Park View Rallies for First Win

Last-Minute Touchdown Pass Puts Patriots on Top

By Paul Tenorio

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Park View backup quarterback Sawyer Hackett wasn't anywhere to be found as Patriots Coach Andy Hill called his name with time ticking off the clock late in the game yesterday at Handley.

Hill shouted for Hackett three times before the junior suddenly emerged from the bench and sprinted onto the field to replace injured starter Brandon Lee. Hackett may have been slow to hear his name called, but once he got on the field he was ready to play.

Hackett marched the Patriots 69 yards, completing 8 of 12 passes, including a 19-yard touchdown to Drew Mason in the back of the end zone with 36.5 seconds remaining, to lead Park View to a 17-14 victory.

"I felt pretty nervous honestly," Hackett said. "Brandon took one to the shoulder and I came in and I just crossed my fingers and hoped the O-line [would hold] it down for me."

Until the final drive, Park View (1-2) had struggled to develop any sort of rhythm, picking up just three first downs. But Lee sparked the unit by picking up a dropped snap on third and 15 from the Patriots 11-yard line and racing 20 yards for a first down.

Hackett then entered. He completed a 19-yard pass to Josh Jones on third and 12, a nine-yard pass to Jones on third and seven and a 16-yard pass to Jordan Owens on fourth and 10 before finding Mason for the game-winning score two plays later.

"That's what you talk to kids about all the time but you just rarely see happen," Hill said. "You talk about, 'Wait for your turn, wait for your opportunity and go out there and make the most of it.' And he was very poised. He did exactly what we wanted him to do."

It was the Patriots' defense that had kept them in the game. Down 7-0 in the second quarter, Park View forced a safety to get on the board, and struck again in the third quarter when senior Josh Jones intercepted a Handley pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 9-7 lead.

But Handley's Jeremiah Wilson broke a 43-yard touchdown run to give the Judges a 14-9 lead early in the fourth quarter. And with Park View's offense struggling it seemed that margin would hold.

Instead, Hackett's play guided Park View to its first win of the season. And for a team that went 10-2 last season but started this year 0-2, the win provided a huge boost.

"We're a young team," Hill said. "And I don't mean to say that to make excuses. But everything that happens to a young team is magnified. So a young team that can battle through adversity and make the plays they made to win the game, that's always huge."

Handley fell to 2-1.

Notes: For the second consecutive game, Park View’s Josh Jones had a touchdown return. Last week, he returned a kickoff 99-yards for a score and Saturday he returned an interception 45-yards for a touchdown. ... Handley RB Jeremiah Wilson accounted for about two-thirds of Handley’s 203 yards from scrimmage, with 135 yards (127 rushing, eight receiving) and two touchdowns.

Tagged: football, high school sports, Park View High School

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