The Park Hill South football team is using one its best seasons in program history as momentum heading into this season.
Coming off an 11-1 campaign that ended in the Class 6 District 4 Championship Game, the Panthers are looking to keep the winning culture going. Benny Palmer, who has spent the last few years at Winnetonka, is the new Park Hill South football coach.
“We want to build on what they did this last year and hopefully we continue that success,” Palmer said. “The good thing is that all these kids know football, they know how to compete and they know how to do things right; it’s just taking that next step for them.”
The Panthers’ offense will look different this fall with junior Drew Paulakovich under center. This will be his first year as the starting quarterback.
“Drew played in the Northtown game last year, he’s a strong kid who can really throw the ball. He had a nice summer; we like his maturity and the way this offense works through him,” Palmer said.
The Panthers will bring back a few offensive skills players as well, which includes wideout Jay Romelus, tailback Darrien Jones and transfer Mike Lane. Briggs Bartosh – who is a skilled utility player on offense – has dealt with injuries in each of the last two seasons, but is healthy and ready for his senior campaign.
“Briggs pretty much plays everything; he will be in the slot, in the backfield and will play some quarterback as well. It’s just game-to-game and what do we want to do with him; we just want to get him into space and let him play his game,” Palmer said.
Park Hill South will have a relatively younger offensive line when it kicks off the year as Elias Contreras, who was the starting center in 2021, is out the first couple weeks of the season for shoulder surgery. Grant Dunaway will be the Panthers’ left tackle after being a right guard last year.
“We always want to be balanced offensively, in my idea of things we want to RPO (Run Pass Option) everything and get the ball out of our quarterback’s hands to let him make good decisions and tailor it around his game. With the skill positions we have, we will lean a little more to the pass game, especially if we are feeling good,” Palmer said.
On the other side of the ball, Park Hill South will be led by senior captain Dylan Love at safety alongside Troy Mosby who is switching from corner back to free safety. Juniors Jayvius Smith and Noah Washington will also be causing havoc in the secondary.
“Our secondary is something we are excited about. They have been sharpening some iron out there so it’s nice,” Palmer said.
Park Hill South’s Briggs Bartosh is one of the Panthers’ top offensive threats ahead of this fall.
Damien Crawford is a returning inside linebacker and Jah’Marion Kane is a transfer who is ready to get on the field. Kiros Martin – who is the son of Steve Martin, a former NFL and college football player – is another key piece on the defense up front.
“We’re going to try and play in space, move around and do some things up front. Our defensive line is a little young, but we need to play fundamentally sound defense and
make tackles in space,” Palmer said.
The Panthers are looking to have a complete team, which includes a stellar special team. Junior punter and kicker Mason Love is 5-star recruit in the 2024 graduating class, who will be valuable this fall.
“He’s a weapo;, we should own our special teams because of it. He works his tail off and makes sure he’s as good as he can be and he is an absolute weapon on Friday nights,” Palmer said.