Four players from Park Hill, two from Platte County and one from Park Hill South will take part in the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association Mo-Kan All-Star game, scheduled for Thursday, June 18 at Blue Springs South High School in Blue Springs, Mo. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Missouri team has won the past three matchups to tie the all-time series at 11-11 with the 2003 game cancelled due to lightning.
Park Hill’s linebacker trio of Carter Anchors, Jamaal Brazil and Clayton Cole will reunite one last time before heading off to their respective colleges — Pittsburg State (Kan.), Northwest Missouri State, and Quincy (Ill.). Anchors and Cole were both all-state performers this past season, leading the Trojans to the Class 5 semifinals.
The 2014 Suburban Conference Red Division defensive player of the year, Anchors amassed 124 tackles (25 for loss) to go with three forced fumbles, two recoveries and one interception. He earned first-team all-state honors from both the media and Missouri Football Coaches Association all-state teams and is currently recovering from a torn his ulnar collateral ligament which he suffered during basketball season.
A third-team selection on MFCA all-state teams, Cole led Park Hill in tackles with 135 — 77 solo and 26 for loss. He also accrued a team-high three interceptions to go with seven sacks and three fumble recoveries.
Brazil, the third linebacker to earn first-team Red Division honors at the spot, finished with 103 tackles (23 for loss) and four sacks.
Joe Tuimauga, one of four seniors on this year’s Park Hill offensive line, blocked for an offense that accrued 5,012 yards of total offense this season, including 3,812 rushing. He made the first-team on both all-state lists for his season at left guard.
Park Hill finished 12-1 this past season and reached the semifinals for the seventh time in school history — first since 2006 — before losing 22-10 to Nixa. The Trojans were 3-7 the season before under coach Josh Hood, who will help coach the Missouri All-Stars this week.
Platte County put two players on the Missouri team after its own turnaround season.
Aliek Reed made the roster at wide receiver, while versatile threat Tyler Cooper is listed at fullback. Two of just six seniors, Reed and Cooper helped the Pirates to part of a three-way split for the Suburban Conference Blue Division crown and a 9-2 season, which ended with a loss to Smithville in the Class 4 District 8 semifinals.
Committed to play at Washburn, Reed served as Platte County’s main pass-catching threat for the past two seasons. He caught 29 passes for team-highs of 793 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging an astounding 27.3 yards per catch despite being double- and triple-teamed for much of the season.
A three-year contributor, Reed finished his career with 86 catches for 1,951 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Cooper started at quarterback as a junior but transitioned to a role as defensive end/tight end/h-back this past season. He finished tied with Reed for second on the team with 29 catches for 341 yards and two scores with his best game a seven-reception, 55-yard effort in a loss to Kearney.
The pair of MFCA all-state honorees could be targets for Park Hill South’s Shaeffer Schuetz — one of two quarterbacks on the Missouri roster along with Drew Cortez of St. Joseph Lafayette.
The first-team honoree on the All-Red Division team this past season, Schuetz completed 65 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,170 yards and 20 touchdowns to go with just seven interceptions. Signed to play at Benedictine (Kan.) College, he also added four scores on the ground for the Panthers, who finished 3-7 this past season.