Platte County junior defensive end Cale Buntz pressures Belton quarterback Cooper Shrum on Friday in Belton. TODD NUGENT/PC Preps Extra

Platte County strikes quick early in both halves to win battle of Pirates

Belton’s 3 turnovers all lead to quick scores in Suburban Conference White Division matchup.

BELTON, Mo. — The offensive production ended up extremely limited, but the margin of victory convincingly lopsided.

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Platte County junior wide receiver Ty Christopher goes into the end zone for a touchdown against Belton on Friday at Belton High School.

Considering the key injuries in the running back corps, Platte County didn’t care much for the optics in Friday night’s 42-7 victory at Belton High School. The visiting Pirates turned a trio of fumble recoveries into scores and put a running clock into effect twice in the second half against Belton.

Platte County improved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in Suburban Conference White Division play while playing without a pair of standout running backs — senior Dayton Doll (toe) and junior Adam Gisler (shoulder) due to injuries. Platte County junior quarterback Rocco Marriott threw three touchdowns — a pair to junior wide receiver Tres Baskerville and another to junior Ty Christopher, who now has four scores in the last three games.

Belton (1-4) maintained a profile as an unexpectedly tricky opponent on home turf for Platte County, which has suffered losses in this series or struggled to find full footing against an otherwise overmatched opponent.

“I think we’ve had one game (here) in as many years where I walked away thinking we just did really, really well,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “Yeah, at the same time, that’s a credit to Belton. They’re going to take pride at home with hard-nosed kids who are well-coached — very-well coached. You’ve got to put 11 on both sides of the field, and they want to play hard on their field. That’s a compliment to them.

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Platte County junior defensive tackle Cole Johnson celebrates a touchdown against Belton on Friday in Belton.

“Ultimately, we’ll take (the win) and chalk up another one and get ready for next week.”

Continuing to rank No. 2 behind Cardinal Ritter (5-0) in the Class 5 Missouri Media poll, Platte County’s defense allowed just 153 yards of offense with senior safety Trevor Hay (seven) and senior linebacker Brock Fowler (six) the top tacklers. Belton did employ a lot of “Wildcat” direct snap run plays with running backs Abraham Lofton (11 carries, 51 yards) and Aaden Hall (nine carries, 15 yards) that resulted in first downs to limit possessions but resulting in no points during the first half.

Platte County opened the scoring after Hay recovered a fumble near midfield on the game’s opening possession. Carlos Baskerville (two tackles plus one for loss), a sophomore linebacker making his second straight, forced the fumble then recovered a ball senior cornerback Montez Clemons (five tackles, pass breakup) jarred loose on a Belton kickoff return after a second-half touchdown, leading to back-to-back scores in quick succession early in the second half.

After Belton’s lone points came against the reserve defense in the fourth quarter to close within 35-7, Platte County junior defensive lineman Cole Johnson opportunistically fell on a botched shotgun snap in the end zone for his first career touchdown to push the lead back to 35 points with 2 minutes, 10 seconds left. He finished with five tackles and one sack.

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Platte County sophomore linebacker Carlos Baskerville forces a fumble against Belton in the first half Friday night in Belton.

“It’s a long season and some games are harder to prep for than others — not to mention Belton came out in an offense we hadn’t seen,” Utz said. “A lot of the first half is just making adjustments on the fly. Had we been able to prepare for that or prepare better, it might have been a different story, but that’s what happens.”

The quick scores were important with Marriott finishing just 6 of 12 for 96 yards, a week after he threw three interceptions but tossed three scores in a 49-20 blowout of Washburn Rural (Kansas). However, three of his four first half completions went for touchdowns to help Platte County build a 21-0 lead at the break.

Belton junior quarterback Cooper Shrum countered going 6 of 11 for 77 yards, which included an early 24-yard completion on a third and long to wide receiver Calvin Lacey. However, Carlos Baskerville forced the fumble two plays later, and Hay gave Platte County possession at the Belton’s 40.

