By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Defense deciding a District 1-5A game?
When Parkway and Airline combined for 91 points?
Panthers coach Coy Brotherton practically blanched in a pregame interview at the disrespect many have for the district’s defenses, and particularly his Dirty Red squad.
So he was almost giddy after Parkway ran back one Airline interception for a touchdown, missed a prior chance for a pick six by four yards (but set up a score), had a defensive lineman catch a touchdown pass, and wrapped up a 48-43 victory Thursday night with a jarring fourth-down tackle that denied, by a yard, the Vikings’ bid to move downfield for a last-minute game-winner.
“Kind of crazy, man, everybody says offense is gonna win, and it took a defensive stop there at the end to win a game,” said Brotherton, whose Panthers emerged 6-0 overall and 4-0 in district. “How about that 1-5A defense right there?”
Start at the end, with under a minute to go (game officials kept time on the field most of the second half after a clock malfunction, adding to the drama).
After a tackle for loss on first down, and a sack on third down, Airline faced fourth-and 6 at its own 40. The Vikings had a play call that had worked for big yardage a few times in previous games, and coach Justin Scogin dialed it up.
But senior cornerback Peyton Rayner got in the way.
“Hitch and pitch, they’d run it a couple times this year, (and we) kind of expected it to come at some point in the game,” said Brotherton. “(Rayner) sat right there on it, made a heck of tackle one-on-one, short of the sticks, and we got out of it with a win.”
“My assignment was the outside receiver,” said Rayner, “and I saw him catch it and automatically I saw the dude (Matthew Moore) coming out in motion, and I thought, ‘hitch and pitch.’ I just ran right through him. He came right to me.”
Rayner, not the biggest defensive back, made the biggest play. He stood up Moore at the 45, one yard away from a sustaining first down. The Panthers ran one snap in the victory formation and raced to the end zone with cheerleaders, spirit groups, band members and students joining the celebration.
“We hadn’t been in a close game before, we hadn’t had to come from behind like that, and we’d showed we could play with a lead. They showed a different side tonight,” said Brotherton, after Parkway topped Airline for the first time in five years. “That’s what we’re most proud about. They showed that fight, and (did) not give up, (did) not panic, and kept making plays.”
About that “did not panic” claim … let’s just say things were edgy as the game ended.
“It got nerve-racking. I got anxious,” said Rayner. “Last year, I dropped two picks in the Evangel game (a last-play loss in a Week 10 meeting), at the end of the game, and I knew the last play was going to come to me. I felt like I was the person to make that play, and I did my job.”
He did it in the first half, snagging a deflected pass and dashing 44 yards to Airline’s 4, setting up Braxxton Black’s first touchdown two plays later for a 12-7 edge — the second of an incredible NINE lead changes.
More defense: Colby Lee’s 14-yard pick six that was so shocking the power for the game clock flipped off at 7:53 to go in the third quarter. The scoreboard came back on quickly, showing a 34-22 Panthers’ lead, but the officials didn’t trust the clock the rest of the night.
More defense: Not to overlook Airline’s guys on the other side, who made five fourth-down stops themselves.
Defense to offense: after the Vikings (3-3, 1-3 with their third straight nailbiting 1-5A loss) roared back to lead 36-34 with 10:10 to go, Parkway used 10 snaps, the last a 12-yard play action pass out of their very heavy, semi-tush push formation, with quarterback Kaleb Williams going to wide-open hefty defensive tackle Roderick Johnson. It was 42-36 after a two-point conversion pass with 6:06 left.
Of course Airline answered, going 65 yards in eight plays for D.J. Allen’s 5-yard TD at the 4-minute mark with reliable Max Tinkis’ PAT kick vaulting the Vikings up 43-42.
Such was Brotherton’s confidence in the Panthers’ response, and respect for Airline’s quick strike ability, that he milked the clock and tried to take as long as possible before ringing up the go-ahead points. They came on the fourth-straight tote by Black, who ground out the last 29 yards, the final one making it 48-43 with 74 seconds remaining.
“We were trying to run as much off the clock as we could,” said Brotherton. “I would have liked to get it down a little lower, but I’m not going to get mad about scoring a touchdown.”
Williams and the offense showed no wobble in the 64-yard drive to the decisive TD.
“We work on it every day in practice, and it showed. We stayed calm under pressure,” said Williams, who threw for 300 yards and four scores on 13 of 23 aim. “We scored when we needed to.”
As for the rampant intensity that built up through the night, with an overabundance of unsportsmanlike and personal foul penalties on both teams, Williams said it was all about the crosstown rivalry.
“It’s what you expect when Airline and Parkway play.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com