illegal shift flag set up a third and 11. The Warriors ran the ball again with senior running back Caleb Donnell, who totaled 101 yards on 17 carries, to chew more clock but faced fourth and 7 at the 11. They called a pair of timeouts while trying to draw an offsides penalty before eventually running a play with 31 seconds left.

Hedgecorth hit McKenzie on a fade pass for an apparent second touchdown only for the receiver to commit an obvious pushoff that the officials flagged for offensive pass interference.

Smithville still got to run another play with 27 seconds left, and Hedgecorth’s final incompletion left just 21 seconds left.

Zimmerman hit Walls for 21 yards and spiked the ball with 3 seconds left to set up a final play from Platte County’s own 46. The final pass went up the home sideline toward senior defensive end Chandavian Bradley, a commit to Tennessee as a defensive end who saw increased time at wide receiver against Smithville. The pass harmlessly sailed over his head and incomplete to end the game.

“We just didn’t have the time we needed there,” Utz said. “I was very optimistic in the sense that we score that drive, get a stop, get a score and win the game. We’ve had that recipe before, and we were a lot closer than what it seemed. I mean we really were. There were so many opportunities that could have gone the other, just inches away, and would’ve changed the game completely.”

Platte County missed an early chance to take a lead and committed a costly first half turnover while again relying heavily on the pass game.

Zimmerman finished 16-for-30 but for only 121 yards, while adding 25 yards rushing on five attempts. The Pirates’ offensive line again featured junior Muyonta Maxwell (left tackle), senior Tyler Burch (left tackle), senior Braden Parker (center) and senior Sage Lutz (right tackle), while senior Brody Gates worked with the first team at right guard after serving as a backup Week 1. The Pirates also worked in freshman Quinn Lightle for a series at right tackle in place of Lutz but struggled to find a running game again with Walls at just 27 yards on 11 attempts, sophomore running back Dayton Doll receiving just one carry for 5 yards while working more at slot receiver with Mizell out and Salzman receiving one carry for 1 yard.

The issues were especially costly with Smithville running just 10 plays on offense in the first quarter and not gaining a first down until the next-to-last snap of the opening 2 minutes. After an opening three-and-out, Hedgecorth shanked a punt for just 15 yards, and Platte County started at the Warriors’ 48.

Walls had an opening run for 10 yards, and Zimmerman completed passes for 4 yards and 13 yards to Salzman to move into the red zone.

Platte County then settled for a 32-yard field goal try from senior Aaron Cordova, who saw his attempt blocked with 7:03 left in the first quarter to keep the game scoreless. Smithville couldn’t take advantage with a second three-and-out on the second drive, and Smith’s sack of Hedgecorth ending the drive that carried over into the second quarter to force a punt in plus territory.

The results were similar to Week 1 against Kearney when Platte County couldn’t finish an opening drive and later was held at the 1 on the final play of the second quarter to keep the lead at halftime at 7-0.

“It’s a game of momentum anyway,” Utz said. “Both weeks, our first drive was a positive drive with zero points. I think if were to a point where we able to score on that first drive right out of the gate that always sets the tone against anybody you play.”

Smithville finished the first half with three three-and-outs, the last coming after a costly lost fumble from Salzman ended another drive to reach Warriors’ territory.

Platte County’s defensive line started the game strong with senior Blake Rueckert (four tackles), junior Kohry Woessner (three tackles), sophomore Kameron Doyle (two tackles) and senior Mar’Ques Brown (one tackle) rotating through in the absence of McDowell and with Bradley having an off day that included zero statistics. The Pirates also received strong support from younger members of the secondary in sophomore cornerback Caden McGee (three tackles, one for loss) and Stambersky (five tackles), while senior stopper cornerback Garrett Smith-Dean added one stop.

The first cracks came on Smithville’s final drive of the half, which started at the Warriors’ 47.

Donnell’s 26-yard run on second and 11 was the big blow, and he added a 2-yarder to convert a third-and-2 at the 6 to set up a goal-to-go situation. On the next play, Hedgecorth hit McKenzie for a 4-yard score to make it 7-0 with just 21 seconds left in the half.

“It was a gut punch. That’s a good way to look at it,” Utz said. “Those halftimes are hard because now you have to regroup and still make your adjustments. That’s a difficult situation.”

Going into halftime, both teams had run 25 plays for 96 yards then exchanged three-and-outs to start the fourth quarter.

A punt return from Salzman for 13 yards seemed to provide a spark for Platte County, but then came a disastrous series of plays. The Pirates committed a 15-yard illegal block on the next play, and an incompletion and a completion for a loss of 1 yard to senior wide receiver Tristan Magnuson led to third-and-24. Then came a false start penalty and another penalty — one of eight totaling 80 yards called against the Pirates overall..

The fourth-and-29 at Platte County’s own 14 was an obvious punting situation, but Zimmerman lined up to kick and instead lofted an incomplete pass down the visitor’s sideline to an area Smith-Dean had vacated to go down the field in coverage. There appeared to be a miscommunication and no call for a fake punt from the Pirates’ coaching staff, and Smithville took over at the Pirates’ 14.

“It was a mistake,” Utz said. “We had talked about if it was there we were going to look at (a fake), but that obviously wasn’t the situation we would’ve liked that. And then there was a miscommunication. It doesn’t matter where it happened.”

Platte County’s defense came up big again, but Smithville kicker Zach Wheeler hooked a 35-yard field goal attempt just inside the right upright to make it 10-0 the score. All three of the Warriors’ possessions in the third quarter were three-and-outs, but their only chance with the ball in the fourth quarter ate up 45 yards but more importantly most of the time remaining to snuff out any legitimate hopes of a comeback.

In some ways, the results have been encouraging even in defeat.

Kearney moved up to No. 4 in the Class 4 Missouri Media rankings now at 2-0 after dismantling Fort Osage on Friday to move to 2-0. The Indians are the defending champions in Platte County’s Class 5 District 8 and seemingly the favorite in the six-team field. Smithville and Kearney will likely be battling for Suburban Conference Blue Division and Class 4 District 8 supremacy.

Platte County will need to find answers on offense with a running game currently stuck in neutral and the gamebreaking Salzman on the shelf. Those needed to step in to bigger roles will be Magnuson (three catches, 10 yards), Doll (one catch, 4 yards) and junior wide receiver Brennan Rich (one catch, 7 yards). The Pirates also hope to have Mizell and Spears back plus increased contributions from the up-and-coming freshman options — Baskerville, wide receiver Ty Christopher and tight end Jack Utz, who recorded his first career catch for 8 yards against Smithville.

The test starts with North Kansas City (2-0) in what has become an unofficial rivalry.

Platte County has faced the Hornets four times over the past two seasons and won three, including a sweep last year. They do bring an imposing defense with at least a pair of Division I talents — Edric Hill (Alabama) and Adepoju Adebawore (Oklahoma) — meaning the Pirates might have to rely on Zimmerman and his reconfigured receiving options, possibly including Bradley.

To make the game more intriguing, the two teams will be battling for position in the District 8 standings — North Kansas City currently first and Platte County currently last. The Hornets also have started junior Garin Walton at quarterback each of the first two games after he transferred from Platte County in the offseason.

An 0-3 start for Platte County could be devastating for multiple reasons, especially with road games at Grain Valley (1-1) to start Suburban Conference White Division play and at Oak Park in another intradistrict matchup looming.