Complete Box Score and Play by Play
Platte County’s passing attack once again propelled the team to victory on Friday, but the emergence of a sturdy ground game gives the team an added dimension that makes them even more formidable.
In a battle of state-ranked rivals, the Pirates put together their most balanced performance of the season during a 28-7 victory against Smithville. Quarterback Chris Ruhnke accounted for all the scoring with four touchdown passes, and he played an equally important role as part of a Platte County rushing attack that rolled up a season-high 186 yards.
“We stressed coming into this week that we were going to have to run the ball a lot,” Ruhnke said. “In the first half, we couldn’t run the ball at all, and then second half, the o-line stepped up and we could run whatever we wanted.”
Platte County (4-1) was eager to bounce back after last week’s loss to North Kansas City, and Ruhnke jolted the offense to life in the second quarter. On back-to-back throws, he connected with Dayton Mitchell for two touchdowns of 13 and 68 yards to give the Pirates a 14-0 lead.
Smithville (3-2) found an answer right before halftime when Rhett Miller caught a touchdown pass from Andrew Hedgecorth, but it was the only time the team found the end zone. The Warriors consistently moved the ball against a tough Pirates’ defense, but often struggled to cash in on their scoring chances.
“I think their defense did a good job, and I thought we were partially to blame,” Smithville coach Jason Ambroson said. “We shot ourselves in the foot when we got in the red zone. It was just out-of-sync stuff, very uncharacteristic.
“… We’ve just got to be more efficient with our opportunities.”
Starting on the first possession after halftime, Platte County leaned heavily on its rushing attach and set the tone for the rest of the game. Cayden Davis started finding more room to run and began picking up one first down after another, eventually leading to a touchdown catch from Joey Schultz to make it 21-7.
And on a pivotal fourth-quarter drive, the Pirates ran the ball nine consecutive times to set up Mitchell’s third touchdown of the game on a precise pass from Ruhnke, who shook off two interceptions to put the Pirates back on the winning track.
“I think it’s kind of been like that all year,” Ruhnke said. “We’ve been good at responding after momentum maybe goes to the other team.”
Platte County coach Bill Utz said he was glad to see the running attack perform so well, especially in light of some injuries to the team’s starting lineup.
“We felt we kind of didn’t do that last week, so that was an emphasis all week that we were able to do that,” Utz said. “Our offensive line has taken some injuries. It’s kind of a work in progress, so we needed a game like that to give them a little bit of confidence.”
The Pirates’ defense sealed the deal with a scoreless second half and finished with two interceptions from Cameron Wolfe and Tae Bailey.
Ruhnke continued his strong season with 188 passing yards and four touchdowns to go with 49 rushing yards. David led the Pirates with 95 rushing yards, while Mitchell went for 92 yards and three touchdowns.
Utz said picking up a victory against a longtime conference rival provides a boost entering the second half of the regular season.
“It’s always good to get this one, for sure, and we feel good with where we’re at,” Utz said. “We stubbed our toe a week ago, but other than that, the kids are playing hard and doing what we ask them to do.”
Hedgecorth threw for 238 yards and one touchdown, as Foster (56 yards) and Samuel Calvert (67) were his primary targets. Hayden Sigg led Smithville with 50 rushing yards.
