When Trojan wideout Bryce Lisaka brought in a 19-yard catch at the Hawklets’ 16-yard line, the senior had to outrun three Rockhurst (5-5) defenders and dive into the end zone to cap off the 87-yard scoring drive and give the Park Hill football team (3-7) a 49-42 lead – and eventual victory – with 20 seconds left on Oct. 28.
Park Hill senior Bryce Lisaka had an impressive outing in the Trojans 49-42 district win over Rockhurst as he finished with an interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery on defense along with five catches for 72 yards and receiving touchdown on offense, including the go-ahead score with 20 seconds left.
Backed up at their own 13-yard line with 3:04 left and no timeouts tied at 42, the Trojans had to make some plays to survive the shootout in the opening round of the Class 6 District 8 Tournament. There was a holding penalty on the next play and Park Hill faced a 1st and 20 – and then a 2nd and 19 – with the game, and season, on the line.
Facing a 3rd and 13 at the Park Hill 25-yard line with 1:44 on the clock, Kendrick Bell connected with Lisaka right past the chains to keep the drive alive. Bell was sacked two plays later and with the clock ticking, he made one of the biggest plays of his young career with a touchdown pass to Lisaka to put the Trojans ahead by one possession.
“Well the first method was get into field goal range and then we got a couple penalties so after that, we knew we couldn’t give Rockhurst the ball,” Bell said. “I saw Bryce down there and I knew if I gave him the ball, he’ll make some guys miss and he’s gone. That’s the first thing but Bryce did the rest, all I had to do was give him the ball.”
This was the first time since Sept. 30 that Park Hill came out with a victory, although the Trojans have been in some tight ones. Trojans’ head coach Andy Sims has told the Platte County Citizen all season that regular season losses don’t matter to him since the postseason is more important.
“This is probably one of the best two-win teams I’ve ever been around. Look at all of our games this year, our boys don’t have any quit on them and so tonight was just a great testament of what they’ve been doing all year; we just finally closed it out this time,” Sims said.
Park Hill seniors James Noel (#3) and Max Filion (#80) celebrate after Filion scored a 65-yard touchdown reception on the fifth play of the postseason matchup with Rockhurst on Oct. 29.
This was a rematch of last fall’s opening round – when the Trojans won 21-13 – and this go-around, there were three touchdowns in the first 3:33. Bell connected with Max Filion for a 65-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the game and after Rockhurst tied the game, James Noel returned the kick for 99 yards to put Park Hill up 14-7.
Lisaka played on both sides of the ball and had big plays on defense in the first half, intercepting a first quarter pass before forcing and recovering a fumble late in the second quarter. The Trojan offense wasn’t able to capitalize on either forced turnover but eventually went up 28-21 with an 11-yard rush by Noel with 36 seconds left.
“This game was special to Bryce, he’s a fantastic player that gives his heart and soul to what he’s doing. Bryce is one of those special players. He’s even more special because the type of kid he is, on top of his football ability,” Sims said.
The Hawklets drove down to the 6-yard line on a 52-yard pass with 13 seconds left before Aidan Ryan pounded his way into the end zone for the third time of the half with one second left to tie the game at 28. Rockhurst scored first in the second half to go up 35-28 and the Trojans eventually tied the game when a 32-yard punt return by Lisaka put Park Hill in position for a 2-yard passing touchdown from Bell to Gavin Schaag with under five minutes left in the third quarter.
“Our guys have heart, and we never gave up; big props to the O-line, they played their butts off today. I couldn’t be happier for them and the way they’ve progressed through the season,” Bell said.
The fourth quarter was tight with the Hawklets scoring on 4th and goal 3:40 into the quarter to go up 42-35. The Trojans responded with an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a quarterback sneak by Bell over the goal line – giving him his second rushing touchdown of the night – to tie the game at 42 with 5:49 left in regulation.
Dayton Howard (#6) hugs Kendrick Bell (#7) after the senior quarterback subbed in on defense for the final play of the game and came down with an interception to seal the Trojan victory.
The Park Hill defense forced a Rockhurst punt leading to the final scoring drive, which put the Trojans ahead with 20 seconds left. The Hawklets drew up a Hail Mary on the final play and Bell subbed in on defense – for just the fifth time this season – and he came down with an interception to end the contest, just like he did in the Trojans’ last win when he picked off Park Hill South’s quarterback in the final moments of a 42-35 win on Sept. 30.
“Intercepting it felt great. I knew if they threw it my way the people wearing blue weren’t getting it. I’ve been telling the coaches all year that if the need be back there, I’ll grab the ball but just coming out with the win felt amazing,” Bell said.
The win over Rockhurst puts the Trojans in a very similar spot as last year, heading to Park Hill District Stadium in the Class 6 District 4 Semifinals to take on Park Hill South (5-5) on Nov. 4. Last fall, Park Hill defeated Rockhurst then fell to Park Hill South in the ensuing game and lost 35-7.
“I mean everybody loves a rivalry game, especially this one. We haven’t played each other in like five years and now we play them three times in two years so the atmosphere is going to be great, but we can’t get into that, we’ve got to lock in,” Bell said.
While the seedings are different than last year, the matchup is relatively similar, and the Trojans are technically the home team even though the schools share Park Hill District Stadium as their home turf. The winner will move on to the district championship to play Blue Springs South (7-3) or Liberty North (10-0) on Nov. 11.