Rockhurst’s football season ended last Friday night in a high scoring shootout against Park Hill High School. What Rockhurst thought could be a long playoff run, halted in a heartbreaking 49-42 defeat that also happened to be the Hawklets’ third straight loss overall to the Trojans.

Although Rockhurst had a 5-4 record, MaxPreps had ranked them number seven in the state going into the playoffs. Park Hill was only 2-7 before this matchup, however, they were averaging nearly 40 points per game.

“They just found the right night to really be on fire,” said Rockhurst head coach Kelly Donohoe.

Park Hill quickly put the first points on the board, scoring on their first drive with a 65-yard passing touchdown. Rockhurst responded by driving down the field and capped it off with junior running back Aidan Ryan scoring his first of four touchdowns on the night. That was the start of a back and forth scoring battle.

The first quarter ended with the Trojans leading 21-13.

In the second stanza, Rockhurst tied the game with a touchdown and a two point conversion, but the Trojans answered by driving down the field into the red zone. Junior cornerback Ben Stringer abruptly stopped the Park Hill offense with a goal line interception.

Later, junior quarterback Ethan Hansen connected with junior receiver Myles Carson on a deep ball, which would eventually lead to a second touchdown for Ryan. The Hawklets and the Trojans went into the half knotted up at 28.

To start the third quarter, Rockhurst went deep into their playbook calling a fleaflicker, which was caught downfield by junior receiver Mitch Forbes. Ryan would proceed to punch it in for his fourth touchdown, which set Rockhurst up with their first lead of the night. However, Park Hill would tie the game once again.

After chasing around talented Trojans quarterback Kendrick Bell most of the night, the Rockhurst defense was running on fumes. With only 33 seconds left on the clock and the game tied 42-42, Bell delivered one more time, hitting a 34-yard touchdown pass to seal the victory.

“He’s a special player,” said Donohoe about Bell, who has committed to play football at the University of Michigan. “It’s just that he kept extending plays and making plays.”

“We fought through turnovers, the setbacks, three and outs, but we kept pushing. We just couldn’t capitalize on some of them,” said Hansen.

Following the game, it was an emotional and somber mood as many seniors realized this would be the last time they would take off their pads as a Rockhurst Hawklet.

“You don’t really think that day will come, and then it hits you like a bunch of bricks,” said senior tight end Tate Scanlon.

While the last-minute loss will sting for a while, with many junior starters on both sides of the ball and promising underclassmen, there is optimism about the future of Rockhurst football. Hansen, the junior quarterback, is already setting goals for next year.

“I want to improve on building a team, getting the team closer together, getting that strong bond that I think is so important, and leading the team into a successful season and a long playoff run.”