No. 24 Park Hill 45, Oak Park 0

Park Hill didn’t mess around locking up a district bye on Friday night.

The Trojans, ranked No. 24 in the 810 Varsity Top 25, blasted Oak Park, 45-0, to secure the No. 2 seed in Missouri Class 6, District 8.

Park Hill (6-3) capitalized on turnover after turnover by Oak Park from the outset. After an initial Kaden Irving four-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead, the Trojans recovered a muffed return on the ensuing kickoff. Two plays and 14 seconds later, Jonah Weir plunged in from five yards out for a 14-0 lead.

Oak Park followed with a three-and-out, then snapped over the punter’s head for a Park Hill recovery for a touchdown, and a 21-0 lead with 2:55 in the quarter. Later, a field goal with 36 seconds left in the quarter gave the Trojans a 24-0 lead after one period.

From there, Dante Dixon jetted for 28-yard rushing score, followed by a Damariyn Ford pick-six for a 38-0 cushion. Dixon also added a receiving touchdown to conclude the scoring.

Park Hill will face the winner of Liberty North and Oak Park in two weeks. For district brackets and more, visit 810Varsity.com.

Lee’s Summit 37, No. 4 Lee’s Summit North 16

Down 16-0 at halftime? Lee’s Summit decided to wake up and put away its district rival

The Tigers rang off 37 unanswered points in the final 16:52 of the game to stun Lee’s Summit North, 37-16, on Friday night at North.

The Broncos built a 16-0 lead at intermission on touchdown passes from quarterback Stephen Thomas to William Ray and Avery Block.

But facing a third-and-seven at its own 45 with under five minutes left in the third, Lee’s Summit’s Preston Hatfield rolled right and launched  pass downfield to Karsten Fiene. Fiene hauled in the bomb at the Broncos 25 and raced to the end zone for his 12th score of the season, and an eventual 16-8 deficit with 4:52 left in the third quarter.

Then the madness ensued. Junior Tre Flowers recovered an onsides kick attempt at the North 43. Two minutes later, Drew Benassi took a keeper in from two yards out, followed by another two-point conversion for a 16-16 tie with 2:34 left in the period.

Lee’s Summit, which lost its first four games of the season before winning its last four in a row, held and took over with :52 left in the third. A Hatfield 19-yard loft to junior tight end Grady Ferguson set the Tigers at the North 1. Benassi followed with another plunge into the end zone for his seventh score of the season, and a 23-16 lead with 10:24 left.

Later on fourth-and-2 at the North 8, Fiene took a keeper through the pack and rumbled in for a touchdown for a 30-16 lead with 4:06 left. Fiene capped the scoring with a 20-yard run down the left sideline for his third touchdown of the night, and a 37-16 cushion with 2:45 left.

Both teams were set to play again in two weeks in the second round of districts, with the winner on Friday to host. The Tigers (5-4) will entertain North (6-3) on November 7.

No. 7 Liberty 42, No. 9 North Kansas City 21

Though Liberty had a top district seed wrapped, the Blue Jays didn’t hold back at North Kansas City.

Liberty (8-1) concluded its regular season with a romp at Northtown, 42-21, behind two Connor Hatfield passing touchdowns and a rushing score, as well as 124 rushing yards from Colt Nolin.

North Kansas City (7-2) , ranked No. 9 in the 810 Varsity Top 25, tied the game early at 7-7 on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Mehki Fields to Reggie Smith. But Hatfield touchdown passes to Maison Bowman for 29 yards and Masen Bindel for 15 yards, as well as a Hank Blackburn 15-yard touchdown connection to Brooks Ragland, pushed the lead to 28-7 at halftime.

Then Nolin capped a scoring drive to start with second half with a 28-yard touchdown run for a 35-7 cushion.

Another Fields to Smith touchdown pass of 25 yards, as well as a Kobe Rhyme two-yard touchdown plunge, pulled the Hornets to 35-21 with 2:02 left in the third quarter. But Nolin’s second scoring run – this time from six yards out – put the game away at 42-21 with 7:37 left.

Liberty will receive a bye in Missouri Class 6, District 8, while North Kansas City also holds the top seed in Class 6, District 7 and will have a week off before facing the winner of Lee’s Summit West and Park Hill South.

St. Pius X 21, Savannah 20

St. Pius X won a double-overtime thriller and handed Savannah its first loss of the season in the process. 

The Warriors fell behind in the second quarter and didn't lead again until the final snap of the game – on the extra point in double OT by backup kicker Carson Eckelkamp, to win 21-20. 

"We're excited to move forward and continue on," Warriors head coach Anthony Simone said. "We built this schedule for a reason. It wasn't by accident. It was to challenge us. We've done a great job of continuing to build every week so we can be at our best this time of year because that's when it matters." 

Pius grabbed an early lead after an interception helped set upa keeper by sophomore quarterback Jake Nichols for a 7-0 lead.

Savannah, which entered undefeated and ranked No. 2 in Missouri Class 4, came back with a rushing score for a 7-7 tie after the first period.

In the final minute of the half, Savannah hit on a 43-yard pass for a score, and a 14-7 lead into the break. 

Pius (5-4) tied the game on a 21-yard pass from Nichols to Brock Chisam with less than nine minutes to play. 

Both teams had chances to break the tie late, including a 33-yard field goal by Savannah that was never attempted due to an errant snap. 

Neither team scored in the first overtime as Pius turned it over on downs, and Savannah had another field goal blocked.

Savannah looked in good shape after a seven-yard rushing score by quarterback Aiden Knechtenhofer. But Pius stuffed the two-point try to stay within 20-14.

The Warriors took advantage of the opportunity, scoring on a dive by Cannon Cruse and converting the PAT.

St. Pius X will open district play next Friday against Winnetonka.