The Park Hill football team opened its season in a similar fashion to how last year ended, losing to Liberty North 31-17 after second-half struggles on the home turf of Preston Field.
Park Hill was held scoreless in the second half, while Liberty North’s offense scored 21 points unanswered. It was a similar conclusion to last year’s district defeat, when Liberty North powered past Park Hill in the second half of a 30-19 result.
Liberty North opened the scoring on its first drive of the game, scoring a 34-yard field goal.
After facing a quick three-and-out on the Trojans’ first drive, it was shaping up to be a similar sequence on their second drive. That was until junior receiver Shefrin Smith blazed past single-man coverage on the left side, connecting on a third-and-long pass from senior quarterback Riley Haney on an 83-yard touchdown reception.
The Trojans still weren’t done creating their own opportunities. Senior kicker Jair Morales booted a short kickoff near the right sideline, and with a heavy backspin, Park Hill recovered the kick inside Liberty North’s 30-yard line.
Park Hill senior kicker Jair Morales made a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter against Liberty North.
After stalling the drive out, Morales missed a 37-yard field goal, set on the left hash marks, wide right. Park Hill’s defense made quick work on Liberty North’s following drive, allowing Park Hill to piece a drive together with several first downs before Morales made it 10-3 with a 28-yard field goal with 8:32 left in the second quarter.
Liberty North supplied an answer, tying the game at 10-10 when Park Hill applied pressure on Liberty North junior quarterback Max Henson. On the third-and-long play in the red zone, Henson scrambled away to the left and found senior receiver Mason Jones wide open in the corner.
Park Hill took the lead right back on their final drive of the opening half. A 33-yard reception from Jimmy Coleman set up the Trojans at the 1-yard line, from which Haney found a hole up the middle as Park Hill took a 17-10 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Park Hill’s offense struggled with its inexperience. They managed to advance into Eagle territory, but blew a fourth-down play up after a high snap turned the ball over on downs.
Park Hill junior linebacker Andrew Kirkland pursues Liberty North senior receiver Jaxen Poden.
Liberty North pulled level as Henson found junior receiver Makai Williams for a touchdown with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter. After stopping Park Hill, Liberty North went after it with a run-heavy drive and eventually opened up the passing games with a pair of completions, including the 12-yard go-ahead touchdown reception for senior John Michael Collins.
An already overworked Trojan defense was quickly forced back onto the field after Haney tossed an interception as Liberty North junior Jayden Proctor picked the ball out of the air.
Facing a third-and-long in the red zone, Henson used his legs for an 18-yard rushing touchdown to the right as Liberty North suddenly led 31-17 with 6:36 remaining in the contest.
Park Hill’s best move of the second half came after converting a fourth-and-11 on a pass to Coleman over the middle. Moving deeper into Liberty North territory, the Trojans’ hopes were dashed when Haney threw an interception on fourth-and-10.
The Trojans dropped to 0-1 on the season, losing their season-opener for the first time since 2021.
Haney finished the contest 10-of-21 passing for 197 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Smith and Coleman were the top targets of the night, combining for 184 yards while Andrew Minder caught three passes for 13 yards.
Park Hill’s running game was not much of a factor. They used six players to run 86 yards, 66 of which came from Haney, on 27 carries.
Park Hill hopes to build on some positives and learning moments heading into another non-conference matchup next week, when they visit Lee’s Summit West on Sept. 4. They will return home in Week 3, when they host Park Hill South on Sept. 11.