After carrying the Park Hill South football team to one of its best seasons in program history, Liam Aldridge, Lucas Oitker and James Williams suited up one last time in the 30th Annual BeYounion.com Kansas vs. Missouri All-Star Game on June 16 at Turner High School in Kansas City, KS.
Coming off senior campaigns where they set numerous program records, the Panther trio led Missouri to the all-star game victory. The Show-Me State won comfortably with a score of 32-15, largely due to Oitker’s offensive and Williams’ defensive performances.
“It was great meeting a bunch of different people from all of these different schools, including amazing coaches, and to have that one last high school game,” Park Hill South alumni Lucas Oitker said. “It’s fun but also a little sad because it’s the last high school game, but I enjoyed it with Team MO on top.”
While Oitker was one of the top offensive players in the contest, it was Williams who stole the show. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound defensive lineman walked away with the MVP award after posting 3.5 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery.
“After my last game when we lost to Liberty North, it was such a disappointing end to a great football season,” Park Hill South 2022 senior James Williams said. “I was happy to kind of rebound from that and end on a high note for my high school football career.”
The loss that Williams was referring to was the Class 6 District 4 Championship Game when No. 1 seed – and undefeated with an 11-0 record at the time – Park Hill South was defeated by Liberty North 34-14. The Panthers’ promising season came short of a district title, but they still had a remarkable year.
Park Hill South’s James Williams waves after Missouri scores the game-sealing touchdown late in the 30th Annual BeYounion.com Kansas vs. Missouri All-Star Game at Turner High School in Kansas City, KAN.
The all-star game had a different outcome for the Park Hill South players with Kansas scoring the first and last touchdown in the game, but nothing in between. After trailing 7-0 just 3:30 into the contest, Missouri rattled off 32 unanswered points until Kansas scored a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 4:01 left in the game.
Oitker carried a large load of Missouri’s offense, which included some feats that he had never experienced in his football career up to that point. The future Washburn University running back had never took a direct snap or thrown a pass in a game before, but he did both at Turner High School.
The running back had taken the direct snap a few times on the day, but there was one specific play in the third quarter when Oitker killed the two birds with one stone. With 4:55 on the clock, the Park Hill South graduate had to improvise with a bad snap.
Oitker took a moment to repossess the ball following the snap – after the ball slipped through his hands and bounced on the ground behind him – and then rolled out to the right to see his options. Oitker saw Kearney’s running back K.J. Smith running a deep route towards the end zone and threw a 31-yard dime that resulted in a touchdown.
“Not how we wrote it up; it was a little bit of a bad snap and I had to go and get it. I looked behind and didn’t see any pressure and I saw K.J. and let one go. It was a little more exhilarating than other touchdowns I’ve had because I threw for it and didn’t run for it like I’m accustomed to,” Oitker said.
The Kansas City Suburban Conference Red Division First Team running back also impressed on the ground on the day with a team-high 12 carries for 73 yards. Likewise, Williams had his moment of fame in the second half.
With 2:27 left in regulation, Kansas had the ball trailing by 17 points with a chance at another late score. Smithville’s Mason Crim sacked the quarterback at the 45-yard line, causing a fumble and Williams scooped it up and took it all the way to the 23-yard line where he was taken down by Mill Valley running back Reice Kennedy.
“I tried to kick it into sixth gear, I thought I had a lineman behind me not a running back. I was going to house (score) it and dunk it through the field goal post but didn’t quite have the gas,” Williams said.
Park Hill South had three players who were deemed worthy enough to join the 41 other players across the state to be selected for Missouri in the all-star football game. Aldridge, who is an offensive lineman, joined the MVP and Oitker in the contest.
“It was great to see Park Hill South bring home the MVP, good job for Sticks (Williams), he deserved it. Liam snapped back some gems and I think he had a couple of tackles on punts, so getting to suit up with a couple of my teammates was a lot of fun,” Oitker said.
The contest was presented by the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association as Preps KC announced the rosters for both Missouri and Kansas to the public on June 1. The Missouri squad was coached by Pleasant Hill’s Justin Hamilton and the team practiced at Grain Valley High School from June 6-10 and June 13-15.
“It was a little different because I only had eight practices to get ready, but it was super nice that the coaches I had and the players I played with felt natural and comfortable, so I was excited to play. Sometimes when I felt like we needed a little bit better or faster at this position, we had it; all the good players that I needed around me helped, and that reflected on the scoreboard,” Williams said.
While all three Park Hill South players are continuing their football careers at the next level, they were all honored to be able to suit up with other high schoolers one last time. Aldridge is committed at William Jewell College and Williams is heading to Iowa Central Community College.