LANTANA – Park Vista (2-7; 1-2 in District 11-4M play) has struggled all year long to finish games.
But that changed, as it took down Santaluces (8-1; 2-1 in District 11-4M play) to give our third-ranked team their first loss of the season.
To say Park Vista was an underdog coming into this game would be a huge understatement. The Cobras were voted by their peers to only have a 18 percent chance of winning this one.
Park Vista secured their first district win of the season and handed Santaluces its first loss of the season.
You are probably wondering how this happened. So let us dive in here.
Junior quarterback Logan Harrold led the offensive attack for the Cobras last night (Oct. 28) as he scored twice in this one. Both times were on a quarterback sneak play.
“We had big pass plays that led to us getting down inside the five-yard line,” Harrold said. “We just ran the quarterback sneak play. I knew I had to use my size and just run my feet.”
It was a 7-6 game going into halftime in favor of Park Vista.
For the Chiefs, their first score came on a 55-yard pass from Will Prichard to Tyreek Brown.
Fireworks would fly in the fourth quarter as both squads felt the pressure of wanting to win.
Park Vista’s Barkley Wyckoff scored on a 1-yard run to make it 13-12 in favor of his team.
“No one could take this away from us,” Wyckoff said. “We worked so hard in practice and put hours in preparing for this game. So to see us come out with a win was a great feeling for our guys.”
Prichard and Jamar Browder would put on a show together in the fourth as they connected twice, one of which gave the Chiefs an 18-13 lead with 8:37 left.
With about 20 seconds left in the game, Harrold showed up again as he was able to put the nail in the coffin on a quarteback sneak to make it 19-18. He added a two-point conversion to make the final score at 21-18.
“Play my game, have fun, and make it a good game for my seniors,” said Harrold, who shared where his mindset was at coming into this matchup against Santaluces.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior Devin Connolly was an anchor for the Cobras at defensive back. He held his own, defending multiple passes and recording multiple pass breakups in the process.
“Nobody believed in us, only we believed in ourselves.” Connolly said. “Everyone was saying it’s going to be (9-0) Santaluces.”
Park Vista head coach Brandon Walker has always been known for doing more with less, and last night was a true testament of how he has been transforming the Cobras football program slowly but surely.
“Honestly, we didn’t have anything to lose,”Walker said. “We’ve been playing better up front. We wanted to pressure him (Will Prichard) and knock him off his spots.”
Walker would comment on his defense’s performance, as they held Santaluces to under 20 points for the first time this season.
Prior to last night’s game, the Chiefs averaged 27.6 points per game and outscored opponents 294-85.
“We made some big stops on defense,” Walker said. “In the last three weeks, we haven’t got wins. But on defense, we’ve really come alive in the last three to four weeks and playing a lot better.”
Eighty percent of Park Vista’s roster consists of first-year varsity football players. It speaks to why this team has struggled early on in the season, but has also been hitting its stride late in the season and “staying the course”, as Walker stated.
For Week 11, Park Vista’s next and final game this season will be on the road against seventh-ranked Palm Beach Gardens (6-3). The season finale will be held on Friday, Nov. 4, with the kickoff time set for 6:30 p.m.
As for Santaluces, it will be looking to pick up the pieces and regroup before hosting sixth-ranked Atlantic (6-3), a team that is currently on a three-game winning streak.
The Santaluces-Atlantic tilt will be our Game of Week 11. It will be held on Friday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m. in Lantana.
