There wasn’t a visible empty seat in Park Hill District Stadium when the Trojans and Panthers met in the highly anticipated Class 6 District 4 Semifinals on Nov. 5 with the unbeaten Park Hill South football team coming out victorious over Park Hill, 35-7.
There’s a long history between the Park Hill football programs, although the Trojans and Panthers hadn’t stepped on the same field on a Friday night since moving conferences in 2017. Dating back to 2011, the Trojans and Panthers have played each other eight times before this matchup – with both teams winning four of those games – and Park Hill had narrowly outscored Park Hill South 166-153 in that time frame.
“It was a great atmosphere tonight,” Park Hill South head coach Alan Wilmes said. “Park Hill played hard, but our kids were ready for this and did their thing.”
Although Park Hill had won the last four matchups prior to the district contest, Park Hill South defeated its counterpart the last time they played in the postseason, which was in 2013. History repeated itself as the Panthers started the contest with the ball and set the tone early with a 65-yard scoring drive, capped off with a 12-yard pass from Nathan Ricco to Jack Bjorn.
Park Hill turned it over on downs on its first possession, followed by a Panther punt. On the Trojans’ first play on the ensuing possession, Kendrick Bell connected with Gavin Shaggs for a 40-yard touchdown to tie the contest with 4:01 remaining in the first quarter.
The Trojan defense stepped up by forcing a fumble from Bjorn when the senior was about to score his second touchdown of the game and the ball bounced out of the end zone resulting in a touchback, giving Park Hill possession. The Trojans were unable to capitalize and the Panthers regained the lead with a 2-yard rush by Lucas Oitker, but the extra point was blocked.
Bell fumbled the ball on the Trojans’ last drive of the first half and the Panthers recovered with 2:39 remaining in the half and added a 23-yard field goal at the buzzer to lead 16-7 at the break. Park Hill South elevated its game in the second half, outscoring Park Hill 19-0.
“Our defense played lights out; they have a great quarterback, so we had to mix things up a bit. We just focused on keeping him in the pocket and mixing up our blitzes and stunts and our kids did a great job of doing their jobs,” Wilmes said
The Trojans’ offense struggled to move and take care of the ball in the second half when they were unable to put any points on the scoreboard. Oitker rushed in for two more touchdowns in the third quarter after Panther senior Nathen Hilzinger had an interception and Park Hill South sophomore Kiros Martin blocked a Park Hill punt.
“I think it was just a lack of execution; those are the types of things that you have to be able to do in big playoff games, and they were able to make the plays that we weren’t tonight,” Park Hill head coach Andy Sims said. “That’s a good team, they are undefeated for a reason, and you have to play your best football against an undefeated team.”
The Panthers eliminated the Trojans with their first season under Coach Sims, who came over from Blue Valley North High School and replaced Josh Hood this past offseason. Sims told the Platte County Citizen that while the season has come to an end, he couldn’t be prouder of the Trojans.
The Park Hill South football team celebrates after a Darrien Jones touchdown in the Panthers 35-7 victory over the Trojans on Nov. 4 in the first matchup between Park Hill South and Park Hill since 2017.
“I don’t think there is a program in the metro or in the state who has overcome more adversity than these boys. For them to welcome me in with open arms, hats off to those seniors – they’re an unbelievable group of guys with a lot of heart and a lot of talent, and it’s going to be hard replacing some of those guys,” Sims said.
For Park Hill South, Oitker and Darrien Jones both rushed for more than 100 yards and two scores combining for 273 yards on the ground. Ricco completed nine of his 15 pass attempts for 143 yards and a touchdown, with Bjorn leading the team with 52 receiving yards on two catches.
The Panther defense sacked Bell six times, led by the senior duo of Torrin Zeigler and James Williams who had two sacks apiece. The Park Hill quarterback completed eight of his 19 pass attempts for 118 yards, one touchdown and one interception and the Trojans ended with only seven rushing yards.
Park Hill South has won a program record 11 games this year after taking down Park Hill in the district semifinals. The Panthers (11-0) will host Liberty North (9-1), who has won nine straight contests, on Nov. 12.