Platte County pulls away to beat Fort Osage, takes hold of No. 1 seed in Class 5 District 8

With the beginning of a haunting scenario unfolding, Platte County senior linebacker Maverick Troncin made a play that created an entirely different outcome this time around.

Troncin intentionally and forcefully punched the ball out of the hands of Fort Osage senior running back Niko Burt Jr. just as the Indians approached the red zone at a critical juncture of the fourth quarter Friday night. There were only Pirates defenders in the vicinity of the fumble, and the loose ball fortuitously bounced into the arms of senior cornerback Jordan Moore.

Platte County’s 24-3 victory at Pirate Stadium ended up looking much more comfortable after Moore’s 80-yard return for the first touchdown of his career.

“We went through adversity tonight,” said Platte County junior cornerback Eric Dooley, who made a career-high seven tackles and accounted for one of the Pirates’ five pass breakups. “The biggest things is we stayed calm. All of us played as one. On Mav’s forced fumble, that really switched the momentum of the game. We were fired up.”

Troncin’s textbook “Peanut Punch” — named for the one Chicago Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman made famous in the NFL — and Moore’s return put the finishing touches on a consequential win for the Class 5 District 8 standings and the Suburban Conference White Division title race.

Platte County freshman tight end Braxton Seifert then added the exclamation point on the two-point conversion when sophomore quarterback Kade Fowler ended up uncomfortably scrambling to his left. He lofted a pass high into the back of the end zone, and Seifert, who finished with a team-high four catches for 16 yards, went high to outleap Fort Osage senior Dai’Cion Perkins and make a highlight reel catch.

Those were the last of 24 unanswered points in the second half in a notable reversal of fortune for Platte County (5-2), winners of two straight and back to No. 5 in the most recent Class 5 Missouri Media state poll. The Pirates essentially locked up the top seed in Class 5 District 8 and the accompanying first-round bye and home postseason games with the win while Fort Osage firmly headed toward the second seed.

Platte County also needs to beat winless Truman (0-7) and Belton (4-3) the next two weeks to earn at least a share of the White Division title with Grain Valley (5-2), which plays Central (St. Joseph) in nonconference action this week before closing the regular season with William Chrisman (3-4).

“Every game we take the same. We want to win every game; we want to play our hardest every game, but this one meant something. It really meant something,” Dooley said.

Platte County went into halftime down 3-0 after surviving three three-and-outs — one resulting in a blocked punt — in a stagnant and potentially deflating start.

Fort Osage turned consistently advantageous field position into two field goal tries and made the first but completely botched the second. The Indians also failed on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 on stuffed quarterback sneak that prevented them from building a two-possession lead.

Platte County’s defense created just the one turnover but also sacked Fort Osage senior quarterback four times — two from senior defensive end Brody Hawk (two tackles, one pass breakup) and one each from senior linebacker Carlos Baskerville (team-high 13 tackles with one for loss and a pass breakup) and junior defensive end Greyson Reik (five tackles, one pass breakup). The Pirates ended up surprisingly close to a third shutout and were especially dominant right out of halftime.

After an immediate three-and-out to start the third quarter, the big plays included a tackle for Dooley on a fake punt attempt, a stop behind the line on third and short for senior linebacker Hank Fowler (10 tackles, one for loss) and the game-sealing touchdown from Moore with 5 minutes, 40 seconds left in regulation.

“We stressed and talked about the need to play good complementary football,” Platte County first-year head coach Derek Yost said. “In the first half, it was almost the opposite. We couldn’t get anything going offensively, and the defense just did an amazing job of holding on and keeping us in the game. Those defensive guys locked in and knew what they had to do.”

Platte County reeled off a 4-minute touchdown drive on the possession right after forcing the initial three-and-out. The Pirates converted a fourth-and-inches with a short gain from junior running back Caleb Hill, limited to 59 yards rushing on 14 attempts behind an increasingly rearranged offensive line. He scored from 2 yards out two plays later to put the Pirates up for the first time at 7-3 with 6:47 left in the third quarter.

