Platte County junior Tres Baskersville (#27) tips a North Kansas City punt in the first half of the Pirates’ 17-0 win on Sept. 8.
NORTH KANSAS CITY – The opening 29:58 of the slugfest of a football game between Platte County (3-0) and North Kansas City (1-2) was scoreless before the Pirates put some points on the board late in the second half to win 17-0 on Sept. 8.
The week 3 matchup had huge, big-picture implications with Platte County and North Kansas City both being in the Class 5 District 8 Tournament when the season ends, with the winner of this game moving up in the district seedings. The first half was a dog fight, with four total punts and multiple red zone trips that ended with zero points.
“Coming off of two emotional wins, we had to come into a physical game, so we knew this was going to be a challenge,” Platte County head football coach Bill Utz said. “I was happy with the way the defense played, offense was just a little bit sluggish but once we got settled down and got some nerves out of the way, we were able to put some things together and capitalize on what the defense was giving us.”
The final punt of the first half came with under a minute left when the Hornets gained possession and an eventual 1st and goal from the Pirate 9-yard-line following a face mask penalty after they gained a first down. North Kansas City had a 4th and goal from the 3-yard-line with 16 seconds left and the Platte County defense came up with a huge stop.
Platte County junior Caden McGhee intercepts a pass near the end zone at North Kansas City High School.
“Right before the half it was a huge play; North Kansas City’s a well-coached team, a very physical team, and they play on emotion and momentum. We’ve seen them when momentum is on their side, and it’s not fun for us so it was a big play to not let that happen and us to gain that back,” Utz said.
The first points of the game came after a chaotic North Kansas City punting sequence with right over eight minutes left in the third quarter. The Hornets’ punter bobbled the snap, ran all the way to the left side of the field, then all the way back towards the right side of the field and eventually got a punt off, but it didn’t go far, as it was tipped.
Platte County had favorable field position and took little time for Rocco Marriott to dump the ball off to Adam Gisler who ran 27 yards to the end zone. After Jackson Goodale knocked down the PAT, the Pirates led 7-0 with 6:02 left in the third quarter.
Adam Gisler ran for 89 yards and brought in two catches for 33 yards and a touchdown on Sept. 8.
“We were in a situation where we took what was given to us. They cover so many areas because of their length, speed and pressure up front so it’s a different defense than what we’ve seen the last two weeks,” Utz said.
The next two series of the game were punts; then the Platte County defense forced another turnover. Seth Martin recovered a fumble on the first play after a Pirate punt and their offense retook the field late in the third quarter, eventually adding a 24-yard field goal with 11:51 left.
On a 4th and 11 from the Hornets’ 22-yard-line, Marriott connected with Tres Baskerville for a touchdown to put the game away. Platte County had one more drive into the red zone but ran the clock out to win 17-0.
Gisler ran for 89 yards and brought in two catches for 33 yards and a touchdown, while Marriott had two touchdowns and 134 yards on five completed passes and Cayden McGhee had an interception on defense. Platte County will take on another tough district opponent when its hosts Grain Valley (2-1) on Sept. 15.