The redemption came in a different week of the playoffs, and now the challenge will be to avoid a letdown.
Platte County senior Chris Ruhnke threw three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score midway through the fourth quarter on a 9-yard pass on fourth and goal to senior wide receiver Colby Rollins, to lift the Pirates to a 24-21 upset victory over No. 2 Webb City in a Class 5 semifinal Saturday afternoon at Cardinal Stadium. The Pirates advance to this Saturday’s Class 5 Show-Me Bowl against unbeaten and No. 3-ranked Jackson (13-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Ray Hentges Stadium on the campus of Helias High School in Jefferson City.
“We’re going to come in and give them everything we’ve got,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said about refocusing for Jackson after the emotional win.
Platte County’s defense made a pair of stops after Rollins’ touchdown, which came with 5 minutes, 58 seconds left, to secure a victory made even sweeter based on the previous meetings between the two teams.
Webb City won a 21-18 thriller in a 2017 Class 4 semifinal, and the Cardinals romped to a 48-0 victory in last year’s Class 4 Show-Me Bowl in the only other matchups. Both teams moved up to Class 5 this season to set up the possibility of a unique rematch, which came in the semifinals.
With no fan restrictions in Jasper County, Platte County fans flocked to witness what became one of the biggest wins in program history.
"I’m happy for the kids; I’m happy for our program, too — not just this team but our program," Utz said. “We finally get a game where everybody can be here, and I’m happy for the community. We all need this. For us to be able to come out on top, it’s very satisfying.”
Webb City (12-1) produced 245 rushing yards with its vaunted veer option rushing attack but only managed 11 in the second half. The Cardinals trailed 17-14 at halftime after Platte County junior Cole Rhoden hit a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter, and both teams struggled on offense in a scoreless third quarter that featured two of Ruhnke’s three interceptions and a missed field goal for the Pirates.
Platte County trailed for the first and only time when Webb City senior quarterback Cole Gayman completed passes of 49 and 33 yards to set up Jackson Dupree’s 4-yard go-ahead touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Down 21-17, Ruhnke immediately answered with a 64-yard touchdown drive with a roughing the passer penalty on fourth and 9 keeping it alive and moving the ball to the Webb City 9.
Four plays later, Ruhnke found Rollins along the left edge of the end zone for what became the winning score.
“Came down to fourth down, and I knew I had to make a big play and Colby made a huge play, making the catch and getting his feet down,” Ruhnke said.
Webb City (11-2) immediately turned it over on downs on its next possession deep in its own territory, and there were only 25 seconds left when Platte County gave the ball back at the Cardinals’ own 15. Two penalties moved the ball to midfield, but a final pass harmlessly fell incomplete with Pirates’ senior defensive linemen Forrest Boynton and Alex Stearns draped on reserve quarterback Eli Goddard as he attempted to go deep.
Platte County’s players and coaches then rushed the field to celebrate another program first.
In 2017, Platte County reached the state semifinals for the first time in Class 4 and the first time since winning three straight state titles in Class 3/3A from 2000 to 2002. The Pirates then made their first Class 4 state title game in last year’s runner-up finish and now reached the Class 5 title game in their first-ever season at that level.
“Since I’ve been here, yes,” Utz said when asked if this was the biggest win of his tenure with Platte County. “I won’t take anything away from the state titles, but I would say in my tenure, this is a big one. I mean this is Webb City. Anytime you can come in here and beat a Webb City team, then yeah, it’s got to be the biggest.”
Ruhnke finished 19 of 46 for 218 yards with completions spread out to five receivers.
Tying for the team high in receptions with five, Rollins (34 yards) and senior wide receiver Joey Schultz (66 yards) were the top targets for Platte County, while senior leading receiver Dayton Mitchell was limited to two catches for 32 yards. Carter Salzman, a sophomore, finished with four catches for 70 yards, including touchdown catches of 15 and 16 yards in the first half to stake the Pirates to a 14-0 lead and a 24-yarder to set up the go-ahead score.
Platte County senior Cayden Davis ran for 90 yards on 27 carries to provide enough of a run threat to make Ruhnke even more effective. Davis added three catches for 16 yards, while Ruhnke scrambled for 36 yards on seven attempts while not taking a sack. The Pirates held a slight edge in total yards at 344 to 333 but perhaps more importantly, they outsnapped Webb City 80-47.
Webb City’s first three possessions ended in a punt and a pair of lost fumbles. Platte County senior Luke Filger delivered a crushing blow to Gayman on a blindside rush to force the first, but Ruhnke threw the first of his three interceptions on the very next play to negate the momentum. Webb City senior star running back Devrin Weathers then busted a 30-yard run to create a goal-to-go situation at the Pirates’ 4 with a chance to score.
Instead, Platte County senior safety Collin Tyson stripped him at the 1.
Boynton recovered both loose balls, falling on the second in the end zone for a touchback that led to an 80-yard scoring drive, capped with Ruhnke’s second touchdown to Salzman.
“Both of those plays, I broke the pocket, and I found him just sitting wide open in the end zone,” Ruhnke said.
Webb City erased the 14-point deficit with long touchdown runs on consecutive offensive snaps late in the second quarter. After a punt pinned the Cardinals at their own, Weathers broke off an 82-yard touchdown run three snaps later after taking an option pitch to make it 14-7 with 4:46 left in the half. The Pirates then went three-and-out, and after a short punt, Weathers went 38 yards up the middle and into the end zone on a counter play to make it 14-14 with 3:32 left in the half.
Platte County held Webb City under 100 yards of offense the rest of the way, and Weathers finished with 18 carries for 195 yards. Gayman was just 4 of 12 for 88 yards passing with the Cardinals forced into predictable pass situations more often than desired. Pirates’ junior linebacker Trevor Scott recorded a team high 11 tackles and a pass breakup as the top standout on defense.
The results were in stark contrast to last year’s dominant effort for Webb City in the state title game, and Platte County was able to dethrone the 15-time state champions and move back within striking distance of the program’s fourth title.
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