KANSAS CITY — Anthony Hall has passed the ball more, but the Park Hill quarterback never had a game like he did on Friday, Oct. 4.
The junior passed for career-highs in touchdowns and yards to help the Class 6 No. 5-ranked Trojans roll to a 35-0 victory over Fort Osage at Preston Field.
The win is the third in a row for the Trojans (5-1), which posted their first shutout since a win against Blue Springs South last year.
The defense allowed 64 total yards against an Indians squad that started a freshman quarterback.
The highlight of the night belonged to Hall, the 6-foot-4 first-year starter that threw for 314 yards and five touchdowns, while completing 14 of 29 attempts. Heading into this game, he had thrown for 709 yards and four touchdowns in the previous five games.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill quarterback Anthony Hall (10) looks at wide receiver Evan Samborski (9) before throwing to him during the first quarter of a game on Friday, Oct. 4 against Fort Osage at Preston Field.
“It was a blast,” said Hall, who threw three touchdowns to Jaylin Noel in the victory. “We were able to be ourselves and not worry about outside stuff. We were able to air out and especially for me, it was fun.”
The outburst is the most points since the 35-0 win against Blue Springs South last year. In the past four games the Trojans had a combined 48 points, which includes two touchdowns via the defense and special teams in a 13-10 win against Ray-Pec.
Fort Osage started the contest with a squib kick and that set up a short field for the Trojans. Three plays into the contest, Hall hit PJ Caldwell running in stride down the Fort Osage sideline for a 56-yard touchdown. Add in a 17-yard completion to Evan Samborski, Hall had 73 yards on two completions.
Hall threw for a 25-yard touchdown to Noel on the second drive, going 3-for-3 on that drive for 46 yards. A two-point conversion was good but was negated due to a penalty and then the point after attempt missed, making it 13-0 with 6 minutes, 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We thought it was time to open it up and we got some athletes out there,” Park Hill coach Josh Hood said. “We wanted to find a way to get them the ball and that is what Anthony does best. The offense was clicking early and often.”
The Indians, the Class 5 runner-up last year, had a chance to put points on the board early in the second quarter. Greg Menne hit Dominic Myers for a 29-yard gain to move the ball to the Trojans’ 13-yard line. The drive stalled and a 34-yard field goal attempt missed.
The missed field goal turned into points for the Trojans.
A pass interference on 3rd-and-14 kept the drive alive for Park Hill and Hall delivered two big plays. His 36-yard completion to Noel moved the ball to the 30 and on the next play, Samborski scored on a 30-yard touchdown on the next play.
The lead went to 20-0, where it remained until halftime.
The opening drive for Park Hill in the third quarter ended on a fumble and set up the Indians at the 25-yard line. Fort Osage moved to the 9-yard line, but a sack by Johnny Wilson, one of three on the night for the future Iowa State Cyclone, pushed them back. An incomplete pass on third down followed and Fort Osage attempted another field goal.
This one never got off the ground and the holder was forced to scramble. A desperation throw toward the end zone was picked off by Javion Gathrite and returned 25 yards.
Park Hill couldn’t turn that into points, but scored on its next two possessions.
An interception by Mikey Miles gave the Trojans back the ball at the 41-yard line. Hall had a 26-yard pass to Noel and then the two connected on a 25-yard touchdown with 1:49 left in the third quarter.
With less than 9 minutes to play, Noel hauled in a 45-yard touchdown to put the game in turbo-clock territory.
“We have been doing this since fourth grade, it is a blessing to throw to that kid,” Hall said of Noel, who continues to garner Division I interest.
Noel had his third 100-yards or more game this year and his first since back-to-back to open the season with five catches for 129 yards.
He had been limited to less than 100 yards the past three games combined.
Caldwell had four catches for 113 yards — only nine yards less than he had all season combined.
The Trojans defense gave up 47 yards passing and 17 yards rushing on 36 attempts.
Wilson had a team-high nine tackles and three sacks, while James Gore and Vince Reichert had two sacks each. Gore accounted for four of the team’s eight TFL.
“We worked a lot of guys in that we will count on this year and next year,” Hood said. “It was good to see the kids able to hold them to a shutout. Osage is a wonderful team and a great program and storied program recently. To shut them out is a feather in our cap.”
The Trojans will look to continue the success this week with a trip to Blue Springs South on Friday, Oct. 11.
Park Hill is 4-1 against the Jaguars since moving up the Gold Division in 2014 and have won the past three.
Blue Springs South is coming off a 50-13 victory against William Chrisman. It was the first win of the year for the Jaguars and new coach Matt Klein, who came over to the program after a five-year run of Marquette in St. Louis.
The Jaguars will be led by Max Conard, who has passed for 880 yards and 10 touchdowns, while running for another 234, second most of the team.
Nashon Rick is the leading rusher for Blue Springs South with 330 yards, but the key to the offense may be the passing attack. Through six games, five different players have at least 100 yards receiving on the year, led by Isaiah Frost’s 177.
Linebacker Cole Wagner is averaging 10.4 tackles per game for the Jaguars.