The Trojans were on the verge of snapping their 3-game losing streak towards the end of their high-scoring, triple overtime thriller against Raymore-Peculiar, but the Park Hill football team came up short, losing 43-40 on Oct. 22.
Park Hill never led in regulation and found itself trailing 27-14 entering the fourth quarter in the regular season finale. The Trojans made plays when it mattered the most and they scored 20 straight points, including 13 points in the final 8:03 of regulation to force overtime.
The scoring surge began when Kedrick Bell completed a touchdown pass with P.J. Caldwell and Scotty Robertson knocked down an extra point to narrow the deficit, 27-21. After Park Hill’s defense stepped up, its offense regained possession and Bell found James Noel for a 31-yard touchdown with 1:43 left, but Roberson missed the extra point.
The Panthers were unable to respond with a score before the clock ran out, and the last regular season contest headed into overtime. The Trojans started the extra period on offense, and they capped off the 20-0 run with another touchdown pass from Bell to Noel.
Trailing 34-27 after the successful kick by Robertson, Raymore-Peculiar completed a pass for a 25-yard touchdown to tie Park Hill and force double overtime. The Panthers started on offense in double overtime and scored another touchdown, but they missed the extra point, taking a 40-34 lead.
For the third consecutive possession, the Trojan offense found the end zone when Caldwell caught a 2-yard touchdown pass. Park Hill had a chance to seal the game with an extra point, but Robertson’s kick was blocked, and the Class 6 teams headed into another overtime period.
The Trojans’ hot streak came to an end in the third overtime period as they were unable to add any points to the scoreboard. The Park Hill defense held Raymore-Peculiar out of the end zone, so the Panthers prepared to kick a 37-yard field goal.
The Trojans called a timeout, but they were unable to ice the Panthers’ kicker, as he knocked down the field goal to end the nearly 3 ½ hour long contest. Park Hill trailed early in the contest, falling behind 14-7 in the first half, including a Raymore-Peculiar 54-yard punt return touchdown after the Trojans’ first offensive possession.
The Panthers scored a pair of passing touchdowns in the third quarter to take the 27-14 lead as Bell tossed a touchdown to Caldwell between the Panthers’ scores. Bell completed 24 of his 39 pass attempts for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns, along with 27 rushing yards.
Noel had seven carries for 23 rushing yards and 9 receptions for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jake Powell finished with seven receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown and Caldwell ended with four catches for 62 yards and a score.
Park Hill will enter the Class 6 District 4 Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will host Rockhurst (4-5) on Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. at Park Hill District Stadium. The Trojans’ only other overtime game of the season was on Sept. 3 when they defeated Rockhurst 24-23.
Park Hill’s Kedrick Bell finished with 334 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, while completing 24 of his 39 pass attempts versus Raymore-Peculiar on Oct. 22.