Roosters survive, advance past rival Wildcats

PLEASANT HILL — After a wild first half that included each team scoring three-straight touchdowns, the Roosters knocked off Harrisonville in the playoffs for the third year in a row.

Ultimately, it was the kicking game that doomed the Wildcats in the 28-27 Pleasant Hill victory. After scoring the potential game-tying touchdown on a run by junior QB Stryker Gilmore with 9:03 left in the game, the Wildcats’ PAT was blocked by Pleasant Hill’s Jack Ralston. 

“Right after they scored, I said something to him to kind of get the defense on the ball, get them going and tell them we needed this point,” PHHS coach Justin Hamilton said. “Little did I know, that would be the difference in the score.”

Harrisonville had one more chance late to win the game. In the final two minutes, the Wildcats attempted a field goal, but missed it. Instead of Harrisonville taking a 30-28 lead, Pleasant Hill ran out the final seconds and advanced to the district semifinals.

“That’s one of a few that I’ve been a part of, if any like it,” Hamilton said. “It was just a weird night. When it was raining, we were firing on all cylinders. The rain stopped and it flipped the other way. It was just weird.”

Pleasant Hill (6-4) will play at Central (Kansas City) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Blue Eagles (6-3) and Roosters have never played each other.

“They are very athletic. The coach there is doing a great job. They are very organized and formationally they do a to of different things,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got to be able to line up and play assignment football. They are 6-3 for a reason and the No. 1 seed for a reason.”

Hamilton is hoping his team can use the confidence from last week’s game, but also learn from a contest that was a wild one from the opening minutes until the final seconds. 

Harrisonville turned the ball over three times in the first quarter. The Wildcats lost a fumble, dropped a snap on a punt attempt and lost a backward pass that gave P-Hill the ball inside the red zone. 

The Roosters scored touchdowns on all three turnovers. They led 21-0 midway through the first quarter.

“That doesn’t happen with what we do offensively – being up that fast, that early,” Hamilton said. “We took advantage of some mistakes.”

The Wildcats rallied back in the second quarter. Gilmore scored two touchdown runs and threw another to senior Cole Smalley. 

“Their quarterback is a really special player. He is good,” Hamilton said. “He does some things you can’t catch and we struggled to contain him in the run game. When you try to do that, he moves around and opens up the passing game a bit.”

Hamilton added, Gilmore made a lot of plays in the first half that they were prepared for, but difficult to stop.

“One of my fears while that was going on was I didn’t want my kids to get too high,” Hamilton said. “It’s not that they got cocky or overconfident, but I didn’t want us to get too high. But, I think we may have gotten a little too high.”

The Roosters scored the go-ahead touchdown on an Emerson Pena, who carried the ball 25 times for 182 yards, run in the third quarter. Their defense allowed only the one TD in the second half as it contained Gilmore and the Cats’ offense.

“The thing I’m most proud of was we were the highest of highs early and it was the lowest of lows through the second quarter and you could have heard a pin drop in our stadium when it went from 21-0 to 21-11,” Hamilton said. “Being able to handle all of the ups and downs and the emotions that go along with that is what I’m proud of.”