Platte County unofficially opened the season in Friday night’s preseason jamboree at home with scrimmages against Pembroke Hill, St. Pius X and Excelsior Springs. The Pirates looked the part of the biggest school there, outscoring the three visiting opponents by a combined total of 30-12.
Platte County junior Gage Fulk sets up to block during the preseason jamboree Friday at Pirate Stadium.
Yet, not all of the 72 plays — 36 on offense and 36 on defense — looked as expected due to injuries, absences and intentional rotations for the backups. So what were the key takeaways with the regular season kicking off in a week?
1. The lineups should look a lot different when Platte County hosts Kearney next Friday.
Although the annual Highway 92 Showdown rivalry game will be a nonconference affair, the Week 1 matchup provides plenty of intrigue.
Platte County came into the season with specific questions for first-year senior starting quarterback Dylan Zimmerman, wide receiver depth, a rebuilt offensive line and a defense needing to replace six starters. The Pirates went 9-3 a year ago with a loss to Fort Osage in the Class 5 District 8 final concluding the season.
What this year’s version looks like remains a bit of a question mark.
Platte County played without two projected offensive line starters, allowing junior Gage Fulk (right guard and left tackle) and freshman Quinn Lightle (left tackle) to start and receive extended looks. The Pirates expect junior left tackle Muyonta Maxwell back — he was on vacation — while senior Brody Gates suffered an injury to put his status in doubt.
On defense, Platte County started sophomore Archie Wesley and senior Cameron Dean at linebacker with projected starters sophomore Darrell Smith (illness) and senior Cameron Wolfe (hamstring) held out as precautions. Kohry Woessner, a junior returning starter at defensive tackle, also did not play.
Platte County freshman tight end Jack Utz runs after a catch against Pembroke Hill during Friday’s preseason jamboree at Pirate Stadium.
2. Youth was served
Platte County opened with a 12-0 whitewash of Pembroke Hill, followed with a 6-6 tie against returning Class 3 St. Pius X and fended off Excelsior Springs late 12-6.
Per the normal, Pirates veteran head coach Bill Utz cycled through his players to see a multitude of players — not just the starters — in game situations. The opening lineups showed the pending youth movement with Wesley, cornerback Caden McGhee and safety Montez Clemons all sophomores on the first-team defense.
As the players cycled in, Platte County sophomore running back Dayton Doll impressed on a couple of big runs as did freshman Adam Gisler on a catch-and-run out of the backfield. In fact, Pirates freshman reserve Rocco Marriott threw for three touchdowns — two to freshman wide receiver Tres Baskerville and one on a juggling catch-and-run 40-yard score for freshman tight end Jack Utz on the final offensive play against Excelsior Springs.
There are quite a few spots on the field where an injury or lack of production will lead to sophomores and freshmen filling spots.
3. The defense looks athletic, and turnovers will likely come
Platte County started fast on offense in the opener with Pembroke Hill. Zimmerman threw a perfect deep ball for a long score to junior wide receiver Dawsen Mizell, and Marriott added a 22-yard touchdown on a pitch pass to Baskerville. The defense, which features senior Tennessee commit Chandavian Bradley, senior Mar’Ques Brown and junior Tucker McDowell on experienced defensive line, shut Pembroke Hill down.
Platte County junior defensive lineman Tucker McDowell makes a tackle against St. Pius X during Friday’s preseason jamboree at Pirate Stadium.
Against St. Pius X, Platte County got a 2-yard touchdown run from junior third-string running back Grant Archibald set up by a long completion from Zimmerman to senior wide receiver Tristan Magnuson. The Warriors did strike back on a fourth-down fade pass to junior Division I recruit Jayshawn Ross while the left tackle appeared to commit an obvious holding penalty on Bradley while he attempted to jump to deflect the pass from his right defensive end spot.
Marriott threw his touchdowns to Baskerville on another pitch pass creating a short jet sweep score and Utz on the final two of 12 offensive snaps against Excelsior Springs. From there, the Tigers managed their score against the reserves using their grinding and rarely seen triple option.
Notably, Platte County did not have a sack or a turnover, but avoided big plays. McDowell made a tackle for loss against St. Pius while sophomore Kameron Doyle impressed in extra reps at defensive tackle with Woessner out. The Pirates are coming off of a season with one of the best defenses in program history and will have two new linebackers plus a defensive backfield that features third-year starter Garrett Smith-Dean moving from cornerback to safety plus McGhee, Clemens, senior safety Andy McClure and junior cornerback Jordan Burnett in their first years as true contributors.
The group looks speedy even with some very key pieces out, and there should be a lot of ability create havoc.
