Platte County picks off Fort Osage to earn return to district title game

The pass fluttered in the air with Seth Martin the only player in position to make a catch.

Platte County’s senior linebacker went high in the air only to have the ball slip away from his hands and fall to the turf at Pirate Stadium. Even as teammates put hands to helmets in disbelief, the Pirates were never more relieved to see a dropped interception with the fourth-down incompletion resulting in a turnover in downs and allowing them to run out the final seconds of a 28-21 victory over Fort Osage in Friday’s Class 5 District 8 semifinal.

“It was all right. It was better field position, and a win is a win,” said Martin, the impact first-year starter who recorded five tackles, a sack and the game-clinching pass defensed. “I’m just happy to get the win, and that’s awesome. Another week.”

Platte County (9-2) raced to a 20-0 lead with three touchdowns on three offensive possessions from sophomore quarterback Rocco Marriott, who threw a pair of scores — one each to senior Dawsen Mizell and sophomore Tres Baskerville — before reeling off a career-long 61 yard scamper for another. However, Fort Osage (6-5) answered with a pair of long scoring drives that left the score stuck at 20-14 for the majority of the game and left a blocked extra point looming as a potential deciding factory.

In the end, the expected tight matchup between the district’s second and third seeds played out with an unlikely script of early offense, defensive adjustments and dramatics late despite the fact Platte County never trailed.

Marriott eventually hit Mizell for a second touchdown with 7 minutes, 11 seconds left in regulation to restore a two-possession lead at 28-14 after sophomore running back Adam Gisler ran in the two-point conversion. After the Pirates made a critical stop with only inches to spare on a fourth down inside the red zone, a turnover led to a second chance.

Fort Osage converted a quick touchdown, made a defensive stop and forced a punt with under a minute left, leading to the last-gasp try for a tying score that ended with Martin’s pass breakup.

“We just didn’t want to go home,” Mizell said. “Coaches gave us great talks all week. Us as teammates, we’ve been talking all week. This isn’t it for us. We’re too good.”

Platte County now goes into the Class 5 District 8 championship game for a rematch with No. 2-ranked Grain Valley (9-1) seeking the program’s first playoff berth since losing in the 2020 Class 5 Show-Me Bowl to Jackson — the second of back-to-back state runnerup finishes for the Pirates. In Week 4, the Eagles pulled away for a 45-24 win behind senior running back Ty Williams’ 400-plus yards of total offense that eventually earned them the Suburban Conference White Division Championship.

Grain Valley decisively put an end to Platte County’s three-game unbeaten start to the season three weeks after knocking off Fort Osage in Week 1 — a combination of wins that decided the No. 1 seed in Class 5 District 8 and the right to host this week’s game at 7 p.m. Friday. The Eagles’ lone loss lone loss came to Class 6 unbeaten Oak Park (10-0), which beat Platte County in Week 5 to give the Pirates’ back-to-back losses before going on the current unbeaten run.

Platte County gave up 80 points combined in two losses this season but just 74 total in the six games since. Despite a depleted secondary due to injuries, the Pirates were mostly stout in the latest test against Fort Osage, which totaled just 219 yards of offense — nearly half coming on the two first-half touchdown drives. Indians star running back Ryver Peppers managed just 95 yards rushing on 23 carries, while quarterback Kyle Wilson completed 18 of 22 passes but for only 139 yards.

By forcing so many pass situations for a run-first offense, Platte County ended up with six total sacks — a career-high three for junior nose tackle Kameron Doyle (one tackle, one tackle for loss) and one each for Martin, junior linebacker Darrell Smith (team-high 11 tackles) and junior safety Montez Clemons (eight tackles and a pass defensed).

“From my standpoint, you don’t want to play too safe, but then you have to play smart,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “I thought we were doing that. Fort O’s going to make some plays, too, so it was a whole combination of things. The whole game wasn’t just down to the last few minutes. It was competitive like that the whole way. Just a real great game between a 2 and a 3 seed, two great teams.

“I don’t need all the nerves at the end. I kind of liked the lead we had early, but that’ s why we play. That’s how it goes, and we’ll take it.”

The defense actually played a big part in the offense’s fast start.

