Parkway North may have gotten the win Friday night against Kirkwood, but it came at a price.

All-state senior offensive tackle Anthony Gatti went down with a knee injury on the second series of the Vikings’ 36-7 win in the final game of Class 5, District 3 play.

A MRI on Monday confirmed that Gatti, a University of Missouri signee, tore his ACL when his right leg got rolled up on during a running play.

"He was having his best year, another all-state year," Parkway North coach Bob Bunton said. "It’s really unfortunate for him and the team. He had an outstanding career here but his best football days are ahead of him."

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Gatti was replaced on the line by Jacob Stone. Stone (6-4, 215) will be the first left tackle other than Gatti to start for the Vikings in the last three years.

"Jacob is one of our D-linemen and he did a nice job," Bunton said. "Now, this is when Anthony’s job of a captain is even more important. He is going to have to coach up Jacob and keep everyone on that line focused."

The Vikings (8-1) will host the winner of Wednesday’s Washington (7-3) vs. Rolla (9-1) showdown on Monday.

Parkway North got a scare earlier in district play when running back Jaimee Buchanan went down with a shoulder injury. Buchanan, who leads the team with 1,013 yards and 14 touchdowns, was kept out of Friday’s game as a precaution. X-rays came back negative and he was diagnosed with a shoulder bruise and is likely to be in the lineup on Monday.

"We hope to get him back this week," Bunton said.

Despite the hiccups of bad luck, the veteran coach isn’t worried about the psyche of his team.

"This does not change our goal one bit," Bunton said. "Is it a blow? Yeah, but football is that type of game. Our kids aren’t only tough physically but they’re strong mentally and should be able to handle this."

Bauten@yourjournal.com