Rocco Marriott tossed five first-half touchdowns on eight completions to become the newest quarterback to reach 100 career touchdown passes.
Platte County star senior quarterback Rocco Marriott joined an exclusive club of eight 11-man football members in Missouri by throwing his 100th career touchdown on Oct. 17 in the Pirates’ senior night 70-6 demolition of Ruskin.
Marriott’s 100th touchdown pass came towards the end of the first half, finding Brooks Hall in the corner for an 8-yard touchdown reception. It was Marriott’s 36th passing score of the season — three shy of tying his record of 39 touchdowns he passed last season.
Platte County’s victory against Ruskin was the first time they reached the 70-point threshold this season — the second time doing so in the past two years of dominance in Class 5. All of last week’s scoring came in just 30 minutes of action due to the weather cancelling the second half.
It was quickly evident last week that the Pirates’ margin of victory would be substantial, as they went up 35-0 in the first quarter. Adam Gisler rushed Platte County’s first play from scrimmage for a 49-yard touchdown, followed by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Marriott to Braiden Stevens.
Marriott connected with Tres Baskerville for a 26-yard touchdown before Gisler turned his second touch of the game into a 40-yard rushing touchdown. Marriott found Ty Christopher to seal the first quarter shut with a 51-yard touchdown reception to make it 35-0.
Ruskin took advantage of a rare offensive opportunity when quarterback Calvion Stallings Ellison found Quadarious Williams racing down the left side for a 79-yard touchdown reception, cutting the deficit to 35-7. Platte County’s response was immediate as they put up 35 more points in the second quarter, beginning when Christopher returned the kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown.
Platte County senior defensive back Jack Johnson makes a tackle against Ruskin on Oct. 17 at Pirate Stadium.
On Ruskin’s following possession, Platte County pressured a wild pass that senior Jack Johnson intercepted and returned for a pick-six. The Pirates got another defensive touchdown when Carlos Baskerville retrieved a fumble before running it back 21 yards.
Marriott concluded the half with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jack Utz before making his historic touchdown pass to Hall, making it 70-6 at halftime. With lightning moving into the area, the second half was delayed before eventually being cancelled as the Pirates took the 64-point victory.
Platte County improved to 8-0 on the season, 6-0 in conference as the highest-scoring team in Class 5, averaging more than 58 points per game. They hope to clinch the conference title outright when they visit Raytown in the regular season finale on Oct. 24 before the district tournament.
The Pirates are expected to edge out Rokchurst for the No. 1 seed in the Class 5 District 8 tournament, which would give Platte County a first-round bye before hosting the semifinal.