Park Hill didn’t need three overtimes to win this week, but needed some late heroics nonetheless.

The Trojans scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to pull away for a 20-13 win on the road Friday night at North Kansas City. 

Junior Zane Thomas threw three touchdowns for Park Hill, now 2-0 for the first time since 2019. 

Two of those scores went to junior Dante Dixon. The first connection was a 7-yard score on the Trojans first drive. The third and goal conversion made it 6-0 with 7:51 to go in the first. Tegan Turner's PAT made it 7-0. 

The next connection sealed the win in the first matchup between the Northland schools since 2011, also a Park Hill win. 

Up 14-13 going into the fourth, the Trojans scored on their second possession of the stanza. 

Thomas hit Dixon on a seam near the NKC sideline and he outran the defense for a 68-yard touchdown. The extra point failed making it a one-possession game with 8:32 left. 

“I know we all came together as a team, just all being there together,” Dixon said. “We worked on that play all week.”  

Said Thomas of the play: “It's the best feeling in the world seeing it fly in the air and when he catches it and scores. There’s nothing like it.”

The Hornets (1-1) had held the Trojans scoreless in the second and third quarters. 

Park Hill had scored on its first two possessions. Turner hit Xander Everts for a 7-yard score with 1:04 left in the first quarter, as the Trojans led 14-0 after the opening 12 minutes. 

The Hornets dominated the second-quarter scoreboard, particularly late. Senior Jesiah Morris stepped in front of an intended target and returned Turner’s pass 65 yards for a defensive touchdown, with 3:18 left in the half to cut the deficit in half.

The Hornets' defense then forced a punt and got the ball back with 2:22 to go in the first half. 

On first down, running back Donnell Jamison gained 20 yards, moving to the Park Hill 16-yard line. 

Then with 6 seconds left, quarterback Stephen Thomas Jr. connected with Amro Toto for a 6-yard score, and a 14-13 halftime deficit after a muffed PAT. 

NKC had three chances to seize the lead in the second half. 

In the third, the Hornets drove to the Park Hill 19 but turned the ball over on an incomplete pass on fourth down. 

The next drive, the Hornets’ Caleb Hill and Rhymes each jetted for 25-yard runs, but a fumble at the Park Hill 28 was recovered by the Trojans’ Matthew Aguirre. 

The last threat came on an interception by NKC defensive back Samuel Zinnah in the fourth.  The Hornets eventually advanced to the Trojans’ 35 but gained only two yards and turned it over on downs. 

Two plays later Dixon scored the touchdown to seal the win. 

Park Hill coach Andy Sims gave props to a Hornets defense that was tough most of the night. 

“They are good and they are aggressive. I think they're very well coached in their technique and what they're doing is not overly complicated, but they don't have to be in some certain areas,” Sims said. “You know when they just kind of are able to beat you up in some key spots, and we just didn't make very good adjustments, in my opinion.”

“But in the end, it was a good tough win, and we wake up tomorrow at 2-0”

Park Hill will host Staley (0-2) next Friday, while North Kansas City travels to Excelsior Springs (1-1).