Bill Utz could use a different postgame ritual following matchups with Kearney.
Frustration continued for Platte County’s coach following a 28-6 loss to the Bulldogs on Friday, Sept. 7 at Kearney High School, resulting in an all-too-familiar scene in the east end zone. The Pirates coach gathered his team to try and point out the positives to a youthful roster that saw an undefeated start to the season come to a screeching halt against the program’s most consistent nemesis.
A stout and disciplined defense allowed Kearney to score 28 unanswered points, including two punctuating touchdowns late in the fourth quarter, and win an eighth straight matchup in the rivalry series. Platte County hasn’t beaten the Bulldogs since 2012 and dropped to 1-13 in meetings between the two since 2008.
Kearney takes the lead in the Suburban Conference Blue Division and Class 4 District 8 standings with Platte County left to hope for a postseason rematch.
“At some point in every season, you face adversity,” Utz said after the game. “We learned real quick that we didn’t handle it quite the right way as we should have as it was happening. Now we have to decide how we’re going to handle it, regroup and be ready to play next week.”
Entering off two straight blowout wins over Class 5 programs, Platte County (2-1) took an early lead on a quick touchdown drive that concluded with a 13-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Spencer Stewart to senior wide receiver Brice Bertram. The Pirates then went more than 42 minutes scoreless while committing three turnovers, two of them leading to touchdowns.
Despite trailing by six and not leading by more than one possession until the fourth quarter, Kearney allowed Platte County just 185 yards of offense. The Pirates have yet to develop a consistent identity on offense behind Stewart — a transfer and two-time honorable mention Class 6A all-state performer at Shawnee Mission Northwest.
Adel Freitek, a senior running back, again led Platte County with 85 yards rushing but didn’t reach the end zone for the first time in three games, while Bertram totaled six catches for 60 yards and the only touchdown. The Pirates have shown ability to run and pass but have yet to truly put it all together during a turnover-fueled rout of Oak Park, an unexpectedly easy romp over Park Hill South and the disheartening loss to Kearney (2-1), which entered off a 28-7 loss to Class 5 No. 1-ranked Staley the week before.
Platte County dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 with the loss, while Kearney moved back up a spot to No. 3. The Pirates now must try to recover on the road against new Blue Division foe Grain Valley (2-1), coming off a 29-0 loss to Smithville.
“We’ll learn from (the loss),” Utz said, “and next time we face adversity, we can handle it better during the game instead of after.”
Platte County started fast and appeared set to have a chance to end its rivalry losing streak, but two highlight touchdown passes from senior quarterback Dakota Ah-Mu and the steady running of senior running back Patrick Connery were enough to spark a comeback for Kearney.
Freitek’s running keyed Platte County’s 67-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter that ended with Stewart finding Bertram open over the middle for a 13-yard score on a third-and-4 play. The extra point attempt hit off the right upright, leaving the Pirates with a six-point advantage.
Kearney took the lead for good on the final play of the first quarter.
Connery fumbled the ball away in the red zone to stop one promising drive, but three plays later, Kearney linebackers Chopper Mordecai and Corbin Bevan sacked Stewart, and Bevan recovered at the 4. Connery scored on the next snap to put the Bulldogs up 7-6.
Platte County then struggled in a battle of field position for the rest of the first half.
Late in the second quarter, Kearney broke through again when Connery helped jumpstart a 2-minute drill drive with key runs, and Ah-Mu capped off the quick march with a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior Xander Kent on a third-and-12 play with less than a minute to go in the half.
The officials wiped away Platte County’s only serious threat to the score around the 1-minute mark of the third quarter.
Stewart, who finished 15 of 42 for 107 yards, hit Freitek out of the backfield for an apparent 22-yard touchdown on a third-down play. Two officials originally signaled the score, but an official on the far side of the field ran over to call the pass incomplete, and after a lengthy huddle of the officials, the touchdown call was overturned.
Platte County turned the ball over on downs with an incompletion on the next play.
“This game is full of momentum,” Utz said. “You try really, really hard to bottle up as much momentum as you can and hold on to it as long as you can. It was a really tough drive to get to (the end zone), so once we scored it was a big shift. To have it taken right back away, that’s pretty hard to come back from. I don’t care what phase of life you’re in, that’s hard to come back from.”
Kearney finally pulled away on back-to-back touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. First, Ah-Mu rolled to his right and lofted a long pass to 6-foot-3 junior wide receiver Jacob Stevens with 5:23 to go. He outleaped Platte County sophomore cornerback Collin Tyson and beat the last man on the way to a76-yard touchdown.
Platte County’s next drive ended when Kearney’s Joey Ebarb intercepted Stewart, and Connery ran it on the next six plays, covering 40 yards and finishing the scoring with a 3-yard plunge.
Ah-Mu finished 10-for-18 for 143 yards with seven total completions to Stevens (three for 99) and Kent (four for 30), but Connery led the way, rumbling for 250 hard-earned yards on 37 carries,
“Pat’s got a sense about him,” Kearney coach Josh Gray said. “He’s not only a phenomenal football player, but he’s a phenomenal kid. He does things the right way. He’s a leader. He’s one of our captains. He sees things and then explodes, and his legs never stop.”
Platte County senior linebackers Omar Garcia and Nathan Martinez led the defense with 11 total tackles apiece, while sophomore linebacker Spencer Cupp and senior cornerback Cade McNicholas had fumble recoveries. Trent Rueckert, a sophomore safety, added an interception in the second half, but none of the three turnovers led to scores for the Pirates.
The defense ended up yielding a misleading 416 yards of offense to Kearney, and the two late scores provided the final ingredients of a sour start to Platte County’s Blue Division schedule. The Bulldogs again celebrated with the Highway 92 rivalry trophy, and the Pirates were relegated to a somber end of the field while country music blared over the loud speakers with fireworks exploding in the background.
Platte County plays five of the final six in Blue Division play, starting with the test against Grain Valley and other key matchups down the road with Smithville (Week 6) and Grandview (Week 9) still to navigate.