By Todd Jorgenson
As the ill-timed miscues accumulated on both sides of scrimmage, Hillcrest’s comeback fell 11 yards short on Friday.
However, despite being upset, 21-16, by Seagoville at Franklin Field, the Panthers remain in solid position for a second straight postseason berth. In fact, they might be better off, at least mentally.
“A loss like this one is a blessing, because I think it prepares you as you go into the [playoffs],” said Hillcrest head coach Adrian Madise. “We started to maybe feel ourselves a little bit, playing the way we were. I’m glad it happened. We’ll be better for it.”
As the season enters the home stretch, Hillcrest sits in a tie for third place in the District 5-5A Div. II standings, with a road showdown against co-leader Mesquite Poteet looming next week.
Seagoville quarterback Kollin Williams ran for two long touchdowns about three minutes apart early in the third quarter, which gave the Dragons a lead they never relinquished.
Williams scored on runs of 82 and 66 yards on back-to-back drives to turn a 10-7 halftime deficit into a 21-10 lead. He finished with 198 yards on 15 carries, almost all of which came after halftime.
The Panthers (5-2, 3-2) rallied late, closing the gap on a Kemen Fox 19-yard touchdown pass to Wilford Finley Jr. with 6:57 remaining. Fox found Khari Bass on a 35-yard hookup earlier on the drive.
Hillcrest got the ball back with 1:22 left after a Christian Zatarain fumble recovery near midfield. With the Panthers out of timeouts, the ensuing possession featured a 32-yard pass to Isaac Matamoros and a fourth-down strike to Bass to reach the Seagoville 11. However, a sack ended the last-gasp effort as time expired.
“That was a really good Seagoville team,” Madise said. “We made a lot of mistakes, but at the end of the day, the execution wasn’t there.”
Earlier, the Panthers controlled much of the first half but struggled to finish drives, in part due to costly penalties. They penetrated inside the Seagoville 30 twice in the second quarter but wound up punting both times.
The second of those punts was shanked and scooped up by Seagoville’s Rayshaan Uribe, whose long return gave the Dragons (4-4, 3-3) their first scoring opportunity. The threat was shut down when Khalil Bass recovered a Seagoville fumble inside the 10-yard line.
The teams traded touchdowns just 44 seconds apart late in the second quarter. A 10-yard interception return by Seagoville’s Jaden Dunlap was followed two plays later by a 67-yard scoring reception by Khari Bass.
In the second half, Hillcrest struggled to contain the Seagoville ground attack, which amassed 237 yards in the final two quarters. Williams was joined in the backfield by Devonte Smith, who tallied 115 yards.
Fox completed eight of 17 throws for 208 yards and two scores. A potential third touchdown pass was nullified by a penalty in the third quarter.
Khari Bass was the top target with 113 yards on just three receptions. Justin Elliott paced the Hillcrest rushing attack with 78 yards on a game-high 16 attempts.
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