By the time the Hillcrest offense finally got going on Thursday, the Panthers already had scored 21 points.
A second-half surge enabled Hillcrest to pull away from Thomas Jefferson for a 31-6 win at Franklin Field that has the Panthers on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot for the second straight season.
Zion King and Evan Lewis each returned fumbles for touchdowns less than five minutes apart in the third quarter to help the Panthers (5-3, 4-1) tally 31 unanswered points.
“They’ve digested a lot of defense from last year until now,” said Hillcrest head coach A.D. Madise. “They’ve worked really hard to make sure they’re in the right place at the right time.”
Earlier, Luis Montoya-Espinal returned a blocked field goal for a score to jump-start Hillcrest’s rally from an early deficit. The fact that the offense had only 47 total yards in the first half became almost irrelevant.
Part of that offensive inefficiency was due to the undermanned yet scrappy Patriots (1-7, 0-5), who employed a ball-control offense and controlled the clock. The Panthers took just 14 offensive snaps before halftime.
TJ cashed in with a big play in the first quarter when Nathan Constanza connected with Latavian Williams on an 80-yard touchdown pass for a 6-0 lead.
However, the TJ offense — which has managed just 36 combined points during a seven-game losing streak — sputtered after that.
“It got to a point where our tank was empty a little bit,” said TJ head coach Bobby Estes. “I’m proud of how hard the kids played. I’m just not real happy with the turnovers.”
As the Patriots became worn down due to lack of depth, Hillcrest gained momentum. The Panthers finally reached the end zone on their own fourth-quarter drive, which culminated with a 14-yard strike from Asher Randall to Khari Bass.
In the end, the 31 points represents a season-best output for Hillcrest, which remains in sole possession of second place in District 5-5A Div. II with two games remaining in the regular season.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Madise, whose team will face Adamson next week. “It’s a dogfight every week this year. The district is much improved.”
