Lee's Summit gets statement victory

Jeff Stead/PrepsKC

By Cole Young PrepsKC staff writer
Posted: September 7, 2012 - 11:27 PM



For future Lee’s Summit opponents, hoping they can contain the Tigers through the air and in turn on the scoreboard, it may be time to plan otherwise.
The Tigers behind a balanced attack racked up 519 yards of total offense including 296 on the ground on their way to a 46-24 win over Park Hill. Leading the way in the home victory was Casey Slaughter who finished with 209 yards on 31 carries including a pair of touchdown runs.
Slaughter, a junior, provided the bruising running approach while fellow junior Cameron Willis provided a speedy alternative to Slaughter’s bulldozer approach.
It was Slaughter’s 51-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter that put the Tigers up 13-10 on the Trojans, a lead they would not relinquish. More importantly, the run set the tone for the rest of the game. No fewer than six Park Hill defenders had their hands on Slaughter on the run.
“I saw the hole, hit it and knew I wasn’t going down,” he said. “The line made some great blocks for me to get through there then the receivers picked up some guys, from there I just had to go.”
The touchdown just added to the momentum that had begun to swing in the Tiger’s direction. On the previous drive Park Hill had got within the Tiger 3 before their drive stalled forcing a field goal. On the kick, Trojan kicker Mitchell Tittone was roughed giving Park Hill a first down inside the two.
Again the Tigers defense held, eventually forcing Tittone to hit a 19-yard field goal. It was one of two times the Trojans were able to get within feet of the end zone. The other time resulted in a fumble which Lee’s Summit recovered for a touchback.
“It’s frustrating when you get inside the red zone three or four times and only come away with a field goal,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “Bottom line is we got outmanned tonight and that isn’t going to change until we find some way to get better.”
Meanwhile the defensive stands were major victories for the Tigers.
After giving up over 300 yards on the ground last week to Kearney, Park Hill was held to 73 rushing yards on 21 attempts.
“We improved from last week,” Lee’s Summit coach Eric Thomas said. “I think we were a lot more physical upfront and that’s not necessarily an easy thing to do against a team like Park Hill who is very physical.”
While the Tigers were certainly more physical on the defensive side and running the ball, Thomas was equally pleased with the play of sophomore quarterback Drew Lock.
Lock, a sophomore, got off to a rough start, throwing his first pass of the game for an interception which led to Park Hill taking a 7-0 lead.
From there, Lock got better quickly. He finished the game throwing for 223 yards on 17 of 26 attempts. He also threw for a pair of touchdowns, finding Ian Burch twice on scores of 64 and 12 yards.
“I think as the game went along he started to get a little more relaxed,” Thomas said of Lock.
Park Hill also had a strong performance through the air. Quarterback Clay Ford threw for three touchdown passes and 232 yards.
That’s something in Reynolds’ eyes the team can build on.
“We aren’t a team that traditionally throws the ball much,” he said. “I thought our quarterback made some good reads, granted some were on blown assignments but it’s something we can build from.”