Hillcrest did it with speed in the first half and a savage in the second.
Back from a two-game injury absence, Erik Savage ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries Thursday night, adding an 11-yard reception to get over 200 total yards as his Hornets topped Parkview on homecoming, 31-24.
“Early on, this being Erik [Savage’s] first game back [in two weeks], we didn’t really know what we had in him,” Hillcrest head coach John Beckham said.
“We were a little concerned and wanted to bring him along slowly. He played pretty well in the first half, but with a two-touchdown lead in the second half we just thought we’d run the ball with Erik and see what he can do.”
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Smart idea. Savage responded with 119 yards on the ground and two scores in the second half, running Hillcrest's zone-read to near perfection.
Hillcrest led 19-8 at the half and only trailed in the game for two minutes and one second after Parkview's Jevin Huddleston took one in untouched from the 22-yard line with 11:29 to play in the second quarter, putting the Vikings up, 8-7.
Malachi Beckham gave Hillcrest the lead back for good with 9:28 to go in the half with a three-yard run. Beckham finished with 61 yards on 11 carries.
Hillcrest lost games by 36 (Lebanon) and 48 (Kickapoo) in Savage’s absence, and whether that can be blamed on that absence itself or just being overmatched by stronger Lebanon and Kickapoo teams, the Hornets responded to his presence on Thursday.
“It feels good to have him back,” Josh Powell said. “We get more looks and more targets.”
Powell certainly capitalized. Hillcrest’s most dynamic player had 110 total yards against Kickapoo last week and went over 100 total yards in the first half alone this Thursday, finishing with 159 yards for the game (5 receptions, 91 yards; 5 carries, 68 yards).
“Josh [Powell] had a great game and made some plays out there when we had to have them,” Beckham said.
“Malachi [Beckham] also ran and blocked well. The offensive line played well. We had a good night.”
A 31-yard touchdown toss from Haden Parton to Brock Roggow put Hillcrest up 19-8 with six minutes to play in the first half.
Parton and Roggow nearly connected again on the half’s final play when a Parton pass from the 49-yard line hit Roggow in stride at the 10-yard line but was dropped.
Parton saw most of his action in the first half, finishing the night11-16 for 143 yards and a touchdown.
Hillcrest drove to Parkview’s four yard line to open the third quarter, but a personal foul and a sack pushed the Hornets back to Parkview’s 27 and the ball was eventually turned over on downs. Hillcrest’s defense responded with three consecutive tackles for loss, forcing Parkview to punt from its own endzone.
Parkview sophomore halfback Blake Delacruz was held to 49 yards on 15 carries, well under his six-yard per carry rushing average going into Thursday night.
“I thought our defensive line played probably their best game [of the season],” Beckham said. “I think we tackled better than we have since the Camdenton game.”
Delacruz was effective through the air, however, catching two balls for 50 yards and a second-half touchdown that cut a 25-8 Hillcrest lead—following Savage's first touchdown—to 25-16 with 1:08 left in the third quarter.
Savage's second touchdown of the second half came with 9:11 left and put Hillcrest up, 31-16.
Parkview would cut back into that lead when Trevor Boice hit a wide open Huddleston in the endzone from 32 yards out with 4:42 left. Boice finished 3-6 with two touchdowns.
The Vikings wouldn’t see the ball again after Savage drove Hillcrest down inside the Parkview 30, draining the clock and all three Parkview timeouts.
“I talked to [Parkview] coach [Anthony] Hays before the game and told him I thought it was going to be a one-touchdown game one way or the other,” Beckham said. “I thought both teams played well. Their kids made some plays. We made some plays; we just made one more play than they did. I didn’t feel comfortable until that last victory snap.”
Parkview finished with 266 total yards to Hillcrest’s 486.
The Hornets travel to Rolla (1-5) next Friday. Parkview hosts West Plains (2-4).
Scoring Summary
Parkview 0 8 8 8-24
Hillcrest 7 12 6 6-31
First Quarter
Hillcrest 8:20: #15 Haden Parton 1-yard run (Erik Savage kick), 7-0
Second Quarter
Parkview 11:29: #34 Jevin Huddleston 22-yard run (Blake Delacruz run), 8-7
Hillcrest 9:28: #7 Malachi Beckham 3-yard run (pass failed), 13-8
Hillcrest 6:00: #10 Brock Roggow 31-yard pass from #15 Haden Parton (run failed), 19-8
Third Quarter
Hillcrest 4:17: #13 Erik Savage 5-yard run (run failed), 25-8
Parkview 1:08: #25 Blake Delacruz 14-yard pass from #12 Trevor Boice (Delacruz run), 25-16
Fourth Quarter
Hillcrest 9:11: #13 Erik Savage 12-yard run (run failed), 31-16
Parkview 4:42: #34 Jevin Huddleston 32-yard pass from #12 Trevor Boice (Delacruz run), 31-24
