SEE YOU IN ST. JOE: Platte County runs through Kirkwood, heads back to title game

KIRKWOOD, Mo. — No playing from behind this time, just an overwhelmingly dominant offensive performance from beginning to end.

Platte County’s ran away late for a 64-35 victory over Kirkwood in Friday’s Class 5 semifinal at Ernest L. Lyons Memorial Field, piling up nearly 600 yards and almost scoring at will. The Pirates remained unbeaten, improving to 13-0 and extending the state’s longest winning streak to 27 behind five rushing touchdowns for senior running back Adam Gisler.

After forging dramatic second half comebacks in the past two postseason games, Platte County never blinked after an early defensive stop, earning the seventh state championship game berth in program history. The Pirates go for a fifth title at 7 p.m. this Friday against Carthage (12-1) at Spratt Stadium on the campus of Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.

“Our team has put in a lot of work in the offseason to come to this point right now,” said Gisler, who rushed for a career-high 233 yards on 23 carries and became just the fifth player in program history with 3,000 yards in a career.

Gisler went over 100 yards in a game for just the third time this season and took a starring role after not scoring in any of Platte County’s first three postseason games.

Platte County senior quarterback Rocco Marriott added four total touchdowns, throwing three — all to senior wide receiver Braiden Stevens, who finished with game-highs of seven catches for 151 yards. Stevens’ three touchdowns gave him a single-season school record 18, breaking a tie at 16 with Jim Myers (1968) and Devin Richardson (2017). He has almost doubled the number of touchdowns he scored as a junior and senior combined (19), extending the school record he set earlier this season to 37 after breaking the mark of 27 previously held by both Aliek Reed (2012-14) and Dylan Gilbert (2016-18).

Against Kirkwood, Stevens also went over 1,000 yards this season on 59 total receptions, taking him to 2,453 for his career. That also set a new single-season record, breaking Gilbert’s previous mark of 2,442. Stevens’ 1,126 yards put him just behind the second-most in a single season (Scottie Wilson; 1,138 in 2012) and right behind the 1,171 Gilbert put up as a senior in 2018.

Marriott finished 12 for 21 passing for 252 yards, giving him 3,451 in the first 13 games to set a new single-season record. He broke Tanner Clarkson’s mark of 3,382 that had stood since 2017. He sits at 8,666 for his career, currently eighth in Missouri history according to available records for an 11-man quarterback.

According to available records, Marriott also became the seventh 11-man player in Missouri history with at least 50 touchdown passes in a single season. He now has 52 in 2025, breaking his school record of 39 from last year and putting him at 116 for his career. That puts him fifth in state history with one game left.

Marriott would need a little over 300 yards passing in the state championship game to become the fourth 11-man player in Missouri to throw for 9,000 in a career and move past Mid-Buchanan’s Javan Noyes into fourth in state history behind only Montgomery County’s Eric Czerniewksi, Blair Oaks’ Dylan Hair and Union’s Jordan Webb.

“We knew with the defense Kirkwood was gonna run, it created some one-on-one matchups that way,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “Of course, we love our guys in those situations, and so we were looking for that. A couple of throws were a little bit off, but overall, Rocco and Braiden were fantastic.”

Platte County took control against Kirkwood late in the first half while taking advantage of two botched snaps from the Pioneers on consecutive offensive plays. The first resulted in a safety after junior defensive end Brody Hawk (one tackle) just missed recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchdown, instead sliding out of bounds before fully gaining control.

With 1 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first half, Platte County actually ended up punting on the resulting possession, but a hustle play from senior defensive end Cale Buntz (five tackles, one sack) helped down the ball at the Kirkwood’s 1-yard line. The Pioneers tried to go under center for a quick snap, but senior quarterback Cooper Owens fumbled. Platte County junior linebacker Hank Fowler (five tackles) fell on the loose ball at the 2, and Marriott ran for 1 yard on each of the next two plays, barreling into the end zone on the second to put the Pirates up 36-14 with only 21 seconds left in the second quarter.

Platte County opted to go for two and failed but still sat with a comfortable three-possession lead at halftime.

“In that scenario, that was basically a team decision to pin them down there,” Utz said. “Cale’s effort play was amazing. That was basically his score. That put them in a position where they weren’t comfortable.”

Platte County then took the kickoff to start the third quarter — the first of four unsuccessful onside attempts from Kirkwood of the second half and marched down the field after converting an early third-and-11 on a 25-yard pass from Marriott to Stevens. Gisler added his third rushing touchdown two plays later on a 14-yard run.

Kirkwood (11-2) scored on the next two possessions on touchdown passes for Owens, who went 23-for-37 for 322 yards and four scores.

