Strong defense helps Lee’s Summit turn back Park Hill
One week after giving up 57 points, Lee’s Summit turned in a hard-hitting defensive effort that sparked the Tigers to a 20-13 victory over Park Hill on Friday evening at Lee’s Summit’s Bud Hertzog Stadium.
The Tigers trailed 10-6 at halftime but revved up their defense in the third quarter, especially after scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Dalton Hill to Somaj Brewer for a 13-10 lead 4 minutes, 59 seconds left in the quarter.
“Our defense kept us in the game the whole night,” said Lee’s Summit coach Eric Thomas, whose team improved to 1-1. “After what happened last week, they responded. Our coaches had a great scheme for Park Hill and it was executed it really well.
“They showed up. They showed what we are made of defensively.”
Park Hill looked poised to put together a long drive following the Lee’s Summit touchdown. Starting at its 15, the Trojans managed just one first down and then was forced to punt.
After a Lee’s Summit punt, Park Hill had its second opportunity to tie or take a lead. But on the second play of the drive, junior Caden Perry intercepted the ball, giving Lee’s Summit good field position at Park Hill’s 31.
The Trojans made a play to prevent more damage when Dalton Davis recovered a fumble. But Park Hill failed to build momentum. Several plays later, the Trojans fumbled a punt, giving the ball to Lee’s Summit at the 1.
Lee’s Summit scored on the next play on a 1-yard run by senior Salvatore Garozzo with 9:46 left in the game. The extra point by Conner Johnston gave the Tigers a 20-10 lead.
“We didn’t execute,” said Park Hill coach Josh Hood, whose team dropped to 1-1. “We didn’t get the ball we needed to get the ball to on consistent basis to win the football game. “On the other side, they had a pretty good plan and the played a lot harder than we did in the last three quarters and they got the W for it.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2016 at 11:15 PM with the headline "Strong defense helps Lee’s Summit turn back Park Hill."