Platte County’s early deficit too much to overcome in home loss to Oak Park

After a forgettable and potentially crippling first half, Bill Utz didn’t see insurmountable odds.

Yet, Platte County’s veteran coach knew the stakes when the Pirates took possession deep in Oak Park territory midway through the fourth quarter down by two scores. A score could have changed the eventual trajectory, but the Northmen held in a pivotal spot and eventually pulled away for a 35-14 victory Friday night at Pirate Stadium.

Platte County (3-2) lost for a second straight, unable to overcome a scoreless first half and six turnovers while playing an undefeated Class 6-ranked foe. The Pirates’ youthful core encountered another stern challenge and now looks to muster a response to the adversity of the past two weeks.

“We’re still learning,” Utz said. “The first half was a learning half; second half we were able to make some things better. As a group — not any position — this whole group continues to learn; every experience is a learning opportunity right now for this young group. We want to get to where we are hitting on more cylinders and get ready for the second half of our season.”

Platte County trailed 21-0 at halftime and 28-7 after Oak Park quarterback Aiden Hinkle’s second rushing touchdown with 8 minutes, 28 seconds left in regulation.

In a fifth and now most difficult career start, Platte County sophomore quarterback Rocco Marriott led a pair of scoring drives in the second half to almost unthinkably provide a glimmer of hope. The best chance to spur a memorable comeback came early in the fourth quarter when he completed passes of 39-yard pass to senior wide receiver Dawson Mizell behind the Northmen’s defense for a 39-yard gain down to the 11. Four plays later on fourth and 7, Marriott went for a determined run to the pylon along the visitor’s sideline that resulted in an 8-yard touchdown.

Platte County closed the deficit to 28-14 with 6:07 on the clock, but the biggest play came next.

On Oak Park’s next snap, Hinkle drifted left on an option run and ran into Platte County senior defensive end Tucker McDowell, who turned in another stellar performance (four tackles plus two for loss and two turnovers forced), then tried to pitch the ball forward to junior running back Travon Pankey. Instead, the ball bounded toward the end zone, and Pirates sophomore linebacker Cale Buntz (four tackles) fell on the loose ball at the Northmen’s 18-yard line.

However, Platte County’s next two plays were incompletions followed with a 6-yard pass from Marriott to sophomore tight end Brooks Hall and then a sack on fourth down.

“When you get turnovers, you need to capitalize on them,” Utz said. “One thing we have to do better is working as a unit in a sense of when the defense does something well, the offense needs to capitalize on that. When the offense does something well, we need to capitalize on it with our special teams or defense.”

Oak Park averted seeing the deficit trimmed, and Platte County forced a punt only for the ensuing drive to end in Marriott’s fifth interception of the game. The Northmen then went on a long, time-consuming drive that finished with a 1-yard touchdown run from Pankey, who finished with 88 yards rushing on 23 carries.

Marriott threw a sixth interception on a game-ending Hail Mary pass but finished 15 of 38 for 197 yards with completions to six different receivers. Mizell led the way with four catches for 56 yards, while Hall added two for 41, sophomore wide receiver Braiden Stevens three for 32 yards, sophomore wide receiver Tres Baskerville three for 30 yards, sophomore running back Adam Gisler two for 27 yards and junior wide receiver Lane Webb one for 11 yards.

For the first time in five starts, Marriott didn’t have a passing touchdown but he added 22 yards rushing, even after accounting for sacks, and scored on the ground for a second straight week.

“We fooled ourselves as players that we weren’t as good as we had thought, and we do have good players,” Utz said. “We challenged them at halftime to give a little extra, do a little extra and believe in themselves, and I’d be happy with that. I think they did that in the second half. “The bright side is I thought they responded to coaching we gave them at halftime. They made some adjustments; I think they made some mental adjustments, and for that, I’m proud of them.

“We have a very nice team. We just need to make sure we know we are a very nice team.”

Despite the point total and final margin, Platte County’s defense showed inmprovement from the Week 3 loss to Grain Valley when senior running back Ty Williams accounted for more than 350 yards rushing and six total touchdowns in the Eagles’ 45-24 win. The Pirates were still without junior linebacker Trevor Hay (wrist) and junior safety Caden McGhee (knee) and junior linebacker and leading tackler Darrell Smith did not play due to a one-game suspension.