Set up for a second punt to start the second half, Fort Osage gambled with a fake, and junior Lucas Tucker took the snap as the up-back and tried to run off right tackle. Dooley filled the hole and made a tackle just before the backup quarterback could have potentially found space for a first down.

“I knew they were going to do something so I was just head up on my guy,” Dooley said. “I just went and made a play. I was turnt. I was hyped. It was a big fourth-down stop; it gave our offense good field position.

“Our offense had their struggles, but our defense picked them up every time and they capitalized when they needed to.”

Platte County took over at the Fort Osage 37 but almost immediately faced a fourth and 8. Eschewing a long field goal try, the Pirates pulled out a play call that created confusion in the defense, and sophomore wide receiver Owen Yates slipped wide open down the home sideline and hauled in his second and final catch of a breakout performance.

Yates raced 35 yards for the second touchdown of his career to give Platte County all the momentum and a 13-3 lead late in the third quarter after a failed extra point.

“Got in the end zone tonight, scored — felt great. Tried to help my team,” said Yates, who posted 108 receiving yards — topping the 79 he gained on his 10 catches from the first six games this season. “(The play) is a good concept. I like how we practice every week, always just work on running those DBs off so I can get open.”

Burt ran for 9 yards on Fort Osage’s next play, but the Indians didn’t make a first down.

Platte County made consecutive tackles for loss, the second from Hank Fowler on an outside run to the left. The Pirates then overcame a holding penalty that negated a long run from Hill on a toss sweep on a clock-draining drive spanning well into the fourth quarter.

Hill eventually ripped off a 40-yard run on another toss sweep left to set up senior kicker Sterling Wilson’s 30-yard field goal. This marked the sixth straight game for Wilson with at least one field goal, and he also went 1-for-1 on extra points with the kick never attempted on the second touchdown.

“The spark came from the run and the pass game,” Yost said. “Caleb rips off the big one but gave us steady yards, and I can’t say enough about Kade Fowler’s composure. Tremendous work in the seocnd half where we put together a complete game — offense, defense and special teams.”

However, Fort Osage snapped alive on the next drive and quickly worked into Platte County territory. The Pirates faced a similar situation in Week 2 against Blue Springs South in what ended up the loss that snapped the program’s 29-game winning streak. The Jaguars responded to a late score with a quick touchdown and then added another in the final minute to complete a swift comeback.

Given a second chance to face this type of in-game hardship, Troncin (eight tackles) continued an increasingly prominent first full season as a starter with the forced fumble. Moore raced down the home sideline uncontested until he reached the Fort Osage 30-yard line when he made a quick cut back left and put a hustling quarterback on proverbial skates. Ross ended up sliding by with no ability to slow Moore down.

Platte County has now turned four of 13 total forced turnovers directly into touchdowns this season.

“I was on the back side. I was manned up (with a receiver) so I actually didn’t see (the play),” Dooley said. “It was a stretch play so I was running in pursuit and then I just hear the crowd roar and I see Jordan picking the ball up, running. I thought he was gonna get caught by the quarterback at first — not gonna lie — but then (Ross) fell and I was like, ‘He scorin,'”

The three-score margin of victory seemed impossible at times with a disjointed performance in the first half.

Kade Fowler ended up 10 of 22 passing for 204 yards, but more than half came on the two big completions to Yates, who hauled in a 73-yarder on the third play of the game to set up an initial goal-to-go situation. However, Fort Osage came up with a goal-line stand, stuffing Hill on back-to-back plays while he ran behind another newly configured offensive line.

Platte County ran for 108 yards total behind an offensive line now minus three contributors from the beginning of the season — senior guard James Moiyallah, junior center Miller Bigus (shoulder) and sophomore guard Daxton Leuschen (knee). Moiyallah missed his first game with senior Sayer Reik earning his first career start and shifting from a reserve tackle to left guard. The Pirates still have senior Cooper Koenigsfeld and junior Max Shuey at left and right tackle, respectively, while senior Reece Moppin (center) and junior Gabe Mitchell (right guard) made their third straight starts since Bigus became unavailable.

