Platte County’s senior quarterback Rocco Marriott scored on a one-yard run in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to lift the Pirates past the Hawklets 29-22 in the Class 5 District 8 championship game on Nov. 14, 2025. It was a back-and-forth battle defined by turnovers, momentum swings and relentless fight on the part of both teams.
Rockhurst, playing away from home for the first time this postseason, opened the night with a dominant defensive start, intercepting Marriott, a Central Florida (UCF) commit, on the first two drives.
On Platte County’s first pass attempt of the game, junior cornerback Blake Thomas jumped an out route for an interception, setting up the Hawklets at the Pirates’ 29-yard line. Junior running back Cash Lewandowski started the offensive possession with an electric 24-yard run, but the drive eventually stalled out inside the five. The Hawklets had to settle for a chip-shot field goal from sophomore Connor Devereux, giving Rockhurst an initial 3-0 lead.
Minutes later, Lewandowski made another highlight-reel play, intercepting Marriott for Rockhurst’s second interception in as many defensive series.
Defensive players said this initial sequence highlighted the Hawklets’ overall readiness heading into the game.
“We had a great week of practice and felt really prepared,” safety Peter Nickson said. “Coach [Donohoe] had a great game plan with different packages to throw at them. We shut down a lot of what they wanted early on.”
Devereux added a second field goal late in the first quarter, giving Rockhurst a 6-0 edge.
Following an exchange of punts, Rockhurst put the first touchdown on the board with a 78-yard strike from junior quarterback Garret Miller to sophomore receiver Tristan Johnson. A failed two-point conversion kept the score at 12-0 as the half winded down.
But even with the lead, problems began to pile up. Small injuries kept key Rockhurst players out of the game for periods of time. Penalties began to stack up, stalling drives and handing momentum back to Platte County.
With just under two minutes left in the half, Platte County got the ball back on their own 40-yard line. The Pirates began to switch their offensive scheme, moving towards more quarterback runs by Marriott, who had shouldered the offense for the Pirates all night.
“We knew he could scramble,” Nickson said. “In the playoffs, he’d been running the ball a lot more. Once we locked down their receivers, he just took off.”
With time dwindling in the half, the Pirates were finally forced to throw the ball again, and seniors on the Hawklets defense stepped up. Linebacker Henry Coppinger was flying around the field all night, making tackle after tackle. Cornerback Colin Powell had several key pass breakups, forcing Platte County to turn the ball over on downs near midfield before the end of the half.
After a quick three-and-out on offense, Rockhurst was forced to punt the ball away with a little more than a minute left in the half.
The first half defensive dominance didn’t end, though. The Hawklets secondary caused four straight incompletions on Platte County’s final drive of the half, forcing another turnover on downs on a deep incompletion forced by Johnson and Powell.
The Hawklets took a knee and went into halftime with a 12-0 lead, marking the first time all season the Pirates trailed at the half.
“The plan [at halftime] was just to keep the foot on the gas pedal,” Nickson said. “We were trying to keep playing smart and maintain the lead.”
“I think we fell asleep a bit at half,” junior defensive lineman Matt Monroe said. “We didn’t necessarily get complacent, but we didn’t really change our game plan, while they [Platte County] did.”
“We kind of saw how their offense was starting to settle into the game near the end of the half,” junior linebacker Quinn Walsh said.
Platte County received the opening kickoff of the second half and began a long, run-heavy drive down the field. On one third down, Marriott took a deep shot down the middle of the field, and senior safety Pierce Fisher delivered a huge hit, forcing the incompletion, bringing up a critical fourth down. The Pirates attempted a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-one, but after a measurement were ruled short.
Rockhurst’s offense took the field for their first drive of the half, but it ended like most of their first half drives. Several near-misses on downfield plays, including a flea-flicker pass that fell incomplete to Thomas, caused the Hawklets to punt it away.
Special teams was an area of emphasis for the Hawklets all night. Platte County’s special teams unit was highlighted by speedy senior returner Braiden Stevens. Stevens, whose elite speed helped him placed fifth in the Class 5 100-meter final at last spring’s state track and field championship, was a weapon the Hawklets made a priority to eliminate from Platte County’s arsenal. The Rockhurst’s extra attention on special teams helped to limit his impact throughout the game.
