Raymore-Peculiar flipped the script in the second half and rallied for a 24-14 win over Park Hill in Class 6 postseason action on Friday night at Park Hill School.
"The thing I loved about our team was at halftime, after some questionable things took place, I walked in and it was calm," Ray-Pec head coach Tom Kruse said. "We felt like we left some things out there (in the first half) and came out in the second half and ran the ball which was key. Our playmakers made plays and defensively we were really good. Hopefully we can continue to do that down the road."
Big plays came early in the first half for Park Hill as they needed just three plays to score the game’s first touchdown.
A 65-yard pass to the Ray-Pec 21, followed by a strike to Jaylin Noel, two plays later, put the Trojans up 7-0 with 9:04 left in the first.
The lead remained intact until a 4th-and-goal conversion at 5:55 of the second quarter. The QB sneak by Ray-Pec 's Conrad Hawley tied it at seven.
The Trojans came up with another momentum-shifting play with less than three minutes to play in the half.
Junior QB Anthony Hall launched a pass from his own end zone and found Noel again, who raced 99 yards for the score and a 14-7 lead for the Trojans.
Ray-Pec tied the game (14-14) for the second time at the 6:34 mark of the third on a 3-yard run by Phillip Fager.
On their very next possession, the Panthers took their first lead of the game on a 29-yard field goal by Gabe Sappington with one minute to play in the third.
Ray-Pec kept it rolling in the fourth quarter with a seven-play, 55-yard drive resulting in another Fager rushing TD to make it a 24-14 advantage with 8:10 to play.
The lead was adequate for the Panther defense as they held Park Hill to a punt and two turnovers on downs on the Trojans' final three possessions.
Fager rushed for 134 yards on 24 carries to lead Ray-Pec (9-2), who will face undefeated Liberty North next week in the district championship game.
"In this conference and this district every game is a big game, but we're going to be a tough out," Kruse said.
Park Hill (8-3) was led by Hall's 203 yards and two scores through the air and Noel's 121 yards and two TDs on three receptions.