Yet, Oak Park managed only 243 yards on 40 attempts with 59 coming on the final touchdown drive. This output stood in stark contrast to what the Northmen put up in two victories over Platte County last year — the second in a Class 5 District 8 semifinal that ended the Pirates’ season.

With Smith out, Platte County junior linebackers Cobe Pollard (10 tackles) and Archie Wesley (nine tackles) and senior linebacker Seth Martin (seven tackles) combined with Buntz to limit the many option looks from the Northmen, while junior Nate Bayse saw his first significant time to spell the starters, finishing with two tackles. Pirates junior junior safety Montez Clemons collected a team-high 13 tackles plus one for loss.

With the four linebackers grouped around a three-man front, Platte County shifted junior Taylor Stambersky (three tackles) back out to cornerback in most looks, although senior Ayden Watts also saw time outside opposite of senior Jordan Burnett (two tackles). Pirates sophomore Ty Christopher made two tackles from the other safety spot.

McDowell continued to be the biggest force up front and served as constant disrupter while the rotation of junior nose tackle Kameron Doyle (three tackles), junior Jordan Miller (three tackles) and seniors Markus Delfin (one tackle) and Kevin Taylor maintained a fairly deep rotation, and sophomore Cooper Hammontree (one tackle) saw spot duty, as well. Buntz also took advantage of a second straight start in wake of the injuries to Hay and McGhee.

“Tucker’s an amazing player. He plays with such energy and such motor. He’s great” Utz said. “He plays with effort you can’t coach. Cale is another one of our younger players that has gotten better every time he’s on the field — kind of thrown in a situation last week to start and then to start this week. I thought he played a lot better, made plays. He’s only going to get better.”

Platte County also created three turnovers with McDowell intercepting another option pitch in addition to his forced fumble Buntz recovered, and Watts and Stambersky combining on an out-of-the-ordinary tip drill interception in the first half. However, the Pirates didn’t score any points off of those extra possessions.

Oak Park also didn’t fully exploit the turnover advantage but received a huge early boost.

Platte County’s opening possession showed promise with Gisler and Marriott combining to rush for a pair of first downs, but after an encroachment penalty on the Northmen set up a second and short at the Pirates’ own 42, Marriott double-clutched a pass and a defender deflected the ball into the air.

Oak Park’s Caedin Fields caught the ball out of the air and returned the interception 39 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead just minutes into the first quarter.

“Any play that doesn’t go our way is a huge confidence crusher right now,” Utz said. “We’re building confidence and then you lose it all in one play, but that’s why this game is what it is. We have to be in a position where when we feel adversity, we counter that.”

Platte County then survived a second interception in its own territory and two punts to stay within a touchdown.

Oak Park then broke back through late in the first quarter thanks to a 44-yard run on a reverse from TK Douglas that set up a 39-yard touchdown pass on a third-and-10 from Hinkle to Evan Braxton. That represented the Northmen’s only completion of the first half and provided them with a two-score advantage.

Platte County’s best drive of the first half came to start the second quarter. A 23-yard completion to Gisler on a screen and a 9-yarder to Mizell, playing just his second game after being out the first three weeks for an undisclosed violation, on fourth and 3 near midfield moved the Pirates into Oak Park territory.

Three of the next four plays were incompletions resulting in a loss of downs.

Oak Park took over and needed only four snaps to extend the lead to 21-0. Hinkle went 21 yards on an option play to start the drive then finished it off with a 43-yard scramble that started right before looping back left and down the Northmen’s sideline for a 43-yard score after the Pirates’ defense lost contain.

“They made plays when they had to, which is a sign of a really good team. They’re undefeated for a reason,” Utz said. “That (play) was completely off script. He made a play, and good teams are able to do that.”

Platte County’s situation nearly spiraled completely out of control on the following three plays. The Pirates were flagged for an illegal block in the back on the kick return then assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that put the ball on their own 4.

