Make it four wins in a row for the Park Hills Central Varsity Football team. The Rebels rolled into Cape Girardeau and scorched their opposition with a nearly unstoppable offensive assault, which led to another blowout victory. Last Friday, September 16th, it was Cape Girardeau Central’s turn to fall prey to the multifaceted attack of Park Hills, who notched their fourth straight victory in as many games.
It should come as no surprise at this point that Casen Murphy, Jobe Bryant, and Kannon Harlow did the most damage, lighting up the scoreboard with 41 points. Meanwhile, the Rebel defense, led by Ty Schweiss and Triston Stewart, stifled the Tigers, holding them to only 20 points.
It was quite the dominant performance by the Rebels on Friday. Going into the last drive of the first half, every Rebel possession ended with a touchdown, and Park Hills hadn’t even given up a first down on defense, not to mention scoring a defensive touchdown. After the first twenty minutes of action, the game was already out of reach for Cape Girardeau with Park Hills leading 33-0.
The ground game for Park Hills was gassed up and ready to go. They established the run early behind their offensive line anchored by Nathan Weinhold. The first two Rebel touchdowns were carries by Bryant and Harlow, respectively.
In the second quarter, Park Hills added another touchdown run, this time from Hakin Wagner. After that, there was a defensive pick-six scored by Stewart. Finally, the last score of the first half came on a long touchdown pass from Murphy to Harlow.
Another positive of the game was that the Rebels possessed the ball for most of the first half, something they had not done yet this year. Head Coach Kory Schweiss enthusiastically said, “It was nice to see us control the clock and still get points on every possession in the first half. Our offense and defense really complemented each other tonight.”
It really was a top-notch showing on both sides of the ball for Park Hills. Schweiss and Stewart led the defense with eight tackles apiece and Stewart forced the only turnover of the night with the interception he returned for a touchdown.
Cape Girardeau finally scored on the final drive of the first half, making the score at intermission 33-6. Then midway through the third, Murphy scored another touchdown on a QB keeper. The Rebels were successful on the two-point conversion, which was a pass from Schweiss to John Johnson. That score made it 41-6 and started the running clock.
Cape managed to score a couple of late touchdowns against Park Hills’ backups which led to the final score of 41-20.
All in all, it was a good night for the Rebels. Murphy led the team in rushing with 11 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. Wagner, Bryant and Harlow all added a rushing touchdown as well.
The air attack was also impressive. Murphy was 15-17 for 160 yards and a touchdown and Bryant led the receivers with 10 of those catches. Harlow had the longest one of the night, a 51-yard reception from Murphy.
It’s looking good for Park Hills, who sit tied for the top of their conference with an impressive 4-0 record. However, next week, on Friday, September 23rd, it’s homecoming, and something has to give as the also 4-0 Ste. Genevieve Dragons will be in town. The Dragons have a dangerous offense as well and have scored more total points this season with 219, compared to the Rebels’ 193. It should be a challenging game, but that won’t deter Park Hills from bringing their best in an attempt to give the Dragons their first loss and keep their hot streak alive.
