Photo Credit: Roman Puno/PrepsKC 
The Battle of Park Hill came down to the very last play of the game. In the end Park Hill South came away with a 28-22 victory over Park Hill.
The Trojans of Park Hill took the opening kickoff and in less than ninety seconds James Noel scored on 3-yard run. Teegan Turner converted the point after.
The Panthers used their big offensive line and methodically moved the ball down the field. Quarterback Briggs Bartosh, scored on a 13-yard keeper. Mason Love nailed the kick, and the game was tied at 7-7.
The Panthers forced the Trojans into a turnover on downs and proceeded to dominate the first half, running the ball. The offensive line led by senior Grant Dunaway, moved defenders out of the way while the Panthers racked up, 15 first downs in the first half.
Late in the first quarter Darrien Jones scored on a 7-yard run. Love converted the kick and the Panthers led by seven.
In the final minute of the half, Bartosh scored again, this time from 14 yards. Instead of the kick, Bartosh took a direct snap and ran the ball into the left corner of the end zone. As the teams went to the locker room for halftime the Panthers were up 22-7.
The Panthers fumbled on their first possession of the half, and the Trojans started on the Panther 3-yard line. Sam Simmons Jr. punched it in on a 2-yard run up the middle. Turner converted the kick, and the Panthers were down by eight points.
The Trojans recovered another fumble but could not dent the scoreboard when the 40 yard field goal attempt was partially blocked. The special teams redeemed themselves, when a high snap, to the Panthers punter resulted in a safety. Now the Panthers only trailed by six, 22-16.
The Panthers next drive Bartosh, faked a jet-sweep, and kept the ball and ran down the middle of the field for a 56-yard touchdown. The two-point run was unsuccessful making the score 28-16.
It was Park Hill’s turn to slowly drive down the field, and finally on the last play of the third quarter, Riley Dantzscher scored on a 7-yard, nifty misdirection touchdown run. The point after was blocked and the score was 28-22.
In the fourth quarter both teams had a hard time sustaining drives. Late in the game the Trojans got the ball into the red zone, and on a 4th and 4 from the 14-yard line, the Panthers brought pressure and forced a intensional grounding turnover on downs.
The Panthers were trying to drain the clock, but Bartosh was tackled with :03 left, on 4th down. The Trojans had the ball on the Panther 17-yard line. Kendrick Bell scrambled and got the pass away, but when it fell to the ground, the game was over.
Due to the close proximity of the two schools, there was mutual respect and admiration shown from both teams. The congratulation handshake line was filled with more hugs and tears, than handshakes.
Park Hill finishes their season with a record of 3-8. Park Hill South improves to 6-5 and they will be on the road when they face undefeated Liberty North.
