The Platte County Pirates had little trouble beating No. 2 seed St. Pius X in the Class 5 District 8 Championship on Friday, Nov. 15, at Pirate Stadium.
The Pirates led 42-7 at halftime and cruised to a 45-23 win that propels them into the Class 5 quarterfinals. Platte County will travel to Webb City for a 7 p.m. kickoff this Friday, Nov. 22.
The Pirates scored first on a 63-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Rocco Marriott to junior Brayden Stevens to take a 7-0 lead. SPX responded with a touchdown drive to tie the game up 7-7.
SPX, with a little momentum, turned over the Pirates on their ensuing possession when SPX intercepted Marriott’s pass. Platte County’s defense, like so many other times during the season, stepped up and got a three and out of the SPX offense, forcing them to punt.
The Pirates would score five touchdowns before halftime, including three touchdown passes by Marriott. The junior signal caller connected on a 44-yard pass play to Ty Christopher, an 18-yard pass play to Tres Baskerville, and his second touchdown pass to Stevens, an 80-yard pass play. Marriott also scored on a three-yard run. Senior Adam Gisler scored on a 52-yard run.
The only scoring in the third quarter came off the leg of Pirates’ kicker Jackson Goodale, who was good from 38 yards out. SPX got two touchdowns and two successful two-point conversions, both pass plays. SPX scored touchdowns on pass plays of 33 yards and 56 yards.
Marriott threw only 11 passes and completed six of them for 225 yards and four touchdowns.
Gisler had seven carries for 80 yards and a touchdown. Senior Dayton Doll carried the ball 10 times for 75 yards and Marriott had five carries for 31 yards. Stevens had two catches for 143 yards and two scores.
The Pirates have some recent late-season history with the Cardinals, most recently in 2020 when the Pirates got a 24-21 win in the Class 5 semifinal. In 2019, the Cardinals beat Platte County 48-0 in the Class 4 Championship game. In 2017, the Cardinals beat the Pirates 21-18 in the semifinals.
Webb City comes into the contest with a 6-6 record but has wins over the No. 1 seed Carthage and No. 2 seed Grain Valley in the district bracket.