KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The early portions of the first quarter went almost as well as Park Hill South could’ve wanted against Liberty North.
The Panthers got the ball to start and scored on two of their first three possessions to take an early lead.
On the second possession, with a chance to go for a two-possession lead, the Panthers faltered and the Eagles took advantage of it.
And then, Liberty North never looked back and rolled to a 41-10 victory at Preston Field at Park Hill High School.
“That burst the bubble, but before that field goal we shouldn’t had put ourselves in that situation,” Park Hill South coach Mike Sharp said. “We had the ball within the 5-yard line two different times and should’ve been opportunity to score and rack up points pretty quick, instead we let off the gas and let teams hang around. You can’t do that against a good Liberty North team. If you do it ends up being 41-10 instead of squeaking out a close game or coming out on top.”
The unraveling for the Panthers (2-7, 2-4 Suburban Conference Red) started in the second quarter.
JAYMEE BODDE/Special to the Citizen
Park Hill South wide receiver Dawson Owen looks for running room against Liberty North on Friday, Oct. 19 at Preston Field at Park Hill High School.
The Panthers were up 8-0 and then 10-7, but at one point, had a chance to go up 14-0.
Park Hill South got the ball and marched 80 yards in 17 plays, using a strong running back to pick up first downs and timely passing from quarterback Matt Suchanick.
Braeden Denney hauled in a first-down on the second play of the game and a pass interference on Liberty North (4-5, 4-2) accounted for the second first down. Suchanick ran for a 16-yard gain, moving to the Liberty North 39-yard line. The rest of the drive included two fourth-down conversions and to get those pivotal yards, the Panthers called up help from Clemson commit Etinosa Reuben.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive lineman went in as a fullback and on 4th-and-3 at the 32, he paved the way for Gaige Warren to gain five yards. On 4th-and-2 from the 19, Warren got the call again and ran off the right side — where Reuben was — to score with 5 minutes, 45 seconds left in the quarter.
Liberty North jumped off sides on the point after attempt and the Panthers went for two and Warren got the call and scored, making it 8-0.
“We are getting to the point not a whole lot of sitting on your hands at this point and start working on things we’d like to do in the playoffs,” Sharp said of Reuben playing offense. “Very rarely do get a kid his size and his athletic ability and we need to start capitalizing on it and use it as much as we can. He is a weapon on both sides of the ball.”
The Eagles had a 38-yard kickoff return from Luke Matthews to start the team at the 50-yard line, but the drive stalled out at the Park Hill South 39-yard line. Brady Pohl attempted a 56-yard field goal, but the kick bounced off the bottom of the cross bar.
Park Hill South had a chance to take advantage of the miscue but was four yards away from a 14-0 lead.
Running back Ta’von Tusa had a 57-yard run on the second play of the drive, moving to the 4-yard line. On that play, Reuben was in blocking, but the handoff went to the weak side and Tusa out ran the defense.
Park Hill South moved back from there on a run for 6-yard loss and a holding call and a 37-yard field goal attempt never materialized due to a bad snap and the holder was tackled.
Liberty North got an 18-yard run from Keshawn Turner on the first play of the drive, which was also the last play of the first quarter.
Warren Bennett had a 37-yard touchdown negated on a holding call, but Jake Van Dyne hit AJ Wood for a first down, moving to the Park Hill South 24. Turner got the ball the next two plays, a 17-yard run and a 7-yard touchdown with 6:41 left in the second quarter.
With the lead trimmed to 8-7, Park Hill South got a safety from Reuben sacking Van Dyne.
That turned out to be the final points for the Panthers and just the start of an offensive showcase for Turner, who ran for a season-high 247 on 23 carries and had a season best four scores. Turner added his second touchdown on an 18-yard touchdown run with 1:22 to go in the first quarter, which gave the Eagles the lead for good at 14-10. Van Dyne hit Wood for a 38-yard gain that moved the ball from midfield to the 18 to set up the score.
The lead was extended to 21-10 on the first drive of the third quarter. Turner had runs of 20 and 12 yards, while Wood had a 36-yard jet sweep and that set up Turner’s third score, a 1-yard dive at 8:45.
“We couldn’t stop the run tonight, No. 44 is a beast, he is an absolute beast,” Sharp said. “They were smart and they stayed with it and no point to get fancy when all you had to do is continue to run down hill and we didn’t have much of an answer for it, unfortunately.”
Down by double figures, the Panthers had a chance to pull the deficit closer, but again struggled inside the red zone.
Park Hill South ran the ball 15 times and the only pass was incomplete, but first-down runs by Denney, Suchanick and two by Tusa kept the drive alive. Suchanick had a 30-yard keeper that moved the ball to the Eagles’ 15-yard line and a flag on the play would’ve looked to added 15 on a horse collar, but the flag was eventually waived off after a discussion among the officials, much to the dismay of the Panthers’ staff which vehemently disagreed. Park Hill South moved to the 5, but the drive stalled and on 4th-and-goal from the 2, Warren was stopped for no gain.
After the turnover, Liberty North marched 98 yards and scored two on the first play of the fourth quarter, capped on Turner’s 3-yard run.
With 7:40 left in the fourth, Van Dyne hit Wood for a 28-yard touchdown one play after a near fumble would’ve given the Panthers the ball inside the red zone. A Liberty North tight end made a catch and turned up field, only to lose the ball when hit, but the officials called an incomplete pass.
Backup quarterback Joe Kroenke scored on a 5-yard run for the Eagles with less than 5 minutes to play to cap the blowout and accounted for the 34-0 scoring margin after they fell behind 10-7.
Looking ahead
The Panthers will have a week off and that might be a good thing.
Injuries continued to hurt the Panthers as two players exited the game with foot/leg injuries. Adding in those already in street clothes — including standout defensive back Payton Murray — they had nine players out.
Park Hill South will play North Kansas City on the road on Friday, Nov. 2 in the semifinals of the Class 5 District 8. The five-team district will have only one game this week, Oak Park vs. St. Joseph Central and the winner gets to play Staley, the defending state champions.
Park Hill South will face a North Kansas City team coming off its first loss of the season, a 35-34 setback to Raytown in a battle of state-ranked foes. Running back Clyde Price II was stopped on a two-point conversion to end the game.
Price is the offense for the Hornets, which rose to No. 2 in the poll before Week 9 games. He has already eclipsed 2,000 yards of rushing — the most in the Kansas City metro.