Platte County finally put points on the scoreboard on their second drive of the half, with Marriott fitting a 36-yard dart to Ty Christopher in double coverage for the Pirates’ first touchdown of the game. The Hawklets blocked the point after attempt, keeping the lead at six points.
Following another stalled series from Rockhurst, Platte County scored again on Marriott’s second touchdown pass of the game. This time they converted the PAT, making the score 13-12 in favor of the Pirates as the third quarter drew to a close.
As the half wore on, Rockhurst’s defense–despite being on the field for a majority of the second half–continued to produce stops. The Hawklets offense, however, continued to struggle, keeping the score at 13-12 with time winding down.
Rockhurst’s offense, bottled up for the entire second half, finally broke through early in the fourth quarter, putting Devereux in position for a chip-shot field goal to retake the lead at 15-13. But Platte County quickly responded. Marriott led the Pirates’ offense down the field, relying heavily on designed quarterback runs to pick up chunks of yardage, and the star QB capped the drive with a rushing touchdown from 15 yards out. The following two point attempt was good, giving Platte County a 21-15 lead.
With the season on the line late in the fourth quarter, Rockhurst delivered one of the most dramatic moments of the season. Facing a fourth-and-10 from midfield, Miller stood in the pocket under heavy pressure and delivered a bullet over the middle to junior tight end Warren Robertson. Robertson broke a tackle and sprinted 69 yards to the end zone. Devereux’s PAT was good, making the score 22-21 with just under 90 seconds remaining.
But Platte County wasn’t done. Marriott again leaned on his legs, ripping off several huge chunk plays to quickly move down the field, leaving the Hawklets defense reeling.
“Rocco just beat us with his legs,” Nickson said. “Our defense wasn’t bad. It was just unlucky.”
On a third-and-long, Marriott dropped back to pass. He fired into the end zone, but the ball was deflected at the line of scrimmage. In a championship-level effort, Marriott caught his own deflected pass out of the air, and rushed for a first down. The play proved to be a backbreaker for the defense.
With the ball at the Rockhurst 1 and eight seconds left, Platte County called a timeout. With an unreliable kicker who hadn’t seen much playing time throughout the entire season, Platte County came out of the timeout in a heavy set formation with the intent to try and score a game-sealing touchdown rather than opt for a winning field goal.
Marriott took the snap and rushed right towards the far pylon, flanked by his blockers. Lewandowski managed to make a diving tackle to trip Marriott up, but the quarterback’s momentum carried him forward into the end zone for the go-ahead score. A successful two-point conversion gave the Pirates a touchdown lead, 29-22, with just four seconds left on the clock.
Rockhurst’s final desperation lateral on the kickoff return came up short at midfield, ending the game and the season for the Hawklets.
After the final handshakes and alma mater, the players gathered around Coach Donohoe in the end zone.
“There wasn’t much to say,” Nickson said. “Nothing you say in that moment is going to feel good. We just stayed together in those last few minutes. We played hard. We played physical. And we stuck together.”
Junior linebacker Luke Connell credited his teammates on both sides of the ball for battling through adversity throughout the game.
“Garrett got hit all game and kept standing in the pocket, making plays,” Connell said. “Cash played great on both sides. Our secondary did a great job locking their receivers down, and the younger guys stepped up in a big way.”
The Hawklets ended the season 9-3, highlighted by wins over rivals Bishop Miege and St. Thomas Aquinas (another game that came down to the very end). With key starters like Miller, Lewandowski, Thomas and Johnson all returning, as well as linemen Jackson Sallee, Reese Fisher, James O’Farrell and Jack Sprague–the last two of which were injured a large part of the season–the team heads into next season with experience and confidence in what they can accomplish.
Mick • Dec 7, 2025 at 4:28 pm
That was really great writing. I felt like I was at the game. How did you get all the stats down. Were you in the press box?How did you get all the comments after the game? Excellent reporting.