“Offensive line is doing a tremendous job,” Yost said. “They’re just putting things together, especially when you look at the guys that started the year and the guys we have there now. Not enough good things to say there. They were just fighting their tails off against what was a pretty good front for Fort Osage.”

In addition to Hill, Kade Fowler and junior running back Brady McDaniel added 21 yards rushing apiece while senior running back Devin Smith carried three times for 7 yards. Kade Fowler’s 10 completions went to five different players none to a pair of important wide receivers — junior Nolan Sipes out with a knee injury and Noah Omoike going without a catch for the first time this season.

However, Platte County senior wide receiver Jude Brown hauled in two receptions for 64 yards, while junior Hank Marriott added one for 7 yards, continuing the increased usage for tight ends, and Hill grabbed one for 9 yards in the second half.

“Personally, I love (Kade Fowler). I’ve been with him for a while, and he just did great tonight,” Yates said.

Following Fort Osage’s goal-line stand, the teams traded three-and-outs. The Indians turned theirs into a 25-yard field goal from junior Finn Snowden. A 41-yard run from Burt ended up the big play and ultimately the biggest offensive play against the Pirates’ defense.

Fort Osage’s third drive resulted in another field goal try after Baskerville’s sack on third down. That drove the attempt back, and a botched snap-and-hold led to Ross rolling out and throwing out of the back of the end zone.

Platte County immediately gave up a sack back to the 1-yard line, and Kade Fowler’s second-down pass resulted in one of at least three drops from receivers in the first half. After another incompletion, the Pirates tried to punt from the back of the end zone with Kade Fowler’s attempt blocked.

Fort Osage took over at Platte County’s 4-yard-line with just under 5 minutes left in the second quarter and inviting chance to build the lead and then have possession to start the second half.

Instead, Platte County made critical stands to create an even exchange of goal-line stands. The Pirates’ defensive tackle duo of sophomore Phin McMain (five tackles) and senior Kyler Parker (three tackles) helped plug the sneak attempt and ultimately salvaged an otherwise forgettable first half.

A 12-yard run for McDaniel and a 40-yard completion to Brown helped Platte County escape the goal-line shadow before a final punt of the first half. Fort Osage ended up just running out the remainder of the clock with a disappointing 3-0 lead at halftime.

“We have the special teams gaffe,” Yost said. “Huge to get the goal-line stand, and that set us up for a better second half. We were getting all the offensive looks we wanted; we just weren’t converting.”

Fort Osage never expanded the advantage with almost zero passing game, especially in the second half.

Platte County senior safeties Jack Johnson (four tackles, one for loss), Matt Cisco (four tackles) and Devin Lumm (one tackle) were disciplined, while junior defensive end Sam Smith (one tackle) added depth to the defensive line rotation in his second game back from an offseason knee injury. The Pirates have allowed just 27 points total in their five wins and 27 and 25 in losses to Blue Springs South and Grain Valley.

“If our offense went three-and-out, we still kept our highs and didn’t let our lows get too low,” Dooley said. “That was the main thing.”

The two-time defending state champions, Platte County can set sights on the road to a fourth straight playoff berth. The Pirates go into the final two weeks of the regular season as heavy favorites and then don’t play again until the first week of November.

Platte County’s Class 5 District 8 semifinal after the by comes against either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed with Winnetonka (3-4), Lincoln Prep (3-4) and William Chrisman the likely candidates to occupy those spots. The Pirates already have blowout wins over Winnetonka and William Chrisman but have not played Lincoln Prep since a 23-8 win over the Blue Tigers in the 2019 Class 4 District 8 championship game in Kansas City.

The potential scenario to make another run to the Class 5 state semifinals this season would likely involve beating Fort Osage for a second time and then avenging the 25-19 Week 5 loss to Grain Valley, which owns the top seed in District 7.

“We try not to overhype any win for our kids,” Yost said. “We know this is probably a two-part series with Fort Osage, and we’re just glad that if we get another shot at them it will be back here at Pirate Stadium again.”