Before the Park Hill South football team opened up this past fall with a 34-17 season opening win over Rock Bridge, linebacker Jah’Marion Kane had never played a down of football, yet he has since committed to play at the next level.
Park Hill South linebacker Jah’Marion Kane sits with his mother in front of his school as he signed a letter of intent to Missouri Western State University - despite only playing footbal for one year - on National Signing Day on Feb. 1.
Less than six months after playing his first ever football game, the 6’4, 230-pound Park Hill South senior has inked a letter of intent to play at Missouri Western State University. Kane isn’t going too far to continue playing the sport he just started as he is set to head to St. Joseph next fall.
“The atmosphere, the coaches, new coaches, they all are amazing,” Park Hill South senior Jah’Marion Kane said. “I had a cousin who went there to play football and he loves it.”
Kane’s cousin is Tylen Wallace, who just wrapped up his sophomore season as an All-Conference Honorable Mention in the MIAA as a defensive lineman. Kane will have a chance to lace up with his cousin as a Griffon.
In his first year playing, Kane was a first-team all-district, first-team all-conference and second-team all-state selection as a defensive lineman. He finished the year with 53 solo tackles, 63.5 total tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and one pass breakup.
“I wasn’t too sure how I’d do before I played, but after my first game and after that first tackle, everything just went off for me,” Kane said.
To put into perspective how crucial Kane was on defense for the Panthers, he had 10 total sacks individually on the season and everyone else combined had 12 total sacks. He also played a small role on offense and had four rushes for 57 yards on heavy set packages and the occasional fake punt.
Kane was influenced by teammates to play and said his goal after Missouri Western is to play in the NFL. With the impressive performance in his first year playing, the sky is the limit for the 2023 Park Hill South senior.