COLUMBIA, Mo. — Platte County assistant coach Todd Jaros surveyed the scene at the University of Missouri’s Faurot Field and acknowledged the venue might be different but the emotions were similar. The Class 4 Show-Me Bowl against Webb City on Friday, Dec. 6 couldn’t quite compare to what he felt 19 years earlier inside what is now known as The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.
In 2000, Jaros served as a star wide receiver on the first Platte County team to reach a state title game in Class 3A. A generation later, the Pirates were back in a championship scenario, and the players had no memory of those that created the most memorable era in program history.
To be fair, most weren’t born when Platte County won its third of three straight Class 3A/Class 3 titles from 2000-2002, and Jaros gave them at least a glimpse into his memories from the 2000 state championship.
“He didn’t tell us any specifics about the team itself, just about the experience,” said Platte County senior safety Trent Rueckert, who had an interception in the Pirates’ 48-0 season-ending loss to Webb City. “It’s the biggest game you can play in (at the high school level). There’s no better game than this. It’s the biggest stage. He just told us to take it in.”
Platte County’s three straight state championships were part of a 52-game winning streak that ended with a Class 3 sectional loss to Chillicothe in 2003. The Pirates were 64-1 from 1999-2003, a five-year span which cemented the program’s reputation as a perennial state contender.
TODD NUGENT/Citizen photo
Platte County fans packed into Faurot Field to watch the Pirates play Webb City in the Class 4 championship game on Friday, Nov. 7 in Columbia.
Todd Jaros. Brandon Gutshall. Zach Sherman. Chase Verdoorn. Nick Jaros. Travis Frogge. Matt Prout. Aaron Bernard. Ryan Weedin. Kyle Stegeman.
Those were just some of the names involved in Platte County’s breakthrough stretch of postseason performances. In the nearly two decades since that historic run, the Pirates have moved from the Midland Empire Conference to the Suburban Conference and up from Class 3 to Class 4, and playoff success became tougher to come by.
The wait for Platte County’s next Show-Me Bowl run lingered on during the transition until this year’s thrilling 15-14 state semifinal win over St. Mary’s. That game will now join the pantheon of memorable victories along with the 35-21 triumph over O’Hara in the 2000 Class 3A semifinals that sent the Pirates to their first state championship game and some classic battles with MEC rivals Maryville and Chillicothe.
This year’s team created its own memorable trail that included ample adversity not unexpected based on inexperience at some key positions.
Platte County entered this year’s Class 4 District 8 tournament off of two losses in a span of three games — one to Class 6 semifinalist Raymore-Peculiar and the other to Grandview, which forced the Pirates to split the Suburban Conference Blue Division title with Smithville. From there, they won five straight to earn the right — unexpected by some — to play for a state title.
“Going into the year, we didn’t know what we had for sure,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said. “I thought our guys played really well in the postseason. We knew from the get-go that if we played well in our district then we had a shot to get to this spot. What it is is a lot of faith in themselves, a lot of faith in our coaches. Our coaches keep working and don’t let adversity or naysayers or anything of that nature affect us.”
A strong team for many years under hall of fame coach Chip Sherman, Platte County didn’t reach a state semifinal until 1999 — a 14-0 loss to eventual Class 3A state champion Aurora. The Pirates would not lose again for nearly four calendar years.
Similarly, Platte County reached the Class 4 semifinals for the first time in 2017 before a 21-18 loss to Webb City ended the season. That marked the first trip to that round of the playoffs for the Pirates outside of Class 3.
Two years later, Platte County’s 23-player senior class spearheaded another program-first with this Class 4 Show-Me Bowl berth. And yet, only right tackle Max Renner and defensive end Garret Watson were starters for the Pirates in both playoff runs.
The other pieces took varied paths to the roster. Many have played together for years through youth and into high school, like Rueckert, linebacker Gabe Harmon, safety Will Hay, center Luke Seigel, running back Trey Phan, defensive back Walker Grimes, offensive linemen Gunner Tongate and Johnathan Owen, and wide receivers Cam Scheib, Hunter Clarkson, and Donny Maccuish. Right guard Wyett Wallingford was a two-year starter after transferring back home from Bishop Miege (Kan.) and defensive lineman James Gladden was a senior starter in his second year with the program. Starting left guard Kevin Fagan returned to the team for the first time since his freshman year, while running back Lewis Hunter and wide receiver Traizen McCown were key reserves. The list goes all the way down to kicking specialists Grant Allen and Carston Jumps to backups Rickey Cal, David Pecha and Justin Snyder.
Of course, Platte County will return a slew of starters next year with hopes of ending the season with a win, but for now, the seniors will lament the result against Webb City before eventually realizing the importance of the runner-up trophy and returning the program to the state’s biggest stage. The Pirates have won at least eight games in eight of Utz’s 12 seasons as head coach — five straight and three straight with double-digit win totals — and this group claims the most prominent place in program history for this era.
Platte County has made the state semifinals seven times, but this is the first state runner-up showing and the best Class 4 season to this point.
“It’s great to think about,” Rueckert said. “We were the ones who got over that hump. People said we weren’t as talented as other groups, weren’t going to be near as good. We just kept proving them wrong. We will look back on this for a long time.”