Park Hill’s football team couldn’t capitalize on chances to get back into the game as their season ended on home turf in the Class 6 District 8 semifinals for a second straight season.
The Trojans’ season ended against an Oak Park defense that was up for the challenge, holding Park Hill to just one score in a 27-7 result. After suffering an overtime defeat to Park Hill in Week 8, Oak Park made the necessary adjustments and used a first-half defensive shutout to close in on its first win over Park Hill since 2023.
“We couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Park Hill head coach Andy Sims said. “I thought our defense played well at times, but offensively we did not give them very much help at all.”
Senior quarterback Riley Haney runs for positive yards in Park Hill’s district defeat to Oak Park on Nov. 6.
While the Trojan defense made critical stops, its offense struggled to move the chains throughout the night. Once they finally broke through with a sequence of positive plays in the third quarter, an untimely fumble ultimately encapsulated the Trojans’ night.
“They are a physical defense,” Sims said of Oak Park. “I thought we did a pretty good job the last time we played them. They made some good adjustments tonight, and we didn’t counter that.”
Park Hill turned the ball over three times in the second half, but other mistakes that don’t always show up in statistics also harmed the Trojans. Those mistakes mounted throughout the game and built a hill too tall for Park Hill to overcome.
“All those things are tough enough when it’s Week 1, 2 and 3,” Sims said. “But when you get into the playoffs, you can’t make those mistakes and win ballgames.”
Points were a premium for much of the first three quarters, but Oak Park capitalized on two second-quarter touchdowns. After holding a 6-0 lead, the Northmen showed creativity to convert a fourth-and-2 play and take a 13-0 lead into halftime.
Park Hill punted on its first six possessions, opening the third quarter with a pair of quick three-and-outs that cost them 19 yards combined. Finally, on the Trojans’ seventh possession of the night, they put together a threatening drive.
That drive started with senior receiver Andrew Minder taking the ball for a 40-yard gain on a jet sweep. After a couple more positive run plays, Park Hill kept the ball on the ground for a big gain inside the 10-yard line, but a fumble gave Oak Park the ball back.
The Northmen made the most of the 14-point swing. Instead of facing a one-score lead, they made it a three-score game with a lengthy 13-play drive that stretched into the fourth quarter, capped by a 4-yard quarterback keeper from Jack Clemens to make it 21-0.
Jackson McDaniel got some time at quarterback in the fourth quarter on Nov. 6 against Oak Park.
Park Hill’s offense found another offensive spark when senior quarterback Riley Haney completed a 35-yard pass to sophomore receiver Trent Barry. Junior quarterback Jackson McDaniel eventually got some time at quarterback for three passing plays, but his third attempt was intercepted on fourth-and-15 from Oak Park’s 29-yard line.
The Trojan defense won the ball back for Park Hill’s offense when junior defensive end Nolan Motta recovered a fumble on Oak Park’s opening play.
Corbin Fillion moves toward the end zone on his 7-yard touchdown reception against Oak Park.
Park Hill’s offense turned to a third quarterback option, sophomore Dallas Crawford, for the ensuing drive. After a Crawford 3-yard carry and Minder moved the chains on another jet sweep, Crawford connected with junior receiver Corbin Fillion for a 7-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-7 with 7:10 left.
Another Oak Park fumble gave it back to Park Hill after junior linebacker Andrew Kirkland recovered it. This time, Park Hill’s offense couldn’t make it a one-score game as a pick-six extended Oak Park’s lead to 27-7.
Park Hill finished with a challenging schedule with a 4-6 record, its first losing season since 2023. Sims still sees plenty to be proud of with this year’s group, especially his senior class.
“We had tremendous growth,” he said. “They were always coachable. We never had any internal issues, we never had any griping going on, or name-calling or blaming. I’ve had some years where some people wanted the spotlight and got it less than others. We never had any of that internal conflict; they are just a great group of guys, and they are going to be missed.”