Despite early miscues in the first quarter, Hillcrest stayed strong and ended Parkview’s undefeated streak, ensuring a happy homecoming for the Hornets faithful on Thursday night.
“I was ready for it all week,” said Rush, who ended the night with 16 yards on nine carries in the first half as the Hornets won 29-19.
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Rush also spotted Parkview two points on a safety as the Hornets were pinned at their own 1 yard line after Cole Jenkins (112 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown) was intercepted on a halfback pass attempt.
“It was an injury thing,” Hornets coach John Beckham said of Rush starting at quarterback over Hill. “Jonah didn’t practice all week and we were unsure of his status. He looked fine in warm-ups and he kept saying on the sideline ‘Coach, I’m fine, I’m fine,’ and with our offense struggling, we decided to put him in and things started clicking.”
“We’re gonna learn from this loss. We’re not gonna dwell on it- even the best have to overcome a loss,” Jenkins said after the game. “For the rest of the season you’re gonna see the best team in the conference play.”
Momentum proved not to be on the Vikings' side as the Hornets managed to score 14 unanswered points with two touchdown carries by junior running back Juwan Johnson, the latter of which came on the first Hornets possession in the second half with a 64 yard dash into the endzone.
Jenkins would later score from 3 yards out to regain the lead, but Hillcrest remained in control in scoring on consecutive possessions, with a 50 yard rush by Jonah Hill and a third scoring carry by Johnson from 10 yards out. Hill ended the night with 110 yards rushing, with one touchdown and completed 8 of 10 passes for 102 yards, while Johnson had 124 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries with one 5-yard reception.
“We got Rolla next week, and we control our own destiny," Beckham said. "If we win the next two we’ll be the Ozark Conference champs and that’s a huge accomplishment for our program."
Scoring Summary
4:41 1st Quarter: Matt Rush sacked for a safety. 2-0 Parkview.
4:26 1st Quarter. C. Jenkins 85 yard free kick return for touchdown. 9-0 Parkview.
10:25 2nd Quarter. 29 yard field goal by T. Middlebrooks. 12-0 Parkview.
1:17 2nd Quarter. J. Johnson 3 yard touchdown on a 13 play 75 yard drive. C. Boston Extra Point Good, 12-7 Parkview.
10:23 3rd Quarter. J. Johnson 64 yard rushing touchdown. Boston Extra Point Good. 14-12 Hillcrest lead.
11:54 4th Quarter. C. Jenkins 3 yard touchdown rush, 6 play 65 yard drive. Middlebooks Extra Point good. 19-14 Parkview.
8:25 4th Quarter. Jonah Hill 50 yard touchdown 8 play 80 yard drive. Two point conversion by Hill. 22-19 Hillcrest.
2:34 4th Quarter. J. Johnson 10 yard touchdown. 9 play 50 yard drive. Extra point by Boston good. 29-19 Hillcrest.
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