Park Hill South sophomore Chance Taylor had nine catches for 142 yards in the Panthers’ 24-15 loss to Lee’s Summit West on Sept. 8.
LEE’S SUMMIT – For two straight weeks, the Park Hill South football team (1-2) took on one of the best teams in all of Class 6, went behind early and couldn’t complete the comeback.
One week after losing to the best team in Class 6, Lee’s Summit North (3-0), Park Hill South matched up with the No. 7 team in the state, Lee’s Summit West (3-0), on Sept. 8. The Titans scored all on three of their first quarter possessions and the Panthers trailed 17-0.
Park Hill South senior quarterback Drew Paulakovich made some big throws in the game, starting with a 58-yard bomb down the left sideline to Chance Taylor on a 2nd and 25 to put the ball at the Lee’s Summit West 6-yard-line. The Panthers reached the 1-yard-line and went for it on 4th down, but the Titan defense had a goal line stand.
On the ensuing drive of the game, Kadin Sabree chased down Lee’s Summit West quarterback Caden Carter who threw the ball away illegally and was called for intentional grounding. Since the penalty occurred in the end zone, the play resulted in a safety with 7:33 left in the half.
Paulakovich found Taylor for an identical deep throw down the left sideline once again, with the sophomore not getting brought down until he reached the 8-yard-line. Park Hill South was unable to get into the end zone, but senior kicker Mason Love knocked down a 28-yard attempt with 6:09 on the clock, making the score 17-5.
With 1:44 until halftime, Carter added another touchdown for the Titans. Zayvius Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards to the house, which made the score 24-12 at the break, as there wasn’t another touchdown for the rest of the night.
For the third straight week, Love showed off his impressive kicking ability and made a field goal from over 50 yards. The University of South Carolina commit converted on a 53-yard attempt with 1:34 left in the third quarter, but Park Hill South went on to lose 24-15 following a scoreless fourth quarter.
Although Park Hill South failed to score on offense, Paulakovich ended the night with 285 passing yards with most of his completions going to Taylor and Kyle Dunaway. Taylor had nine receptions for 142 yards and Dunaway caught six passes for 97 yards.
Defensively, Kiros Martin and Mason Wright each had two sacks and led the team in tackles, combining for 17. Next up for Park Hill South is Liberty North (2-1), which is ranked 3rd in Class 6, on Sept. 15.