Park Hill fell to Class 4 heavyweight Kearney on Sept. 19 by a final score of 14-7 on homecoming at Park Hill District Football Stadium.
Senior safety DJ Bronson reeled in two first-quarter interceptions for Park Hill, but the Trojans weren’t able to generate enough offense as Kearney held its opponent to a season-low 7 points.
Kearney began the game with a promising drive reaching the red zone, but a pass over the middle was tipped by senior Sai’Quan Copeland before Bronson reached low to grab it before touching the ground. Bronson returned it 38 yards before being tackled by Kearney quarterback Carter Temple.
The Trojans worked efficiently to convert the turnover into points as a short pass to Kaiden Irving set up a home run play for quarterback Zane Thomas to step into a deep pass for Dante Dixon, who completed a 43-yard score for his fifth touchdown reception of the season.
With Park Hill up 7-0, Kearney went on another promising drive, but had the same result as the previous drive. Kearney’s trickery came back to bite as senior receiver Hudson Best caught a screen pass, who threw it upfield, but Bronson stepped in for his second interception of the quarter.
Park Hill was unable to move the ball effectively after the second turnover, a theme that plagued the Trojans for the rest of the game.
Kearney returned a punt to the red zone at the conclusion of the first quarter. It appeared that Park Hill had a stop, but Kearney bravely converted a fourth-and-8 play before eventually running it in as the Bulldogs tied it up 7-7 early in the second quarter.
The score remained level going into halftime, but Park Hill finally had an opportunity to take the lead early in the third period. With the Trojans in the red zone, they had to settle for a field goal attempt that missed.