KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Park Hill quarterback Billy Maples will remember his senior season for a long time.
After all, he's already set the Missouri state record for most touchdowns in one game (9). And, he set a National Federation record for most touchdowns in one half a game (8). Both of those accomplishments came in the same game against Lee's Summit on August 27.
While Maples' statistics during last Friday night's game against Liberty North were not quite as historic as the aforementioned game, it was still outstanding. He finished 23-of-26 passing for 411 yards and four touchdowns.
Billy Maples throws 4TDs, 3 to Ronnie Bell and Dorian Clayton rushes for two TDs as Park Hill defeats Liberty North 45-23 @PHTrojansFB pic.twitter.com/r06NGQbu3s
— Len Lehmann (@TheNotoriousLEN) October 7, 2017
Park Hill Head Coach Josh Hood knows how important Billy is to his Trojans team.
"Billy's a key component of our team. He does a wonderful job of setting our offense and putting the kids in the right position each week," Josh said. "I think we do a great job here at Park Hill building the offense around the pieces that we have. And, when we saw Billy come in a couple, three years ago, we felt like this was something that we could do with him."
Maples was certainly excited to have this kind of performance in their 45-23 win over the Eagles. The funny thing is that his performance might have been even better if circumstances were just a little different.
"My last game was awesome," Maples said. "I didn't feel good during it. But, that's no excuse. I had to still come out and play every down, every snap just like I would normally. [But], it was great. The team played awesome."
It was a great day at Northwest Missouri State pic.twitter.com/2jEc8021ol
— Billy Maples (@MaplesBilly) October 9, 2017
His numbers through eight regular season games are staggering. He has 2,308 passing yards, 32 TDs with just three interceptions, which is simply phenomenal. And, he's completed 65.2% of his passes on the year. The offensive players around him have benefited from his efficiency and prolific play.
But, both Billy and Coach Hood recognize it's not just about what their star quarterback is doing on the field.
"Billy works really well with our receivers. And, our offensive line has done an outstanding job in pass protection and also in our run-pass looks," Coach Hood said.
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NOTE: The Hy-Vee 41 Five-Star Athlete of the Week segment airs during a new night in the 2017 season. The segment will air on Wednesday nights during the 10 p.m. sportscast. It previously aired on Thursdays.
