Andrew Minder was Park Hill’s standout performer with four touchdowns from three positions.
Park Hill was far from perfect, but Andrew Minder played the game of his life to carry the Trojans to their first win of the season, defeating Park Hill South 38-20 on Sept. 11 at Preston Field.
Minder, who featured prominently on offense, defense and special teams, put the Trojans on his back with a Senior Night performance that will not be forgotten anytime soon. The senior concluded the night with four touchdowns and three interceptions in the rivalry victory.
“Rivalry week, rivalry games are really hard. To come out here and play the way we did is great for us,” Minder said. “This is my best game so far.”
Park Hill has feasted on Park Hill South over recent years, but it was far from straightforward as the Trojans entered Week 3 winless. Still, Park Hill pulled it together for a fifth straight three-score win margin over South.
“Whether it’s by one point or under, that part doesn’t matter; you’ve got to get the win and we did that tonight,” Park Hill head coach Andy Sims said. “The coach in me sees all the same things everybody else saw, so we’ve got to clean some things up.”
Park Hill South junior Sammy Masson rounds the corner on the Panthers’ opening touchdown on Sept. 11.
Park Hill South found itself in front twice early on, striking first when junior Sammy Masson scored a 4-yard touchdown run after receiving the handoff on a jet sweep. Park Hill answered when its first red zone drive ended with senior tight end Quinn Watson catching a 3-yard touchdown pass in the far corner from senior quarterback Riley Haney.
The Panthers’ lead was restored in the second quarter when they turned a fourth-down conversion into a 25-yard touchdown reception. Senior quarterback Tyler Briggs appeared to be running for the conversion, but found senior receiver Jackson Scott wide open over the middle, completing the pass just before the line of scrimmage for a touchdown pass to give the visitors a 14-7 lead.
Then came Minder’s first significant strike of the evening. After receiving a screen pass from Haney, Minder escaped one tackle before using blockers to find the hole for a 34-yard touchdown reception.
While the Trojans missed the point-after try, they did take the lead before halftime. Haney rolled to his left on second-and-4 from South’s 14-yard line, where he found Shefrin Smith for a diving catch in the end zone.
“We just try to keep our head in the game,” Haney said. “Coach talks about not getting too hot, not getting too low, just riding the wave right in the middle. That’s kind of our team goal.”
Both teams traded possessions to end the first half, when Minder caught his first interception of the night. South went searching for a last-second answer, but Minder came down with the interception as Park Hill led 19-14 at halftime.
Minder’s play single-handedly kept Park Hill’s offense off the field for a sizeable chunk of the third quarter. On second down, Minder scored a pick-six after reading Briggs’ pass intended for Jake Hensel, with Minder stepping in to return his second interception 54 yards for a touchdown.
After Park Hill’s defense forced a three-and-out, Minder kept the Trojans’ offense on the sideline by returning the punt on a bounce for a 40-yard touchdown return. Eventually, Park Hill’s offense did return to the field for an unsuccessful drive that ended in a turnover on downs.
Both teams traded possessions before Minder snagged his third interception of the night, making South pay for an underthrown pass on third down late in the third quarter. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Minder scored his fourth touchdown of the night, using lead blockers to pave a path to score a 43-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Haney as Park Hill opened up a 38-14 lead.
Park Hill South’s scoring drought eventually came to an end after senior linebacker Micah Forrest gave them possession by recovering a fumble. Sophomore quarterback Asher Sledd, who replaced Briggs due to injury, converted the turnover into points as he connected with Hensel for a 37-yard touchdown reception.
Park Hill senior Jimmy Coleman III recovered the onside kick as the Trojans walked out victorious, 38-20, for the first time this season.
“All four years of my high school (career), we’ve always beaten South,” Minder said. “To beat them tonight, my senior year, really means a lot to me.”
Senior quarterback Riley Haney passed four touchdowns in the rivalry win over Park Hill South.
For Haney, the victory was much more than any other Park Hill victory. It marked his first victory as the Trojans’ starting quarterback, pointing to trust in his teammates and brotherhood to get the job done.
“This means a lot because I’ve sat behind a senior for the past two years,” said Haney, who passed 10-for-18 for 160 yards and four touchdowns while rushing 70 yards on 11 attempts. “Being able to come out here on a rivalry night and take over my own is legendary.”
Haney previously spent two years backing up Zane Thomas, who is currently in his freshman season at Benedictine College. Sims has enjoyed the process of molding Haney into Park Hill’s starter.
“Riley’s got to be his own guy,” Sims said. “He’s going to put his own stamp on this, and the good thing about him is that quarterback is a leadership position, and he’s a great leader.”
Over 63% of Park Hill’s points came from Minder’s scores. With hopes of playing in college, Minder put on a show that certainly caught the attention of all viewers.
“I bet college coaches are watching out here on a rivalry game,” Minder said. “It’s the biggest game of the year, pretty much, for us. It’s great to have that out there.”
Minder’s breakout performance, which included two touchdown receptions on three catches for 86 yards as well as a defensive score and special teams score, saw him open his scoring account for the season. He previously accumulated eight catches for 86 yards in the first two weeks of the season.
“Andrew Minder is an absolute stud, and anybody would be lucky to have him,” said Haney, who set up Minder for half of his scoring. “The Trojans are really lucky to have him. He’s so versatile, you can put him in the backfield and line him up out wide, and he’s going to go make a play for us.”
Park Hill head coach Andy Sims welcomes Andrew Minder back to the sideline after his opening touchdown.
“That kid had himself a ball tonight, didn’t he?” Sims said. “That was amazing. Offense, defense, kicking game, the player of the week is going to be pretty easy next week.”
Park Hill values each week as an opportunity to gain much-needed experience after graduating 35 seniors last year. While mistakes will continue, they remain concentrated on learning from them.
“We have to be focused on us and doing the little things that make us better,” Sims said. “Understanding that it’s going to be a process, especially when you’ve got a bunch of new players out there. They need to be able to make some mistakes, but we’ve got to be able to coach them, and maybe make a new mistake next week.”
The schedule ahead is a daunting one for Park Hill, beginning with a conference visit to North Kansas City (Sept. 18) before returning home to host No. 5-ranked Blue Springs South (Sept. 25) for a first non-conference meeting since 2023. But as the Trojans saw last year with Lee’s Summit’s 10-game winning streak, the start of the season does not determine how the team finishes.
“I feel like we’re only up from here,” Minder said. “Last year, Lee’s Summit was 0-4 to start the season and they came out state champions. That’s what I feel like our team could be.”