In between, Platte County punted for the second and final time in the game but continued to hold a two-possession lead as Gisler wore out the Kirkwood defense. Marriott threw an 8-yard touchdown to Stevens early in the fourth quarter, and Gisler capped the final two drives with scoring runs of 27 and 7 yards. He moved to 1,059 yards on the season despite missing two full games and the majority of another and now has 3,151 for his career — behind only Zach Sherman (7,727; 1998-2001), Mike McNair (3,516; 2013-16), R.B. Miller (3,225; 1959-62) and Joe Henson (3,193; 2009-11).

The last of Gisler’s touchdowns pushed Platte County’s lead back to 29 and provided the final points with junior cornerback Jordy Moore picking off a pass in the end zone with 1:09 left in the fourth quarter to allow for the victory formation after trading scores for much of a lengthy second half.

“It meant everything to me,” Gisler said of his record-setting night. “It wasn’t just me trusting myself; it was me trusting my teammates, knowing that they’d get the blocks for me so I could cut it up and score.”

Platte County overcame multiple second-half deficits in a 29-22 win over Rockhurst in the Class 5 District 8 championship game before a back-and-forth second half in last week’s 46-33 victory over Grain Valley in a Class 5 state quarterfinal. The Pirates never trailed this time after forcing a quick three-and-out on the opening possession of Friday’s game.

Platte County gained 28 first downs and averaged 9.6 yards per play behind another strong effort from a starting offensive line that includes seniors Quinn Lightle (left tackle), Michael Poncavage (left guard) and Lucas Dillingham (center) plus junior right tackle Cooper Koenigsfeld and freshman Jayden Horn, who made his sixth start of the season and fifth straight at right guard. Lightle played through an ankle injury that kept him out for the majority of the previous week’s win over Grain Valley. The Pirates punted only twice in addition to one turnover.

Marriott capped Platte County’s first drive with a 25-yard scoring pass to Stevens, who tip-toed the sideline and jumped over the right end zone pylon to kickstart another big day for Platte County’s dynamic speedster to give the Pirates’ an early 7-0 lead with offensive momentum eventually sustaining the rest of the way.

“We were very confident in our ability, and we executed well,” Gisler said.

Kirkwood answered on the first of Owens’ touchdown passes but only after showing an aggressive approach to keeping pace with a fourth-and-short conversion with the ball still short of midfield. The Pioneers drew even at 7-7 in what ended up the game’s only tie score.

A 33-yard run from Gisler started a quick three-play scoring drive in response that resulted in a 35-yard catch-and-run for Stevens into the end zone. The Pirates then came up with a stop on another fourth down attempt to force a turnover on downs.

Platte County took over at the Kirkwood 39, and Gisler’s first touchdown, a tough 3-yarder after senior wide receiver Ty Christopher hauled in his lone catch for 32 yards on third and 17, pushed the Pirates’ lead to 21-7 with 8:49 left in the first half. The score came after penalties negated potential touchdown passes to Stevens and Christopher.

Marriott took a sack on second and five before one of those flags, but Platte County didn’t squander one of the important defensive stops that became a premium as the game played out.

“We know if we get to the ball to our offense we have a higher chance (to win) than anybody because our offense is one of the best to do it,” said Platte County senior linebacker KJ Stallings, who finished with seven tackles (two for loss).

Owens spread out 23 completions to seven different Kirkwood players with senior wide receiver Jamir Sloan posting a team-high 134 receiving yards on six receptions while catching two touchdowns. Jacob Eberhart, another senior receiver, came back from an apparent shoulder injury on the game’s opening drive to catch seven passes for 52 yards and a score, while senior wide receiver Mi’ky Wallace’s only grab went for a 6-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Platte County limited Kirkwood to just 68 yards rushing with the defensive tackle duo of senior Cole Johnson (two tackles, one for loss) and junior Kyler Parker, playing with a left elbow injury, freeing up Stallings, Fowler and junior Carlos Baskerville (team-high 14 tackles, two for loss) to make the majority of stops. The Pirates struggled with Owens’ ability to extend plays and make off-platform throws while rotating through seniors Mudiaga Egbedeju (four tackles, one for loss) and Adeboye Akande (two tackles, two pass breakups) plus Moore and fellow junior Jack Johnson (one pass breakup) at cornerback.

Platte County also went deep at safety with senior Mogie Walkingstick (two tackles), juniors Matt Cisco (two tackles), Devin Lumm (one tackle) and Johnson at safety.

“We knew we all make mistakes; we have to have each other’s backs, go out there and live to play the next play,” Stallings said. “Our coaches always say, if you go to the next play, that’s all that matters. You can’t worry about the past. You can’t worry about something you can’t change.”

