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Cardinal Ritter runs past Pleasant Hill 54-35Photo Credit: Jeff Stead/PrepsKC

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When Justin Hamilton took the head coaching position at Pleasant Hill in 2020, he found a program that was in disarray.

Fast forward to 2022, Hamilton had the Roosters one game away from playing in the Class 3 state championship, however, Pleasant Hill’s season ended at the hands of Cardinal Ritter — the No. 1 ranked team in Class 3 —as they defeated the Roosters 54-35 behind Fredrick Moore’s five touchdown performance at Eklund Field.

“The (Fredrick) Moore kid is I think probably the best receiver in at least Class 3, (if not) the state,” Hamilton said of the Cardinal Ritter wide receiver. “You’ve got to guard everything with him. … the jet sweeps and quick screens … then his ability to break tackles, which is very impressive. He’s going to Michigan for a reason.”

Pleasant Hill set the tempo of the game early. The Roosters opened the game with a powerful run game that was picking up yards in giant chunks.

The drive suddenly ended when an errant snap sailed over the head of Pleasant Hill quarterback Easton Roe on 3rd-and-goal. Roe was unable to fall on the loose ball, which was recovered by the Lions at the 10.

Cardinal Ritter wasted no time making Pleasant Hill pay, as they marched down the field in six plays. The drive was capped off by a Moore 34-yard touchdown run to give the Lions a 6-0 lead.

“That was the game plan,” Hamilton said. “Smash mouth, tempo football. We did that, all the way down the field. Today in this game, the advantage for us was front, and it was for a long time.”

Trailing 14-3 midway, Pleasant Hill’s offense needed a spark. The Roosters turned to its passing game to get things going as Roe connected with Ayden Cline for a gain of 32-yards.

The drive was capped off by Dylan Kauffman, who scooted into the end zone from the 7-yard line, cutting the deficit to 14-9.

The touchdown gave Pleasant Hill life and momentum. The defense forced a quick three-and-out, which forced the Lions to punt. The punt was blocked by Easton Cotter, which was returned 32-yards by Pleasant Hill’s Tony Sanders to give the Roosters a brief 15-14 lead.

The lead didn’t last long as Moore scored his third touchdown of the first half on the ensuing kickoff, which he returned 67 yards to give Cardinal Ritter all of the momentum heading into halftime.

“If we don’t miss tackles on that kickoff, we’re in at halftime, and we have a 1-point lead.” Hamilton said. “That took some momentum we had right before half. … missed opportunities hurt us today.”

Moore scored his fourth touchdown of the game on the Lions opening possession of the third quarter, as Carson Boyd connected with the Michigan commit on a perfectly thrown fade for a 28-yard touchdown to give the Lions a 34-15 lead.

Pleasant Hill trimmed the lead to 34-21 on its ensuing possession, as Roe connected with Cline, who hauled in a one-handed pass for a 49-yard touchdown.

Even though Pleasant Hill came up one game shy of playing in the state championship, the season wasn’t a disappointment, instead, it will be looked at like a building block for things to come, Hamilton said.

“Nothing comes without work,” he said. “That’s been the big thing the last three years. After evaluating things after my first year here. … we weren’t as physically as the teams we were playing. They were stronger and they were more physical. … we had to level the playing field there.”