KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The win streak is over and for the first time in more than a month, Park Hill had to find a way to react to a loss.
On Friday, Oct. 12, the Trojans held a lead at the break against Staley, but the No. 1 ranked team in Class 5 rallied in the second half and escaped with a 17-14 victory at Preston Field at Park Hill High School.
The Trojans were hot going into the game with wins in their past five games and they knocked off three state-ranked teams in the process. Staley, though, brought lofty credentials into the contest and the reigning state champions bested the Class 6 Trojans thanks to scoring 17 unanswered points.
Staley running back Jaden Moss, bottom, is tackled by Park Hill defenders James Gore, left, and Carter Goslee, center, and Cole Goiner, back, during a game on Friday, Oct. 12 at Preston Field in Kansas City, Mo.
“We needed to match their physicality with our athleticism,” Park Hill coach Josh Hood said. “Instead, we let them play their game in the third quarter and allowed some of their on-the-field antics to get the best of us. We learned from those situations and made more definitive adjustments in the fourth quarter.”
A 1-yard run by Ryan Graves with 16 seconds left in the second quarter gave the Trojans a 7-0 in what was a defensive struggle in the first half.
Staley (7-1) drove 65 yards on the first drive of the game, only to be turned away on 4th-and-goal at the Park Hill 1-yard line. The second drive by the Falcons moved to the Park Hill 26, but had another turnover on downs. Prior to the start of the Park Hill scoring drive, the Falcons lost starting running back Kaunaloa Grace, who was hit hard and later taken from the field in an ambulance.
Staley surged ahead in the third quarter and finally got on the board when Jacob Stewart booted a 23-yard field goal.
The Falcons defense slowed down the Park Hill attack and got short fields for the offense. The second drive of the third quarter started at the 35-yard line and four plays later, Dawson Parks hit Blake Proffitt for a 5-yard touchdown with 5 minutes, 15 seconds left in the third.
The back-and-forth between two teams boiled over a bit in the third quarter. On two occasions, Park Hill defensive lineman James Gore, who transferred from Staley, had his helmet ripped off at the bottom of the pile but no flags were thrown. At one point, the teams had offsetting personal fouls.
Staley running back Jaden Moss scored with 6:35 to play to push the Falcons’ lead to 17-7. That score was set up by an interception by Quinten Arello, who snared it near the red zone and returned it across midfield. A late hit on Park Hill gave the Falcons the ball at the Park Hill 35-yard line and nine plays later, Moss scored.
Park Hill got the ball back with 2:31 left and a quick drive started with a completion to Davis Suppes and a run by Graves got a first down. At the 18-yard line, Graves hit Jaylin Noel in the corner of the end zone. The extra point by Jack Austin pulled the Trojans within 17-14.
An onside kick was recovered by Staley, but the Falcons went three-and-out and gave the Trojans the ball back with 1:22 left. Park Hill (5-3) converted on a pair of fourth downs — both on passes from Graves to Suppes — but unable to pull a miracle off on the final play, the game ended with Payton Stanfield being tackles inside Staley territory near the 40-yard line.
Graves threw for 170 yards — 16 for 28 passing — and ran for a team-high 70 yards. Haden Wallace led the defense with 17 tackles, while Cole Goiner (13), Johnny Wilson (12) and Kolby Heinerikson (10) all had double figures. Donovan Bustamante hauled in an interception for the Trojans.
Looking ahead
Despite the loss, it was a non-divisional setback for the Trojans so while it hurt the record, there are still hope for a conference championship.
With one loss in Gold Division play, a win at Blue Springs could result in a three-way tie with Lee’s Summit North and Lee’s Summit West.
“At the end of the day, our bigger fish to fry lie ahead of us,” Hood said. “A win over Blue Springs will give us a share of the conference title for the second year in a row. Our kids are fully aware of the situation and will use that motivation throughout our preparation this week. We would love nothing more than to have the opportunity to go back to Blue Springs and put our best foot forward this Friday night.”