Kearney, Park Hill, Lee’s Summit roll to wins in Missouri high school football

It was another big night of games across the Kansas City metro on Friday.

Here are some highlights from Week 5 of the Missouri high school football schedule.

No. 6 Kearney 24, No. 8 North Kansas City 20

For the third straight week, Kearney outlasted a fellow Top 25 team from the Northland.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 6 in the 810 Varsity Top 25 and No. 1 in Missouri Class 4, dealt No. 8 North Kansas City (4-1) its first loss of the season in Northtown.

“We’re probably going to run the ice machine out when we get back to Kearney,” Bulldogs coach Logan Minnick said. “We’ve got to fix a few little things, ice up some bumps and bruises and be ready to go next week.”

Kearney (5-0) led 3-0 after the first quarter but trailed after a touchdown pass from quarterback Mehki Fields to Kobe Rhymes, who scored all three Hornets TDs Friday.

Down 7-3 with less than five minutes left in the first half, Kearney went for it on fourth down and cashed in. Carter Temple found Kale Tucking on a 24-yard scoring strike for an eventual 10-7 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs came out of the break with another scoring drive, as junior Dryden Hendrix — who logged 64 rushing yards Friday — scored from the 5.

It looked all but over when Temple rumbled for 32 yards on a keeper to push the lead to 24-7 with 8:15 to play. Temple finished with 125 rushing yards, as well as 77 passing.

That’s when North Kansas City, which came in averaging 57.75 points per contest, made things interesting. Fields hit Rhymes for another TD, this time from 45 yards out with 4:42 left, and NKC came up with a defensive stop on Kearney’s next drive.

With less than one minute to go, Fields connected on a 41-yard pass to Reggie Smith. Then Rhymes dove in from a yard out, cutting the lead to 24-20 with 48 seconds remaining. The rally ended there, however, as Kearney blocked the extra point and recovered the onside-kick attempt.

The Bulldogs continue a tough stretch of games next week as they play host to No. 13 Grain Valley (4-1) Friday. North Kansas City (4-1) is back home against Grandview that night.

Park Hill 35, Park Hill South 0

Dante Dixon enjoyed a memorable night on both sides of the ball and paced the Trojans to victory in the Battle of the Hill.

Dixon registered two touchdown catches as well as an interception return for a score in a 35-0 win over district rival Park Hill South.

The senior receiver and defensive back opened the scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zane Thomas. Thomas would go on to finish the evening with 174 passing yards.

Park Hill’s Kaiden Irving scored on a six-yard run and Dixon stood tall again — on the other side of the ball — with a pick-six that included a 69-yard return. That made it 21-0.

Dixon and Thomas connected again for a 39-yard TD and it was 28-0 at halftime.

Park Hill (3-2) will play host to No. 3 Liberty next Friday night, while Park Hill South travels to Lee’s Summit.

Lee’s Summit 33, Lee’s Summit West 15

Lee’s Summit picked a good time to win its first game of the year.

The Tigers, besieged with injuries for the first few weeks of the season, rolled over district rival Lee’s Summit West.

Lee’s Summit started the year 0-4, a mark that included two one-score losses to Top 25 opponents. But this victory at Hertzog Field will be good for some bragging rights.

Lee’s Summit opened the scoring on the first of Drew Benassi’s three touchdowns. But the Titans (1-3) tied the game when quarterback Dawson Edwards heaved a pass from the West 30 down the left sideline.

The pass landed in the arms of junior wideout Harrison Perkins at the LSHS 30, and he raced to the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown that made it 7-7.

But Lee’s Summit struck back, as Karsten Fiene took a wildcat keeper at the LS 45, jetted through two tackles to the left sideline and then bolted uncontested 40 yards to the end zone.

Later, senior Peyton Hatfield fielded a punt at the Lee’s Summit 12, juked and crossed the field, then broke loose before falling at the 50. Six plays later, junior Drew Benassi scored his second TD of the half, and it was 20-7 at the break.

Fiene’s one-yard scoring dive opened the second half. Then Benassi scored his third touchdown of the night.

Lee’s Summit will play host to Park Hill South next Friday evening, while Lee’s Summit West welcomes Raymore-Peculiar.

For scores, stats, recaps, rankings, broadcasts and more, visit 810Varsity.com.

This story was originally published September 27, 2025 at 1:03 AM.