Photo Credit: Riley McCabe/PrepsKC 
Thanks to a strong second-half showing, Oak Park continued its spectacular season and took significant strides toward the No. 1 district seed and a conference title.
Marlon Gant Jr. scored on a touchdown pass from Aiden Hinkle with less than three minutes remaining, lifting the Northmen to a 13-6 victory against North Kansas City in a pivotal matchup between conference and district rivals.
Against a tough Hornets defense, Oak Park struggled to get things going but delivered when it mattered most – all while shutting out North Kansas City in the second half.
Oak Park coach Ken Clemens said he was glad to see his team’s effort and execution make the difference down the stretch in a victory that effectively puts the Northmen in pole position in the conference and district standings.
“For conference standings and for district numbers, it was a really important game,” Clemens said. “This was probably the most important game that North Kansas City and Oak Park have ever played against each other, going back to the 60s.
“So, getting the W against a well-coached team like North Kansas City is an honor for us.”
Both teams entered the game with matching 5-1 records after Oak Park had dropped its first game of the season the previous week against Lee’s Summit.
In a physical battle, defense set the tone from the very beginning. North Kansas City scored the only touchdown of the entire first half when Mahki Staten scored from 15 yards out that gave the Hornets a 6-0 lead at halftime.
North Kansas City boasts a talented defense that includes Division I recruits Edric Hill (who is committed to Alabama) and PJ Adebawore (Oklahoma), and the team used their physicality to hold Oak Park scoreless in the first half. The Hornets forced three punts to start game and then scooped up two fumble recoveries on either side of halftime – one each from Jaden Browning and Emmanuel Nak – that kept Oak Park from gaining any momentum.
But the Northmen needed just one big play to get things going. Gant reeled off a 47-yard run that flipped the field, proving a much-needed jolt to the offense, and a few plays later, Evan Braxton plunged into the end zone and tied the game at 6-6 in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Oak Park’s defense dugs its heels in by forcing a punt and a missed field goal on North Kansas City’s first two drives of the second half. The Northmen consistently got stops against a Hornets’ offense that had scored a combined 97 points the past two weeks.
But Oak Park’s biggest defensive play happened late in the fourth quarter when Caedin Fields – one of four sophomores starting on defense – pounced on a fumble that set the Northmen up at midfield with only a few minutes remaining in regulation.
“When you’re playing North Kansas City any time you have an opportunity to seize an opportunity, you need to do it,” Clemens said.
Sure enough, Oak Park took advantage and needed only a few plays to score the game-winning touchdown. Xavier Williams made an incredible catch to put the Northmen into the red zone, and then Hinkle’s swing pass to Gant Jr. put their team ahead for good.
Clemens said the decisive play was originally meant to be a vertical play to the end zone, but he was glad to see his junior quarterback make the adjustment that produced the winning touchdown.
“I’ve complained to Aiden over the weeks that we need to at some point throw the swing to the back,” Clemens said. “I think that he and Marlon actually decided on their own before the play started that’s what they were going to do.
“So they made a good call.”
North Kansas City took possession with just more than 2 minutes left on the clock but wouldn’t convert another first down, allowing Oak Park to run out the clock. With the win, the Northmen cemented their position on top of the Class 5 District 8 standings and secured a crucial win in the Suburban Conference Red Division conference title chase.
“It’s a big deal every time you win a football game because it’s not easy to do,” Clemens said. “And so we’ll just take them one game at a time.”
