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Weather,
injury to QB can't stop Pirates
Status
of QB Campbell unclear for this week's game
by
Tad Brewer
Landmark reporter
A
thunderstorm and an injured quarterback weren't enough
to keep the Platte County Pirates from beating Harrisonville
24-0 in a game that started Friday night and was finished
Saturday afternoon after weather forced a postponement
of the second half.
The Pirates got off to a quick start finding success
in running the ball on the Harrisonville Wildcats defense.
Senior running back Zach Sherman was the first person
to find the end zone in the ball game. After the touchdown
Harrisonville jumped off sides before the extra point
attempt. This penalty moved the ball half of the distance
to the goal. This led the Pirates to attempt a two-point
conversion. Senior quarterback Robbie Campbell handed
the ball off to the 5-9, 190 pound Sherman who sprinted
into the left side of the end zone converting the two
points. Platte County was up 8-0 early in the game.
Platte County’s defense remained tough and kept
the Wildcats’ offense from making any progress throughout
the first quarter.
Some more strong running by Sherman would lead to the
Pirates' next score. They carried the ball down the field
but could not get the football in for a touchdown. Platte
County did, however, convert on a field goal attempt from
37 yards out by junior kicker Nick Jaros. This gave the
Pirates an 11-0 lead.
The final score of the first half would come in the second
quarter. Platte County yet again ran the ball down the
field against the Harrisonville defense. Sherman ran the
ball in for his second touchdown of the game. Jaros then
converted on the extra point attempt making the score
18-0 going into halftime.
As halftime arrived, a severe thunderstorm rolled into
the area. Heavy rain and plentiful lightning led to the
game being postponed. No break in the storm was in sight,
so the second half was rescheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.
As the Pirates prepared for the restart of the game,
they decided to let Campbell sit out and nurse an arm
that had been injured the night before off of a late hit
by a Harrisonville defensive lineman. The night before
Campbell had been 3-7 with 20 yards passing.
With Campbell sitting out the second half, sophomore
Chris Hawkins would take over at quarterback for the Pirates,
who had an 18-0 lead.
The Platte County offense could not get any momentum
going throughout the entire second half. Hawkins was 0-8
passing, and the offense only had four first downs through
the entire second half.
The Pirates had to rely solely on their defense to keep
the shutout. The defense stayed strong throughout the
entire game.
In the third quarter, Jaros was playing cornerback and
he intercepted a pass and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown
giving the Pirates a 24-0 lead. The extra point was no
good, but that would not matter.
Platte County played tough defensively, cutting all of
the Wildcats’ momentum with an interception by junior
linebacker Cory Williams.
The Pirates would go on to win the game, shutting out
Harrisonville 24-0, moving Platte County to 2-0 on the
season.
“We played hard through the entire game,” said
head coach Chip Sherman. “We have to continue to
improve to reach our goals.”
Platte County finished the game with 14 first downs and
183 total yards. The Pirates had 20 yards passing and
163 yards rushing, 128 of those yards came from Sherman.
Sherman also had two rushing touchdowns and a two-point
conversion.
Jaros was 1-2 on extra point attempts and 1-1 on field
goals with a 37 yard conversion.
The defense dominated Harrisonville the entire game shutting
them out. Platte County held the Wildcats to 91 yards
off of 53 total plays. The Harrisonville quarterback was
4-17 with two interceptions, one of which was returned
for a touchdown. The Wildcats had just 8 first downs off
of 53 plays. Of those eight first downs, five of were
converted by penalties.
The leading tacklers for Platte County were juniors Travis
Frogge and Aaron Bernard who each had six. Sherman had
five tackles throughout the game.
The Pirates' next action will come at home on this Friday
when Northeast comes into town. At this point it is unsure
whether or not Campbell will be ready to play. If he is
not ready, Hawkins will get the start at quarterback.
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