Isaiah Seymour, a senior running back making his first start in place of Doll and Gisler, ran for 4 yards on the next snap before Marriott’s first pass hit Tres Baskerville moving across the field toward the home sideline and then racing 36 yards for a touchdown and putting Platte County ahead 7-0 less than 4 minutes into the first quarter.

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Platte County junior quarterback Rocco Marriott carries the ball against Belton on Friday in Belton.

“That’s what you design. You get a turnover like that, and you want to get points right out of the gate,” Utz said.

The offensive momentum never truly built for Platte County, but the defense continued to provide field position.

A bad snap on Belton’s third possession nearly resulted in a safety, and Platte County took over just outside the red zone at the 34 after a short punt. After a short run for Seymour, Marriott completed back-to-back wide receiver screens to junior Braiden Stevens (two catches for 9 yards) and Christopher, who took his 11 yards for a touchdown by tip-toeing the sideline and staying inside the pylon.

Platte County led 14-0 with 2:30 left in the first quarter — a stark contrast to the last three wins which involved coming from behind, mostly due to self-inflicted mistakes.

“We challenged them coming in to the game to start faster than we had, which we started faster. We just didn’t continue it through the rest of the first half,” Utz said.

Part of the struggles were tied to the running game. After a huge showing against Washburn Rural with two 100-yard rushers, Seymour finished with 11 carries for 58 yards but most came in the second half.

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Platte County seniors Owen Rawlings (70), Drew Doll (65) and Rile Hixson (50) line up for a play against Belton on Friday in Belton.

Platte County started the same offensive line for a fifth straight game — seniors Owen Rawlings (right tackle), Drew Doll (right guard), Riley Hixson (center) and Gus Keeton (left guard) plus junior Quinn Lightle (left tackle). However, Keeton left in the first half with a leg injury, putting junior Michael Poncavage into his first extended varsity action.

A week earlier, the unit helped Dayton Doll to his second career 100-yard game and three total touchdowns, but he sat out Friday with a toe injury not expected to keep him out long term. Gisler left a Week 3 win over Fort Osage in the first half and hasn’t seen any action since in what has been a difficult start to following up a 1,200-yard sophomore season when Dayton Doll missed nearly the entirety of the schedule with a shoulder injury of his own.

Marriott was just 4 of 10 at halftime for 96 yards and had just 65 yards rushing, including Seymour’s four carries for 9 yards.

“Some of the reason I think the offense seemed off was that we scored so fast, the defense ended up on the field for a long time,” Utz said. “I don’t know how to describe that first half. It seemed a lot worse than it was, and at the same time, we had a lead. It wasn’t like we weren’t getting stops. You have a little adversity on offense, and it was good to see them dig back and fight through that.”

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Platte County junior running back Zach Burch carries the ball against Belton on Friday in Belton.

The additional spark for Platte County came in the first half from junior Zach Burch when he took carries from the running back spot.

Marriott threw an interception on a deep ball over the middle on Platte County’s first drive of the second quarter, and when possession returned, Burch ripped off runs of 24, 6 and 6 yards. A penalty then negated a touchdown pass to Stevens, and after an incompletion, Marriott rolled right and found Tres Baskerville along the sideline in the end zone for a highlight-reel play.

The ball sailed over Christopher in the front of the end zone with Tres Baskerville keeping two feet down to haul in the 32-yard catch with just over 2 minutes left before halftime. He finished with two catches for 68 yards.

Burch’s 49 yards on six attempts also complemented Seymour’s effort a week after he went for 120 yards and two long touchdowns in the second half against Washburn Rural.

“Obviously, we’ve got a couple of injuries at (running back), but at the same time, we’ve got four kids that are doing a really nice job at that spot,” Utz said. “That’s a testament to the kids of being good athletes but also a testament to our offensive line blocking and creating some holes.”

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Platte County junior wide receiver Braiden Stevens hurdles senior teammate Bronson Ryan on a kickoff return against Belton on Friday in Belton.

Coming out of halftime down just 21-0, Belton drew a pair of penalties before successfully kicking the ball off to start the third quarter. Stevens fielded deep and then weaved 68 yards down the field, hurdling a defender on the ground at one point, to set Platte County up at the 26.