After a Gisler run for -1 yard, Marriott went into Platte County’s end zone looking for a receiver, deftly evaded a few rushers but ultimately threw into traffic for another interception. Oak Park used the opportunity to try two straight passes on goal-to-go plays from the 9. The second ended with Watts tipping a pass into the air before Stambersky planted inbounds and went high to grab the ball and throw it back to Watts for an apparent acrobatic interception combination.

Referees originally ruled the pass incomplete, but after determining Stambersky jumped while inbounds and never came down out of bounds, Platte County earned a touchback and possession of the ball with 5:21 left before halftime. The teams then traded improbably turnovers again with Marriott throwing his fourth interception only for McDowell to fully disrupt an option play in a manner that allowed him to intercept a ball Hinkle attempted to pitch forward.

The play came after a pair of Oak Park touchdowns were called back due to penalty, allowing Platte County to go into halftime down just 21-0 despite the tumultuous events but not before surviving a scare. Marriott went down injured on a run just before halftime, and junior Brady Davis came on for the final three plays of the second quarter.

Marriott took a helmet to the knee but played every offensive snap of the second half.

“He’s tough as nails,” Utz said. “I knew he was going to get up. He’s a tough kid. He got hit with a helmet, that hurts.”

Platte County’s defense forced back-to-back three-and-outs to start the third quarter and took advantage of the second stop with a nine-play touchdown drive. Marriott completed passes to Mizell, Baskerville and Hall the latter a 35-yarder after an 11-yard run from the quarterback, and Gisler, who received his fourth straight start after junior Dayton Doll suffered a season-ending injury in a Week 1 win over Kearney, finished the drive with rushes of 8 and 2 yards. He bulled into the end zone to close the gap to 21-7 with 3:24 left in the third quarter.

“That’s a big drive,” Utz said. “That puts us back in striking distance with a lot of time. For our guys to come out of halftime and get a stop and then another stop and work together in a sense of giving the offense a chance to go down and get a score. I think it gave us some confidence.”

Oak Park then faced another decision at a pivotal point. Platte County forced a fourth and 1 at the Oak Park 33, and the Northmen opted not to punt. They picked up the first down with a 5-yard run from Pankey, and Hinkle completed back-to-back passes of 22 yards to Drew Clemens to set up his short 3-yard touchdown run.

“They were able to punch it in, and that was kind of the backbreaker,” Utz said. “Kudos to Oak Park for making those plays and getting it done.”

Platte County experienced success running against light boxes early, and Gisler ended up with 67 yards on 18 carries as the Pirates received some positive news with the return of sophomore Quinn Lightle to the offensive line. A starter most of his freshman season, he rotated in at both guard spots behind the two starters — junior Drew Doll on the left and senior Becker Grego on the right. Grego shifted over due to a thumb injury with junior Riley Hixson taking over at center, while seniors Muyonta Maxwell and Gage Fulk continued to start at tackle.

However, game situations forced Platte County out of must rushing situations for the majority of the second half. A stop on the fourth down early in the fourth quarter or points off of Buntz’s fumble recovery were both opportunities to create some tension for Oak Park, but the Pirates were never able to trim their deficit to one possession.

“The last two weeks we’ve seen really good plays on both sides of the ball; we just haven’t seen them where they are in a sequence together,” Utz said.

Platte County’s undefeated start included wins against Class 4-ranked Kearney (No. 5) and Smithville (No. 2) but the two losses have come to Class 5 No. 3 Grain Valley (4-1) and Class 6 No. 7 Oak Park (5-0). Grain Valley’s win over the Pirates, who dropped into a tie for ninth in Class 5 with Eureka, gave the Eagles the inside track to the top seed in Class 5 District 8.

While the schedule appears to open up, Platte County still sits second but can’t afford a slip-up this Friday at Raytown (1-4), which came up with its lone win in Week 2 against winless Excelsior Springs. The Blue Jays enter off of a 56-24 loss to Fort Osage (2-3), which is currently third in the Class 5 District 8 standings behind the Pirates.

Raytown is one of four teams in the seven-team bracket currently with the same record, along with North Kansas City, William Chrisman and Winnetonka. Platte County already owns a win over North Kansas City — 17-0 in Week 3.