In yet another high-scoring and stat filled night, the Park Hill football team (1-2) let an 18-point lead slip away in the final eight minutes of regulation when Blue Springs South (2-1) stole the game 50-49 on September 9.
After being tied at 21 at the break and trailing by a field goal in the third quarter, Park Hill appeared to be in full control when it scored 21 straight points in a span of 8:08 in the second half, starting with a 20-yard strike from Kendrick Bell to Bryce Lisaka to put Park Hill up 28-24 with 4:07 left in the third quarter. Blue Springs South fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and Bell made the Jaguars pay for that mistake as the senior scrambled into the end zone from 22 yards out.
Bell tossed his fifth touchdown pass of the game when he found Dayton Howard from the 7-yard line and Park Hill led 49-31 with 7:59 to play. While it appeared that the Trojans’ lead would be too much for the Jaguars to overcome with such little time left, Blue Springs South rattled off 19 consecutive points.
Jaguar quarterback Cash Parker threw three touchdown passes from the 6:50 mark to the 1:00 mark in the fourth quarter, completing the comeback with a 19-yard dart right over the Trojans’ secondary to wideout Riley Dowler who ran into the end zone. The touchdown gave Blue Springs South a 50-49 advantage and the Park Hill defense didn’t allow the ensuing 2-point conversion to be completed.
With the clock ticking, the Trojans had one last chance to try and get into scoring position to go back on top of a game that had seen six lead changes and three ties up to that point. On a second and long, Bell threw a pass down the left sideline and it was intercepted by a Blue Springs South defender with 32 seconds left, sealing the game.
Park Hill senior James Noel (#3) had 181 yards from scrimmage and was in the end zone twice in the 50-49 loss to Blue Springs South on Sept. 9.
This is the second straight one possession loss for Park Hill, which was coming off a 57-50 defeat against Raymore-Peculiar (3-0). The Trojans’ offense has been electric thus far, averaging 55.7 points per game but their defense has allowed 145 points through the opening three weeks.
Bell has been dominant so far in his senior campaign, completing 62% of his passes for 1,022 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions while posting a 113.9 QBR. The quarterback passed for 312 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions against the Jaguars, with his top receiver – Howard – catching seven passes for 114 yards and finding the end zone three times.
James Noel had a touchdown through the air and on the ground as the senior rushed 17 times for 140 yards and had four receptions for 41 yards. Lisaka brought in seven catches for 112 yards and a score, while Max Filion ended with five receptions for 69 yards.
On defense, Loren White led the team with 12 tackles and Jim Humphrey had one sack. Teague Wachter forced a fumble and Cal Netherton recovered a fumble.
Conference play starts next week for Park Hill when Silver Division rival Liberty (1-2) comes to town on September 16. The Trojans will look to bounce back from two consecutive losses, and they will also try to get revenge with the Blue Jays who narrowly defeated Park Hill 35-32 last season.