The defense was the one known commodity for Park Hill when the football season started.
After back-to-back losses to open the season, the Trojans rattled off their fourth win in a row, 23-7, on Friday, Sept. 28 at Fort Osage.
The key to the win was the defense that accounted for 12 points and didn’t allow a point for the first time this season.
Dating back to the start of the winning streak, the defense has allowed only four touchdowns on its varsity units in four weeks, including upsets of then Class 6 No. 4-ranked Lee’s Summit North, then No. 9-Ray-Pec and now Class 5 No. 6-ranked Fort Osage.
“We got 15 or 16 kids ready and capable to play,” Park Hill coach Josh Hood said. “I like the speed on the field and it is difficult to match.
“We have done a wonderful job of tackling and doing their job. The last four years the emphasis is just do their job and with the exception of a couple of plays (Friday), we did a wonderful job of executing.”
Park Hill turned two of Fort Osage’s three turnovers into 14 points with a pick six and a short fumble return for the game’s final points in the third quarter.
The first touchdown of the game also came from the Trojans’ defense when linebacker Haden Wallace ran back an interception 75 yards for a score. It was the second pick six in two weeks for Park Hill (4-2).
“That is a really good defense,” Fort Osage coach Brock Bult said. “They will give a lot of offensive issues.”
The first quarter featured 17 of the game’s 30 points in a 3 ½ minute span that started with Jackson Austin booting a 23-yard goal for Park Hill with 3:19 left in the first quarter. The kick was tipped at the Fort Osage line but wobbled its way through the uprights.
The points capped a 95-yard drive for Park Hill that featured 17 plays and five flags.
Ty Baker, a Missouri State commit, quickly moved the Indians (3-3) down the field but on 1st-and-10 from the Park Hill 31, he threw a pass that Wallace picked off one-handed – his right hand is in a cast following summer surgery – and ran it back 75 yards for a touchdown.
Up 10-0, momentum quickly shifted away from the Trojans 4-2.
Von Young IV fielded the kickoff and ran up the middle and then scooted toward his sideline on his way for a 78-yard touchdown for the Indians.
The first quarter ended with the Trojans up 10-7.
Park Hill went down and scored on the next possession mixing in runs from quarterback Ryan Graves and wide receiver Jaylin Noel on a jet sweep to get into the red zone. On 1st-and-goal from the 7, Graves scored. He ran for a team-high 144 yards, while throwing for 117.
“They are getting better each week. We saw them on film,” Bult said. “They are adding a little more to the offense. They will give people issues later in the year for sure.”
The extra point was blocked by Gavyn Monday, making it 16-7.
The Indians got a pair of interceptions but couldn’t capitalize on them.
The first was a pick by Cahleel Smith that he returned to the Park Hill 32 late in the first quarter. The Indians moved to the 13, but missed a field goal attempt with 26 seconds left.
On Park Hill’s first play of the second half, Ethan Parton intercepted Graves. The Indians were at the Park Hill 33 but two sacks by Mikey Miles pushed the ball back to midfield and Fort Osage ultimately punted.
“We knew if we brought pressure, we could get to him and he would have to throw it quick,” Hood said of Baker. “Our kids did a good job of matching short stuff so we could get the plays over quickly.”
Park Hill had a long drive in the third quarter end with a fumble at the Indians’ 8-yard line. Young jumped on the loose ball. Two plays later, a bad exchange between the quarterback and running back led to a Fort Osage fumble.
Miles picked it up at the 2 and walked into the end zone for a score on the final play of the third.
“I was reading the quarterback,” Miles said of the play. “I knew it would come, so I was trying to read the running back and the QB pulled it out to late and he lost it.”
That was the first varsity touchdown for Miles, who is one of many stepping into a bigger roles due to injuries.
“When we talked before the year, I told everyone, watch this kid,” Hood said of Miles. “The team goes with him, the energy he brings. I don’t know if I played with a guy that has that kind of energy that the speed he brings when he is having fun. If Mikey Miles is having fun, you better watch out.”
Wallace led the Trojans with 12 tackles, while Miles had 10 and added six tackles for loss, part of 17 for Park Hill. The Trojans added five sacks, two each by Miles and Johnny Wilson.
Fort Osage had 8 yards on 24 carries and finished with just 117 yards of total offense.
Notes
The players ahead of Graves continued to shuffle around as defensive lineman turned offensive lineman Juwan Grant injured his foot in the first half and came out of the game. He was out of his football gear when the second half started. Ryan Winfrey, who started the first three games of the year but was injured against Lee’s Summit North, came back after missing a week and filled in for Grant.
Looking ahead
The Trojans will return home on Friday, Oct. 5 when Blue Springs South visits Preston Field.
Park Hill be the favorite on paper as the Jaguars are 1-5 on the season, but are coming off their first win of the season, 30-7, against William Chrisman.
The Jaguars schedule included four losses to state-ranked Raytown, Ray-Pec, Lee’s Summit West and Rockhurst.
Park Hill has won three of the past four meetings and the past two.
“That is a storied program and they will have a lot of athletes they will put in front of us,” Hood said. “They have a lot of kids in that school and their coaches do a wonderful job. That will be another difficult matchup in Class 6. The last three games (South, Staley and Blue Springs) are three of the most storied programs in the area. I’m excited to see what we can do.”