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By Matt Turer / @MattTurer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A flood of white Vikings jerseys rushed onto the field as they watched their special teams unit block the 27-yard game-winning field goal attempt with time expiring, and then rushed to their fans to celebrate on Glendale’s homecoming turf.
The Parkview defense held Glendale without points in the red zone three times in the second half, Blake Delacruz rushed for 185 yards and converted the game-winning two-point conversion, and the Vikings upended Glendale 48-47 to improve to 3-2 in a high octane thriller Friday night.
“It means so much to this school and this community,” Parkview coach Ben Dougherty said. “To see these kids and how they reacted and how they celebrated is just amazing.”
Delacruz highlighted Parkview’s huge second half with 102 yards in the game’s final 24 minutes, in addition to throwing a 17-yard touchdown with 4:34 to play to Tyrone Newburn that allowed Parkview to go ahead 40-39 after converting a “Philly Special” on the two-point try.
“We have a lot of confidence in our running game,” Dougherty said. “We feel we have the best back in the area in Blake and one of the best skill guys in the area in Jevin Huddleston. And we love our offensive line. They’re big kids who work really hard, and when the chips are down we feel we can run the ball when we need to.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
It was Delacruz again that put the Vikings ahead for good. Trailing 47-40 with 2:49 to play, the Vikings drove 61 yards in 2:10 on a drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown strike from Trevor Boice to Newburn. Still down 47-46, Delacruz took the handoff and went straight up the gut for the two-point conversion and the lead.
“It was nice to come out on their homecoming and do that,” Delacruz said. “It’s a really good win for the team.”
Parkview’s defense stood out in the second half despite the final score. The Vikings faced 105 plays from Glendale’s fast-paced attack, allowing 604 total yards but holding the Falcons to just 15 points in the final two quarters.
Parkview finished with 442 total yards on 58 plays but capitalized on more chances and took advantage of big-play ability from Huddleston, who had touchdown runs of 48 and 79 yards.
“You’ve got to make tackles and make plays if you want to win a game like that,” Glendale coach Mike Mauk said. “Their offensive line did a good job blocking and we have to do a better job tackling.”
STATS AND TRENDS
With Friday’s 48-47 final, Parkview and Glendale have combined for 222 points over the past two seasons after a 69-58 Glendale win in 2017.
“We remember the game from last year,” Dougherty said. “And while we’re not happy giving up 47 points, it was definitely better than the 69 points we gave up.”
On the yardage side, the two have combined for 2,607 over the past two seasons including today’s 1,046. Glendale tallied 604 total yards on 105 plays today. Parkview finished with 442 on 58 plays.
Glendale’s Blaine Huston was 35-for-55 for 398 yards and three touchdowns. Gavin Watts was 23-of-38 for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Jack Hamlin and Ben Shoemaker both caught 15 balls for the Falcons, with Hamlin finishing with 185 receiving yards and Shoemaker tallying 101. Eight different Falcons caught passes and five had at least seven receptions.
Boice was just 1-for-7 in the first half but completed 7-of-10 passes in the second half. He added 46 yards rushing and finished with three total touchdowns. Huddleston ran for 147 yards on just seven touches and Newburn’s three touchdowns came on five catches for 62 yards.
The Falcons scored on just two of six drives in the second half after converting on five of eight in the first half and their first three of the game. They didn’t have a play of more than 17 yards in the second half.
“When you get inside the 10 you’ve got to score, and unfortunately we didn’t do that several times and let them get back in the ballgame when we maybe should’ve been up another score,” Mauk said.
UP NEXT
Parkview hosts undefeated West Plains and Glendale hosts city rival Kickapoo.
1ST QUARTER
GHS — TD — N/A — Ryan Moon 6 Yd pass from Blaine Huston (2-pt fails) — 6-0 GHS
GHS — TD — N/A — Winston Quinn 11 Yd pass from Blaine Huston (2-pt fails) — 12-0 GHS
PHS — TD — 2:32 — Jevin Huddleston 48 Yd run (2-pt fails) — 12-6 GHS
GHS — TD — 0:28 — Jack Hamlin 21 Yd pass from Gavin Watts (2-pt fails) — 18-6 GHS
2ND QUARTER
PHS — TD — 11:39 — Jevin Huddleston 79 Yd run (2-pt good) — 18-14 GHS
GHS — TD — 10:29 — Winston Quinn 9 Yd pass from Blaine Huston (2-pt fails) — 24-14 GHS
PHS — TD — 8:52 — Tyrone Newburn 11 Yd pass from Trevor Boice (2-pt fails) — 24-20 GHS
GHS — TD — 2:29 — Jack Clinkenbeard 4 Yd pass from Gavin Watts (2-pt good) — 32-20 GHS
PHS — TD — 1:12 — Trevor Boice 12 Yd run (2-pt fails) — 32-26 GHS
3RD QUARTER
PHS — TD — 0:38 — Blake Delacruz 3 Yd run (2-pt fails) — 32-32
4TH QUARTER
GHS — TD — 4:59 — Ryan Moon 1 Yd pass from Gavin Watts (PAT good) — 39-32 GHS
PHS — TD — 4:34 — Tyrone Newburn 17 Yd pass from Blake Delacruz (2-pt good) — 40-39 PHS
GHS — TD — 2:51 — Blaine Huston 1 Yd run (2-pt good) — 47-40 GHS
PHS — TD — 0:39 — Tyrone Newburn 5 Yd pass from Trevor Boice (2-pt good) — 48-47 PHS
