By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
Well folks, it may only be Week 2 of the high school football season, but there’s a clear front-runner for Game of the Year. Sure, it’s a long season but let’s just say that Weeks 3 through 10 better pick up their game if they want to compete with what occured at Messmer Stadium Friday night.
Parkway defeated Loyola 42-41 in a game that was closer than the score indicated.
“A great game,” said Loyola coach John Sella.
“I’m too old for this,” said Parkway coach Coy Brotherton.
It was a game in which the Panthers looked like they had it under control. It was a game in which the Flyers looked like they had it under control.
As it turned out, no one had their hands on the steering wheel until Parkway’s Damian Decaldacal came up with an interception in the end zone with 0:04 left in the game. That was the first time in which anybody knew for sure who was going to win this game.
For Parkway, it was a much-needed win after an ugly-to-say-the-least loss last week against Dunham. “Every emotion you can have in a football game, we had tonight,” Brotherton said.
The emotions on the Loyola side were different after the heart-breaking loss in which the Flyers led for almost the entire fourth quarter but couldn’t find a way to pick up a second straight win over a nearby Class 5A opponent.
“Our guys are hanging their heads and disappointed, and I told them we can be upset that we lost, but don’t be disappointed,” Sella said. “It’s been a long time since a Loyola team has been disappointed about not beating a 5A team. They (the Panthers) are a really good team that’s going to win a lot of ball games. So that makes me feel like (the Flyers) believe. That they fought back was incredible (from two touchdown behind).”
Ultimately, the two difference-making biggest plays – in a game full of them — came from a 5-foot-3 part-time defensive back and 270-pound “wide receiver.”
After the Flyers had extended their lead to 41-34 on a 5-yard run by Bryce Restovich with 6:03 left in the game, the Panthers responded with a clutch, game-on-the-line drive by going 85 yards in 10 plays, converting three third downs along the way.
Braxxton Black, on his 24th carry of the night, scored on a two-yard run to make it 41-40, pending the extra point. Anyone who thought the Panthers were going to kick to tie the game hadn’t been paying attention because they had gone for the two-pointer after all five of their previous scores.
But this time, Brotherton reached into the wayback machine and used a two-point play that the Panthers used last year to win a playoff game in overtime.
A pre-snap shift made it appear that the play was going to be run to the more-populated right side. But once the shift happened, that actually put Parkway in a tackle-eligible formation. After the snap, left tackle/eligible receiver Roderick Johnson delayed for a moment, then headed for the end zone all by himself. Quarterback Bryston McCoy lobbed the pass to Johnson and the Panthers had the lead.
But based on what the capacity crowd had already seen, it only figured that something was bound to happen in 41 seconds.
It didn’t take long.
On the second play, Restovich hit Ty Walsworth perfectly in stride across the middle, who then turned upfield as the crowd gasped over a potential 71-yard touchdown play. However Walsworth was knocked out at the Loyola 25 with 18 seconds left.
On the next play, the Panthers turned up the defensive heat and forced Restovich to try to throw the ball away to avoid a sack. However, intentional grounding was called, and the Flyers were now in desperation mode with nine seconds left.
Restovich launched a pass into the end zone to the 6-foot-2 Walsworth but Decalcadal, who is almost 11 shorter and had never played defense before this week, was the one who came down with the ball in the end zone.
Black (158 yards rushing) and McCoy (253 yards passing) led the Parkway offense. Restovich had 358 yards and accounted for all six Flyer touchdowns by either running or passing. Receivers Charlie McKenzie (8 catches, 145 yards) and Walsworth (8 for 130) were the prime targets for Loyola.
Parkway is at home next week against Red River and the Flyers will play host to St. Edmund (Eunice).
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com