After falling behind double digits for the first time, Kirkwood started an eventful sequence of the second quarter by pulling back within 21-14 on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Owens to Eberhart, a 6-foot-4 all-state receiver.

Platte County answered with Gisler’s first scoring run, a 12-yard waltz into the end zone around left end set up with a 48-yard strike from Marriott to Stevens down the visitor’s sideline. The Pirates came up with another first down stop, only for Marriott to give possession back with an interception in the red zone.

Kirkwood took over at the 9-yard line, but a shotgun snap on the next play went through Owens’ legs and resulted in a safety that pushed Platte County’s lead to 30-14 with the Pirates eventually going into halftime with a 36-14 lead after the mishandled under-center exchange set the Pirates up at the 1.

“That put them in a situation where they weren’t comfortable,” Utz said.

The touchdown out of halftime put Platte County’s lead at 29 points for the first time.

Kirkwood responded with a long touchdown drive that included four penalties enforced against Platte County — three defensive pass interference calls and a roughing the passer. Another roughing the passer penalty offset by an illegal formation ultimately negated a play where the Pirates deflected a pass from Owens with Carlos Baskerville coming up with an interception and returning the ball near midfield.

Despite the protests that the tip should negate roughing the passer, Kirkwood kept possession and eventually scored. The Pioneers then forced a punt and closed within 43-28 on a 5-yard touchdown run for senior running back Collin Griffin, who ran for 64 yards overall on 16 carries.

Platte County suddenly saw the lead trimmed to 43-28 with 2:08 left in the third quarter as penalties piled up. The Pirates were eventually assessed 14 penalties overall — 10 in the second half — for 123 yards to just six for 68 called on Kirkwood.

“With the big lead that we had coming out of halftime and the touchdown early to get us up four scores, then it turned into a situation of just working the clock and trying to just finish this off,” Utz said. “There just wasn’t going to be enough time with how the offense was executing. “The offense just kept scoring, which is obviously good. We don’t want to see our defense be in those spots, but at the same time, Kirkwood wasn’t stopping us, either.”

One call did ultimately benefit Platte County on the ensuing drive crossing into the fourth quarter. The Pirates chunked out big gains to move into the red zone, but eventually settled for a 23-yard field from junior Sterling Wilson, who went a perfect 9-for-9 on extra points. He made the kick, but a roughing the kicker call against Kirkwood resulted in a new set of downs.

Platte County cashed in on third-and-goal from the 8 with an 8-yard touchdown reception for Stevens. That ended up the final pass for Marriott, who added 83 yards rushing on 15 attempts, with senior wide receiver Tres Baskerville (three receptions for 57 yards) and Gisler (one for 12 yards) the only other players with a catch outside of Stevens and Christopher.

Kirkwood added a 40-yard touchdown to Sloan to close back within 15 one last time but never held possession down one possession after Buntz’s sack resulted in a turnover downs with the score at 14-7. Gisler’s final two touchdown runs were sandwiched around a turnover on downs with Moore’s interception ending the Pioneers’ final drive and resulting in kneel downs to finish out the final minute-plus of the win.

“You want to run the ball; you want to keep the clock moving, but if you’re going to trade the clock for a touchdown, that’s a wash,” Utz said. “Adam was running well; we were blocking well. It was definitely a nice game for the offense for sure.”

Platte County advanced to the state semifinals for the fifth time in the past nine years with the last four all resulting in title game berths. The Pirates won the fourth state championship in program history last season with a dominant victory over Helias, ending a drought that dated to the last of three straight in Class 3A/3 from 2000-2002.

In 2019, Platte County made the Class 4 Show-Me Bowl but lost to Webb City before going to the Class 5 title game the following season and ending up with a loss to Jackson.

Now the goal shifts to furthering another dominant run for one of Missouri’s most historically successful programs after improving to 7-3 all-time in state semifinals appearances. The Pirates can become the 18th 11-man team in state history with at least five state championships in the process.

“We’re obviously proud If you look back at recent history, we’re very proud of where we’re at as a team,” said Utz, who now has four state championship game appearances as a head coach — most in Platte County history, passing the three for Chip Sherman. “We’ve been blessed to be in games like this. To go to another, we’re pretty happy. That was a goal set a long time ago, and these kids have lived up to the expectations.”

Carthage won the Class 5 state title in 2019, beating Jackson in overtime, and makes just the second Show-Me Bowl appearance in program history. The Tigers have won nine straight since a 38-22 loss to Class 6 finalist Nixa (13-0) in Week 4.

In the other semifinal, Carthage forced five turnovers in a 20-8 victory over Cardinal Ritter on Saturday to set up a first-ever meeting with Platte County.