After Baskerville (four catches for 38 yards) returned the opening kickoff near midfield, Gisler took a handoff on the first play and rumbled 14 yards into Fort Osage territory. Marriott dropped back three plays later on third and 11 and found Mizell behind the defense and at the goal line for a 36-yard touchdown to put Platte County ahead just 1:03 into the first quarter. The Pirates then forced a three-and-out and took over at their own 35.

After taking a sack, Marriott hit sophomore wide receiver Braiden Stevens for a 36-yard gain.

Fort Osage then forced a fourth and 5 just outside the red zone. Instead of taking a long field goal, Platte County kept the offense on the field, and Marriott dropped back and delivered a strike to Baskerville over the middle for a 26-yard score that put the Pirates up 14-0 in a big spot where momentum could have gone the other way.

Marriott hung in the pocket and stepped into a throw while taking a hit from Fort Osage junior star linebacker Anthony Thompson — younger brother of NFL quarterback Skylar Thompson, currently third-string for the Miami Dolphins.

Fort Osage’s second three-and-out led a third straight quick-strike touchdown.

After a 14-yard completion to Baskerville, Marriott faked a handoff to Gisler and then quickly decided to tuck and run behind his running back around the right side. Gisler ended up serving as a lead blocker all the way down the field, allowing Marriott to go the majority of the 61 yards up the home sideline untouched.

“Came at just the right time, and you know, he’s deceptively fast,” Utz said. “Once he got the edge, you could see him accelerate and then he just right-roped it all the way down and got in (the end zone).”

Having a part in all four touchdowns, Marriott turned in his most complete game of the season, finishing 11 of 16 passing for 219 yards while adding 69 yards rushing — only not more impressive because of losses from sacks. Most importantly, he did not have a turnover, even while taking on added running duties to try and counter Fort Osage’s aggressiveness.

“So we had the three touchdowns on offense, but we also had two huge stops on defense,” Utz said. “The first five series in the game all went in our favor, and so that was exactly the way we needed to do it. If it doesn’t go that way, even if it’s half of that, you could be looking at a different results.

“This is a game where you wanted to play with a lead, and we were able to do that.”

The fast start became more important when Fort Osage found some traction on offense during the next two drives.

Peppers started finding creases and showed off shifty running ability to do the majority of the work and scores came on Wilson’s 17-yard completion to Alex Snodgrass and his 3-yard dive into the end zone to cut the Indians’ deficit to 20-14 with 7:04 left before halftime. From there, Platte County’s defense made stops on five straight drives to keep the six-point lead intact. This included a strip-sack from Clemons and junior defensive end Jordan Miller (one tackle plus one for loss and the forced fumble) that Smith recovered while keeping the ball away from multiple opposing players trying to rip it away and an interception from Mizell, who was pressed into extended defensive duty and the first two-way action of his career.

Platte County has lost junior safety Caden McGhee (torn ACL in Week 3 win over North Kansas City), junior safety/cornerback Taylor Stambersky (recently discovered broken leg) and senior cornerback Ayden Watts (knee injury a week earlier in district win over Raytown), leaving senior cornerback Jordan Burnett (three tackles) as the only regular cornerback and Clemons and sophomore safety Ty Christopher (four tackles) as the only healthy defensive backs from the expected rotation.

While sophomore Zach Burch started at cornerback opposite of Burnett, Mizell rotated in and made two tackles in addition to his interception in the final minute of the second quarter.

“I would’ve never thought,” said Mizell, who also finished with four catches for 89 yards and the two scores. “I’ve been talking about trying to get a pick and a touchdown all week. When I saw that ball floating in there on defense, I was like, ‘It’s happening.’ It was great.”

Both turnovers came just before halftime, and Platte County started the third quarter on defense, as well.

Three straight runs for Peppers all went for 2 yards and led to a Fort Osage punt. The Indians’ next two drives with a chance to draw closer, tie or take the lead also resulted in three-and-outs.

However, Platte County’s offense started to encounter issues after Marriott’s long touchdown run. For the 11th straight game, the Pirates starting offensive line consisted of senior left tackle Muyonta Maxwell, junior left guard Drew Doll, junior center Riley Hixson, senior right guard Becker Grego and senior right tackle Gage Fulk while sophomore Quinn Lightle continued to rotate in at multiple spots since his return from a knee injury in the Week 5 loss to Oak Park.