Seymour ran for 24 yards on the drive, which also included a 2-yard reception for senior wide receiver Lane Webb — Marriott’s final completion. Platte County extended the lead to 28-0 on Seymour’s 12-yard run up the middle and then immediately ended up in position to add to the advantage.

Clemons blew up the kickoff return, forcing the fumble Carlos Baskerville recovered at Belton’s 26. Seymour ran for 23 more on the drive with Marriott going around end for a 3-yard touchdown to push the lead to 35-0 with 7:49 left in the third quarter. He finished with 20 yards rushing on just four attempts.

“We challenged them again at halftime to reset and get under control and obviously we came out and were able to do that,” Utz said. “This is an interesting group of kids. They take a lot of pride in doing well, and they’re able to kind of take those plays (like the kickoff return) and take a slow start and be able to flip the switch on the very next series. It’s still a game of momentum, and a big play can change a lot of things.”

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Platte County senior safety Caden McGhee makes a tackle against Belton on Friday in Belton.

The running clock went into effect, and Platte County’s defense mostly held up with senior linebacker Cobe Pollard (foot) out for a second straight week and continuing to maintain the secondary in wake of senior cornerback Tyler Stambersky’s season-ending foot injury suffered in practice ahead of a Week 2 win over Grain Valley.

In addition to Hay and Clemons, Platte County senior safeties Caden McGhee (three tackles, one for loss) and Darrell Smith (two tackles, one for loss) adjusted to Belton’s switched-up rushing attack, while senior Bronson Ryan (four tackles, pass breakup) made his third straight start and continued to play well in his first season on the team.

Platte County’s senior defensive tackles Kameron Doyle (two tackles for loss) and Jordan Miller (one tackle) consistently disrupted plays with junior Cale Buntz (three tackles plus two for loss and a sack), senior Archie Wesley (one tackle plus one for loss)and sophomore Brody Hawk (one tackle for loss) the beneficiaries at defensive end. The other tacklers included sophomore linebackers Devin Lumm and Hank Fowler (two each) and juniors Mogie Walkingstick and KJ Stallings (one each).

With the result not in doubt and considering the injuries, Platte County turned over the offense in the fourth quarter to sophomore Brandon Reynolds, who finished 1-for-1 with a completion for -3 yards to sophomore wide receiver Jude Brown and 13 yards rushing on three attempts. The additional rest for the starters was needed after a brutal three-week stretch that included solid wins against tough competition from Grain Valley (52-21), Fort Osage (28-13) and Washburn Rural.

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Platte County seniors Brock Fowler (8) and Darrell Smith make a tackle against Belton on Friday in Belton.

Platte County prepares to travel to Smithville (4-1, ranked No. 3 in Class 4) for a rivalry matchup that no longer carries conference and postseason implications but won’t lack for intrigue.

“Our kids rise to the occasion, so they’re going to be looking forward to this just like Smithville is,” Utz said. “It’s going to be a great setting for a high school football game. Get there early because it’s going to be standing-room only.”

Smithville’s lone loss came to Class 4 No. 2-ranked Kearney (5-0), the defending state champions.

Platte County took last year’s matchup with Smithville in dramatic fashion at Pirate Stadium, answering the Warriors’ go-ahead two-point conversion with under 2 minutes left in regulation with Marriott’s touchdown pass to Stevens in the corner of the end zone. That ended a two-game skid in the series for the Pirates.

The stakes for Platte County involve the Class 5 District 8 standings. The Pirates continue to hold the No. 1 spot but can’t avoid a slip-up with St. Pius X (4-1, up to No. 3 in Class 5) in the midst of pummeling smaller Midland Empire Conference competition with only St. James Academy (Kansas) a potential challenger the rest of the way. The Warriors, whose lone loss came to Class 6 No. 1 Rockhurst (5-0) in Week 1, sit second with Central (St. Joseph) in third at 3-2 and Fort Osage (2-3) fading to fourth with losses piling up while senior running back Ryver Peppers battling injuries.

Peppers played in the loss to Platte County but missed this past week’s 34-0 loss to Class 6 Oak Park. He has appeared in just two games and exited a Week 4 White Division win over Truman early.

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