Photo Credit: Todd Nugent/PC Preps Extra 
It was supposed to be a battle on the high seas as the Pirates of Platte County sailed into a matchup with the Belton Pirates. Both teams entered tied for second place in the Suburban-White Conference behind Grain Valley.
With two young quarterbacks starting for each team, an experienced defense prevailed in a 42-7 statement game for Platte County.
Veteran coaches and sophomore quarterbacks with good defense lead each team. Rocco Marriott for Platte County is a 6-4 quarterback with a strong arm. Cooper Shrum for Belton is also 6-4 with a strong arm.
Trailing 21-7 after scoring their first touchdown of the night, Belton defensive back Mateo Ramirez intercepted a deep sideline pass by Rocco Marriott. With the ball and a 14-point deficit, Belton had its chance to claw back into the game.
But on the next pass, as Cooper Shrum’s eyes drifted toward his receiver in the flat, Platte County senior defensive back Andy McClure saw where the pass was headed and jumped on it, picking it off and taking it in 15 yards for the touchdown.
Belton fans began heading for the gates at 28-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Platte County held a 14-0 lead at the half after a touchdown run by sophomore Adam Gisler and a 14-yard pass from Marriott to Dawson Mizell over the middle following a recovery of a botched punt return by Belton just before the half.
Mizell went for two more touchdown receptions in the second half, including an 80-yard touchdown as he ran past the Belton defense to run a bomb by Marriott.
“It was good to see them get one of these games,” Platte County Coach Bill Utz said. “There’s mistakes that we have to fix, but at the same time, we did a lot of good things.”
Some mistakes, but overall, good would also describe the game for Marriott at quarterback. He’s a good athlete with two college scholarship offers already. The ball jumps out of his hand, and he can stretch the field with his arm strength.
He has the physical tools already, and with each game, his mentality progresses as well. Utz said that quarterback is a challenging position to learn at any age, but especially at a young age.
“So, he’s doing well,” Utz said. “We’re excited for where he’s at and where he’s going to go.”
