Pleasant Hill blanks Oak Grove

By Jimmy Gillispie

PLEASANT HILL — The Roosters did something Friday night they hadn’t done in nearly three years. 

They shut out their opponent. 

The Roosters beat Oak Grove, 20-0, earning their second-straight victory. Their last shut out win was Oct. 13 when they defeated Center, 42-0, on the road.

“The keys were complimentary football and special teams,” Pleasant Hill coach Justin Hamilton said. “Obviously, our defense played really, really well and we shut them out. Offensively, we didn’t score every time, but we took a lot of time off the clock and put some nice drives together.”

Oak Grove hadn’t been shut out since last year’s regular season finale, which was a 40-0 loss at Warrensburg. 

On Friday, Oak Grove had a chance to score in the second half following a long pass. But, Pleasant Hill shut down the next three plays before blocking a field goal attempt and keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard. 

Defensively, the Roosters turned over Oak Grove just once. Senior Cooper Youngblood picked off the Panthers in the win. Senior Jack Ralston and sophomore Tyler Young each recorded a sack in the game.

“I would like to say we had all of these great ideas, but we just kept it simple,” Hamilton said. “We have some young kids out there with not much varsity experience, so we’re trying to keep it as simple for them as we can. … I feel like there’s a lot of good leadership out there so when someone goes down, we’re able to pick up the slack. 

“It was aggression and we were just more physical,” he added. “I thought we were more physical than we were the week before. They also had a great week of practice and prep. Our kids attention to detail as far as scouring report and watching film got them ready for a really good game Friday.”

Offensively, senior Valen Jobe recorded two of the Roosters’ three touchdowns in the win. He had one rushing TD and one passing TD when he connected with fellow senior Jace Feazel, who led the team with three receptions for 59 yards. 

Junior Emerson Pena was Pleasant Hill’s top rusher in the win. He carried the ball 34 times for 129 yards and one touchdown. 

“We didn’t make mistakes, and that’s what we did weeks 1 and 2,” Hamilton said. 

Pleasant Hill (2-2) will play its third-straight home game Friday. Clinton (2-2) comes to town for the Roosters’ homecoming game at 7 p.m.

Clinton won last year’s game 21-14, snapping a five-game skid to the Roosters.

“They are good, but they don’t have a lot of depth and they have a ton of guys who play both ways,” Hamilton said. “I feel like a lot of those teams they’ve lost to they are just as good as, but in the second half they get tired. I imagine as the season goes, they will continue to get into game shape and I think they will be a force to be reckoned with.”