Fort Osage became just the fourth team this season to hold Gisler under 100 yards rushing, limiting him to a season-low 45 on 17 carries on a night where his toughness and effort in pass protection were just as important as any other contribution during a 1,000-yard season where he became the featured running back midway through Week 1 after a season-ending shoulder injury to junior Dayton Doll. On the Pirates’ final scoring drive, his two carries went for -1 and 0 yards, but after the first, Marriott hit Stevens, who finished with a team-high 92 yards on four catches, for a 43-yard gain. He made the catch near his own 45 and then turned up field to take the ball deep into Indians’ territory.

Marriott carried on the next two plays with both runs, including one down near the goal line called back due to penalties.

On second and 23, Platte County went to a mesh of crossing receivers that ended up with Mizell streaking uncovered from left to right for what ended up a wide-open, walk-in 28-yard touchdown. He missed the first three games of the season due to disciplinary reasons and broke out with a three-touchdown performance in a Week 6 win at Belton but had just one other appearance in the end zone since before Friday.

“It’s a play we’ve been working on these past couple of weeks,” Mizell said. “It just opened up perfectly.”

Fort Osage ended up running most of the remaining 7 minutes on the ensuing drive, which ended inside the red zone. On a fourth down play, the Indians flipped the ball to sophomore Nicholas Penamon on a reverse, and he nearly ended up with a first down before Clemons came over to push him out of bounds just short of the 9 yards needed to set up a first-and-goal.

However, Gisler took a hard hit and lost a fumble on the ensuing third-and-7 play for Platte County.

Wilson took a sack on his next snap but then hit sophomore wide receiver Trace Smith for a 16-yard score to make it 28-21 with 2:35 left in regulation. With sophomore tight end Brooks Hall running down a squibbed onside effort, Platte County took over needing one first down to ice the win but ultimately punted back 54 seconds on the clock.

“I don’t know how you draw up a good high school playoff game, but this one looked pretty good to me,” Utz said.

Wilson threw incomplete and then completed a 2-yarder to Penamon before what ultimately ended up a deciding play. A pass into the flat for Penamon was ruled a backward lateral that ultimately resulted in a 12-yard loss for Fort Osage and set up fourth and 20 at the Indians’ 32.

Platte County senior defensive end Tucker McDowell (four tackles plus one for loss) provided initial pressure from the right with junior defensive end Archie Wesley (two tackles) pressing the pocket from the left. Wilson eventually rolled left toward his sideline before ultimately heaving the ball downfield to no one in particular. Martin didn’t end up with his first interception of the season but settled for a celebration with his teammates before the Pirates’ offense took the field for one victory formation snap.

“I held my breath most of the game,” Utz said. “Really, I thought the blocked extra point was going to be costly. You just had that feeling the way the game played out, especially when they started moving the ball a little bit. Credit to our defense for continuing to make plays.”

Platte County entered the season off of the first losing season in a decade with plenty of questions after losing to Oak Park in last year’s District 8 semifinals, keeping them out of a district title game for the first time since 2014. Now, the Pirates have earned a return with a youthful but talented roster intent on proving any internal or external expectations for a rebuilding bridge year to future success.

After missing out on the No. 1 seed, Platte County knew the possibilities hinged on evening the all-time series at 1-1 with Fort Osage, which won the first matchup between the two programs in the 2021 Class 5 District 8 title game.

“Why not make a run this year?” Martin said. “We have the guys in place to do it, so we might as well go for it.”

However, Grain Valley provides a daunting challenge, having won two straight in the series after winning back-to-back Class 5 District 7 titles before losses to Fort Osage in 2021 and 2022 state quarterfinals.

Platte County must have a better defensive performance after Williams rumbled to big play after big play in a season-defining purpose for one of the top players in the KC Metro area. The Pirates have started to hone in on the right identity, even in the wake of the injuries that will likely again lead to a makeshift secondary.

However, Platte County continues to rely on a steady defensive line rotation plus the versatility of players like Smith, Wesley, Martin, junior linebackers Cobe Pollard (six tackles) and Trevor Hay (nine tackles), who did not play in the first game against Grain Valley after a broken wrist suffered in the season-opener against Kearney kept him out until a Week 8 win over Park Hill South.

“We’re going to be ready for (Grain Valley). I can promise that,” Mizell said.