Like it had done successfully in the previous two meetings, Parkview wanted to run the ball and play keep-away in its Thursday night homecoming game against Glendale.
But the Vikings were instead marred by fumbles, bouncing snaps and bobbled hand-offs.
Glendale scored 19 points off of four Parkview fumbles in a 55-28 victory at JFK Stadium. The Falcons put Parkview in an early 30-0 hole and forced the run-happy Vikings into catch-up mode all night.
“We wanted to control the clock and control time of possession, but we got behind too early with turnovers,” said Parkview coach Anthony Hays “That’s kind of where we’re at right now. We’re a pretty darn good football team when we don’t turn the ball over and we do a lot of positive things. When we turn it over, we lose.”
Falcons quarterback Alex Huston completed 21 of 29 passes for 400 yards and six touchdowns, despite playing one half of football.
Huston’s night was cut short after he was sacked on Glendale’s first play from scrimmage in the second half. He remained down for about a minute before limping off the field. Huston never returned to the game as backup Von Oeser quarterbacked the Falcons the rest of the way.
Glendale coach Mike Mauk indicated Huston’s apparent injury was not serious.
“He could have (returned),” Mauk said. “We just wanted give Von a little bit of work in a key game and a situation where we could see what he could do. We think (Huston) is going to be all right. He’ll probably be a little sore tomorrow, but as a precaution we wanted to get him off (the field) and give Von some work after that.”
PHOTOS: PARKVIEW VS. GLENDALE
Glendale needed just 12 plays to build a 22-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. A big blow came during the first series of the game when, with Glendale facing a 4th and 14 from the Parkview 32, Huston hit Jeremy Almeida for a 30-yard gain. Almeida scored on a 2-yard catch on Glendale’s next play.
“Converting on 4th and long like that, early, was pretty significant in the outcome of the game I think,” Mauk said. “Parkview’s kids played hard, made a lot of plays, did a good job of defending us and putting pressure on our offense. We were just able to make some plays that kept us ahead.”
Huston’s 36-yard rope down the middle of the field to Max Nichols pushed Glendale’s lead to 30-0 early in the second quarter.
Parkview found a glimmer of hope on its ensuing series, as Blake Delacruz broke free for a 24-yard touchdown run that made it 30-8. Glendale immediately responded, as Luke Montgomery scored on a 57-yard catch-and-run pass from Huston on the first play of Glendale’s next series.
Despite leaving the game due to injury in the third quarter, Delacruz was one of Parkview’s best players on the night. He finished with 13 carries for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Most importantly to Hays, Delacruz displayed mental toughness after committing an early fumble that led to a Glendale touchdown.
“What I liked about Blake is that he faced some adversity with fumbles, but it made him more determined,” Hays said. “He ran with determination almost every time he touched the ball.”
For Glendale, Montgomery caught six passes for 182 yards and two scores. Nader Leali had a team-high 13 receptions for 126 yards. And Almeida caught six passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Playing most of the second half, Oeser was 11-for-15 for 136 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.
An in-game injury to starting quarterback Mario Sanchez forced the Vikings to bring in backup and freshman Trevor Boice for most passing plays in the second half. He was 7-for-14 for 45 yards and also added seven carries for 50 yards.
“Mario’s done a great job. It wasn’t me benching him or anything. He just has an injury right now and he’ll be better; it’s nothing major,” Hays said. “It did limit him tonight.”
Gage Clark had four receptions 40 yards and sophomore running Jevin Huddleston added six carries for 38 yards for Parkview.
The outcome marked Glendale’s first win over Parkview in Mauk’s now three-year tenure. In 2015, then-Parkview senior Anthony Riley ripped Glendale for over 300 yards on the ground and six touchdowns.
“They have a very good offensive line and a difficult offense to defend,” Mauk said. “We defended the run better than we did last year, but I don’t think we stopped them completely, I think we just slowed them down enough to win the game.”
Parkview fell to 2-4 overall with the loss and plays at Hillcrest next Thursday night, Sept. 29 for the Hornets’ homecoming game. The Vikings lost a three-year starter at center, senior Jacob Kuhnert, in last week’s 48-8 loss at Camdenton.
“The fumbles and all those other mistakes are correctable, and once we do correct them, we’re going to be dangerous,” Hays said.
Glendale (6-0) hosts Rolla on Friday, Sept. 29.
Glendale 55, Parkview 28
Glendale 22 20 6 7 — 55
Parkview 0 16 6 6 — 28
First quarter
Glendale – Huston 2 pass to Almeida (Huston run)
Glendale – Huston 65 pass to Montgomery (Huston pass to Nichols)
Glendale – Huston 52 pass to Almeida (pass failed)
Second quarter
Glendale – Huston 36 pass to Nichols (Huston pass to Almeida)
Parkview – Delacruz 24 run (Delacruz run)
Glendale – Huston 57 pass to Montgomery (pass failed)
Parkview – Delacruz 58 run (Hawkins run)
Glendale – Huston 23 pass to Leali (pass failed)
Third quarter
Glendale – Oeser 29 pass to Montgomery (pass failed)
Kickapoo – Sanchez 1 run (run failed)
Fourth quarter
Glendale – Oeser 2 run (Locke kick)
Parkview – Boice 17 pass to Clark (Final play of game; PAT not attempted)
