Collins Hill junior Travis Hunter gets a lot of attention for his production as a wide receiver, but in Friday night’s 21-14 quarterfinal win over Parkview he was especially effective at cornerback.
Hunter scored on a pick-six and recovered a fumble – along with 10 catches for 102 yards -- to lead the Class 7A No. 6-ranked Eagles into the semifinals for the first time since 2010.
“We came out thinking it was going to be a hard game, which it was,” Hunter said. “We did what we had to do to win.”
Parkview had two possessions in the final six minutes, but was turned away both times by the tough Colllins Hill defense. The last time came after Parkview – without any timeouts -- pushed as far as the 39 before failing to convert on fourth down.
Collins Hill coach Lenny Gregory said, “What a credit to these kids. They are relentless. I don’t know that I’ve coached a group of kids with more passion and heart than these guys right here.”
Collins Hill (11-2) continued to succeed by throwing the ball; the Eagles called only eight running plays. Quarterback Sam Horn completed 20 of 50 passes for 328 yards, two interceptions and one touchdown Clint Gilbert caught eight passes for 83 yards and Sean Norris caught five passes for 81 yards and one touchdown.
Parkview (8-4) prospered on the ground behind tailback Cody Brown. The Tennessee commit ran 30 times for 174 yards
The Eagles got their first points on a defensive score. Hunter fielded an overthrown pass and took it 20 yards for a touchdown.
“That was my first pick-six in high school,” Hunter said. “I really wanted it. It made us get another gear once I got that pick-six. We take pride in our ‘D.’ We don’t want no team scoring on us.”
Parkview took advantage of an interception to tie the game. Mike Matthews picked off Horn’s throw at the 15 and the Panthers rode the running of Cody Brown to drive for the score. Brown had back-to-backs runs of 19 and 44 yards, but it was Tyler Curtis who powered in from the 2 to tie the game with 4:11 left,
Collins Hill was able to use a series to quick, short passes from Horn and reached the 18 just before the half. But a holding penalty forced the Eagles to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Isaac Banacci, giving them a 10-7 lead at the half.
After back-to-back turnovers – Parkview’s Jared Brown picked off Horn in the end zone, but Brown was stripped on the next play and Hunter recovered – the Eagles drove for a 41-yard Bonacci field goal.
Parkview responded with an 11-play scoring drive capped by a 27-yard strike from Colin Houck to Jared Brown. Olu Baker’s extra point gave Parkview its only lead with 9.4 seconds left in the third quarter.
Collins Hill came right back to retake the lead. A 36-yard throw to Hunter turned the momentum toward and two plays later Horn found Norris for a 28-yard touchdown. Horn then caught a two-point “Philly Special” conversion pass from Gilbert for a 21-14 lead.
“I think Collins Hill’s defense is underrated, the way they get after the ball,” Parkview coach Eric Godfree said. “It was one of those back-and-forth games and they made the final play.”
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