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Football: Knock it out the Parkes: Hebron back racks up yards in win over Flower Mound
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
CARROLLTON - Down to its third-string running back midway through the first quarter Friday, Hebron's football team still managed to churn out 254 yards on the ground as the Hawks took a big step in the playoff chase in District 5-5A by holding off Flower Mound, 27-20.
The win improves Hebron to 2-1 in district, while Flower Mound drops to 1-2 with two games remaining. Coppell (3-0) leads the district with the Hawks tied with Denton Ryan (2-1) for second and the Jaguars even with Marcus for fourth heading into next week's Mound Showdown.
"The kids played well tonight," said Brian Brazil, Hebron head coach. "We had to punt one time the whole game and I think that was a good indicator of how we were able to move the ball. It was nice to get our passing game going a little bit, too, and I think that really helped and should be good for our confidence as we go down the stretch. It was a great win for and I was pleased with the way we bounced back from having a little adversity after losing a kid."
"It was tough," Johnson said. "I love coach Brazil and his staff. They do such a great job and are in it for the right reasons. They love the kids and love the game. It's hard playing your buddies like that, especially in games like this because they're so important. But hey, I'm a Jaguar through and through now so this doesn't mean that much anymore."
After gaining 53 yards on the opening drive, including a 3-yard touchdown run, Hebron lost running back Braelen Evans to an apparent leg injury on a first-down run that eventually resulted in a fumble. The injury forced Vandy Parkes into an expanded role as Hebron was already down starting back Dezmond Wortham with a leg injury.
All Parkes did was deliver 209 total yards, including 166 on the ground on 26 attempts. Safety Jamal Adams was busy on offense as well, picking up 53 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Quarterback Carson Proffitt, meanwhile, was efficient through the air completing 10-of-13 passes for 127 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown to Michael Wallace for the game-winning points on a third-and-goal from the 15-yard line with 10:27 remaining.
"Carson did a good job back there of moving the team and leading the team," Brazil said. "He made good decisions and I was proud of what he did."
Connor Wanhanen got a majority of the snaps at quarterback for Flower Mound, throwing an interception on the opening possession before bouncing back to complete 16-of-30 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown to go with 37 yards on the ground and a score. Quarterback Matt Hirst punched one in on the ground as well and completed all three of his passes for 57 yards. Finn Foster led Flower Mound's receivers with seven catches for 125 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown to tie the game, 20-20, early in the third quarter.
"We did some good things," Johnson said. "We've been doing some good things. We just need to correct the other things because I'm tired of making the same mistakes over and over. But Connor made some nice decisions and threw some great balls. We found some holes and made some stuff happen and we had our chances to win as bad as we played. I have to be proud of them for that, but we have to correct that other stuff to be the team we want to become."
In addition to the opening interception, the Jaguars had eight penalties for 80 yards to go with a fumble late in the fourth quarter that gave Hebron possession to run out the clock. Moments before Flower Mound's fumble, it was Hebron who coughed the ball up at its own 32-yard line after picking up a first down reception with 1:31 remaining and just two timeouts left for the Jaguars.
The Hawks had three fumbles lost as a team.
"We put the defense in some adverse situations down the stretch and for them to come up and make the plays they did was great," Brazil said. "It looks like we had the first down to ice the game and then we fumble. But that's just part of it. When you get in those situations, that's what your defense is supposed to do. That's why football is the greatest sport. It's such a team game and you have to play all three facets of it and I thought we did a good job in all three areas tonight."
Hebron looks for a third consecutive win in district at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lewisville.
"If we had been at 1-2 instead of 2-1 that would be a big difference," Brazil said. "But you're always thinking about possible tiebreakers and now we've beaten Ryan and Flower Mound. Those were big and now we need to try and win out so we don't have to worry about anyone else."
Flower Mound needs a win Friday against Marcus to help avoid potentially nerve-wracking scenarios.
"We just didn't play well tonight," Johnson said. "Or at least well enough to beat a good team like Hebron at their place. We made too many mistakes and we have to grow up.
"We're probably going to have to win both of our last two games to get in. That's how you have to go about it. If we win both, we'll be in. If we win one, we have to beat the right one and hope we get some help."
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