The Platte County football team was not ready for prime time Thursday night.
Playing in front of large crowd at William Jewell College in Liberty and featured on a live game broadcast by Metro Sports, Platte County suffered a disastrous 56-14 loss to Liberty North.
The Pirates were never able to overcome a 28-point onslaught by the Eagles during an eight-minute span in the second quarter that turned a defensive struggle into a blowout
All of Liberty North’s second quarter scores came on big plays: a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown by KiAndre Pugh, touchdown passes of 24 and 50 yards from Brian Sharp to Harrison Trinidad and Michael Hughes and a 43-yard TD run by Marvin Shumate.
Platte County had few highlights on either side of the ball but one which stood out was a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown by Pirates linebacker Drew Gallamore that briefly cut the Liberty North lead to 28-7 early in the third quarter. But the Eagles answered immediately on a long kickoff return and ensuing TD run by Shumate.
Offensively, Platte County racked up 297 yards to Liberty North’s 464. Pirates quarterback Tyler Cooper completed 21 of 41 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Jordan Branson caught six passes for 61 yards.
Platte County, now 4-3, returns home Oct. 18 to face Winnetonka. Look for more Platte County football coverage in next week’s print version of The Citizen.