Park Hill South junior defensive back Marcel Milner (#22) dives to pick off a pass in the second half of the Panthers’ 13-9 district loss to Staley on Oct. 27.
KANSAS CITY – The opening play-in game of the Class 6 District 8 Football Tournament was a grudge match and Staley (4-6) pulled off a 13-9 win over Park Hill South (1-9) on Oct. 27.
Since there are five teams in the district, there was a play-in game to see who would take on the No. 1 seed in the semifinals as the remaining teams had the week off. Staley was the No. 4 seed and hosted fifth-seeded Park Hill South on a cold night that saw more turnovers than touchdowns.
On the third play of the game, Drew Paulakovich threw a pass that was intercepted by Kyran Thompson. Staley had favorable field position and lined up for a field goal, but Park Hill South blocked it.
Later in the first quarter, the Panthers had a deep drive and had a field goal attempt of their own. Mason Love – who has become one of the best high school kickers in the nation – attempted a 28-yarder but missed it to the right.
Park Hill South struck first with a scoring drive in its first second quarter series. Paulakovich connected with Chance Taylor on a 52-yard pass.
The sophomore wide receiver nearly scored on the play but was taken down at the 3-yard line. Two plays later, freshman running back Magnus Hoenshell ran into the end zone with 9:30 left in the half.
Park Hill South led 7-0 at the break, but the score shifted in the third quarter. The Falcons had back-to-back scoring drives and took control of the contest, leading 14-7.
Park Hill South senior Kiros Martin came up with two huge plays early in the fourth quarter, starting with a sack on 3rd down. Staley punted the ball on the next play and Martin blocked it.
The ball bounced all the way back into the end zone and senior Richman Wilson ran towards the loose ball, but the Falcons punter kicked it out-of-bounds, resulting in a safety. That made the score 14-9 with 10:23 remaining and the Panthers got the ball back.
Park Hill South’s offense struggled to move the ball in the second half, including the series after the safety. The Panthers faced a 4th and 5 at the 50-yard line and punted it.
Marcel Milner came away with an interception on the next series around midfield with right under five minutes left. Later in the drive, Staley was called for a pass interference penalty to move the ball to the 21-yard line.
Paulakovich drove into the red zone and his pass fell into the hands of Staley linebacker Bo Faubion who bobbled it and then his teammate, Tyler Kerkhoff, came down with the ball. There was less than two minutes left at that point and the Falcons had a couple big yardage plays to get deep into the Panthers’ territory.
At the Park Hill South 4-yard line, Staley coughed up the ball and the Panthers jumped on it to get one last chance with 1:27 remaining. Park Hill South had possession for the rest of the night, but didn’t even reach midfield and was eliminated from the postseason.
Park Hill South reached the district championship for the last two years and lost in the first round of districts for the first time since 2019. The Panthers will have some talented players coming back next year.