Senior night did not go as planned for the Park Hill football team on Preston Field against North Kansas City on Friday, Sept. 5.
The Trojans fell to their first defeat this season in a high-scoring duel, 69-51, for their home-opener. The Trojans got stung early and often by a Northtown team that was relentless until the end, even 400 passing yards and five passing touchdowns from senior quarterback Zane Thomas weren’t enough to hang with the Hornets.
“We played a really good football team,” said Greg Reynolds, who stood in as head coach with Andy Sims absent. “Watching them on film their first week, we really couldn’t tell how good they were.”
The worrisome signs came early for Park Hill when they coughed up possession on their opening drive just outside the red zone when Thomas’ third-down pass was intercepted. The Hornets’ offense showed its timeliness and explosive nature by converting a pair of third downs before a big reception put the Hornets into Trojan territory.
Northtown continued its timely plays, converting on fourth-and-4 before eventually completing the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run up the middle. Park Hill got on the board towards the end of the quarter with a 37-yard field goal from junior kicker Devin Witzke, but Northtown responded with a 73-yard kickoff return for a touchdown as the Trojans trailed 14-3 after the first quarter.
Park Hill answered early in the second quarter when senior running back Daniel Easter found a hole up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown carry, bringing the Trojans back within one score.
However, that optimism lasted merely seconds as Northtown returned the kickoff 81 yards through the middle for a touchdown, but the Trojans managed to block the point-after attempt.
“We didn’t tackle very well at all,” Reynolds said. “When you can’t tackle and you give up the big pass plays, it’s just one of those nights when you’re not going to win games. Add in the kickoff returns, and we were fighting an uphill battle all night.”
Park Hill’s offense answered once again as Thomas connected with senior receiver Braylon Agee on a post route for a 48-yard touchdown reception on the left side, bringing the Trojans back within three points. North Kansas City reestablished its dominance to end the half, converting a 4th and 7 in the red zone for a touchdown, making a fourth-down defensive stop,
then completing a 38-yard reception to set up another touchdown on fourth down as time expired from the 2-yard line to give Northtown a 34-17 halftime lead.
The explosive plays continued into the second half for North Kansas City as they earned a fresh set of downs twice with big plays on third-and-long situations, one on a 25-yard reception and another on a 46-yard reception to get the Hornets inside the 5-yard line. Park Hill’s defense pushed them back, but the Hornets still managed to find the end zone on a 12-yard carry to the left side as the Trojans’ deficit grew to 24.
Park Hill’s offense kept plugging away as Agee reeled in an 18-yard touchdown reception. Park Hill’s defense finally got a stop, earning its offense good field position after Northtown’s punt was blocked.
The Trojans turned the good fortune into another score as Dante Dixon caught a screen pass and turned it into a 24-yard touchdown reception as the Trojans got back within 11. Both teams traded blows at the conclusion of the third quarter as a 73-yard carry set up a Hornets touchdown before Agee’s third touchdown catch of the evening made it 48-37.
Park Hill senior Dante Dixon races toward the end zone against North Kansas City on Sept. 5.
North Kansas City restored its 18-point advantage after converting a 4th and 4 in the red zone into a touchdown before getting the ball back from an interception with Park Hill in the red zone.
The Hornets capitalized on the turnover with another explosive play, running 85 yards through the middle on another fourth-down play to go up 62-37.
Still, the Trojans kept fighting. Thomas connected with Dixon, who danced his way into the end zone for his second touchdown of the night. After recovering the onside kick, Easter ran in his second score of the night for Park Hill from five yards out to make it 62-51 before Northtown ended the night with an exclamation point on a 51-yard rushing touchdown.
Reynolds saw a lot of positives offensively, including the run game in the first half, outside blocking and a well-worked passing game. He hopes some of the red-zone decision-making will improve as the season progresses.
“We didn’t quit,” Reynolds said. “The want-to is there, we just didn’t finish. We have to practice better, we have to watch film better, we have to be coached better, and that means coaches and players have to do things a little bit differently.”
While disappointed to lose on senior night, the Trojans believe they will bounce back.
“We’ll get there,” Reynolds said. “It’s a talented group, it’s a talented group of seniors, just a shame it happened on senior night.”