The Park Hill South football team found itself on defense and trailing Lee’s Summit 27-20 with less than 4:00 of regulation remaining on Oct. 15, and the Panthers were on the verge of having their undefeated season snapped.
Down by a touchdown with 3:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, Park Hill South fumbled the ball and the Tigers recovered it with a chance to end the game. The Park Hill South defense stepped up and when its offense went back onto the field, Nathan Ricco found Mudia Rueben for a 27-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with 1:52 left.
Park Hill South’s Nathan Ricco completed 20 of his 39 pass attempts for 320 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception in the Panthers 34-27 overtime victory over Lee’s Summit on Oct. 15.
The Panther defense made big plays once again and forced the Tigers to punt. Park Hill South marched all the way down to the 29-yard line, but Lee’s Summit intercepted a pass from Ricco in the end zone with 39 seconds remaining and the game went into overtime.
In overtime, each team is allowed at least one offensive possession with the ball being placed at the opposing team’s 25-yard line. The Panthers won the coin toss and selected to be on offense first to start the extra period of play.
Park Hill South took its largest lead since the first half when Ricco connected with Hayden Klein for a 12-yard touchdown. The extra point was successful and the Panthers led 34-27 when Lee’s Summit took over possession.
The Tigers’ offense was unable to match the Panthers with a touchdown of its own and Park Hill South won its eighth straight game to remain unbeaten. Ricco helped lead the team to yet another victory when the quarterback completed 20 of his 39 pass attempts for 320 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Ricco connected with Rueben and Klein for a touchdown in both halves as the Panther receiving duo both had eight receptions and found the end zone twice. Klein ended with 176 receiving yards and Reuben finished with 113 yards through the air, while Lucas Oitker rushed for 50 yards on 17 carries.
Park Hill South scored the first 10 points in the contest and led Lee’s Summit 17-14 at the break. The Tigers took their first lead 21-20 late in the third quarter and the Panthers found themselves in unfamiliar territory – behind.
With 4:35 remaining, Lee’s Summit added another touchdown after converting on two 4th down conversions, but didn’t convert on the PAT, to take the 27-20 lead. The Tigers’ scoring drive was extended when the Panthers were flagged for defensive pass interference on 4th and 12.
Park Hill South (8-0) has one regular season game remaining on Oct. 23 when the Panthers will be on the road against St. Joseph’s Central (1-7). A Panther victory would give them the number one seed in the Class 6 District 4 Tournament, which begins on Oct. 30.