Harrison Central rallies on road for football victory

With 6:20 remaining on the second-quarter clock, the Harrison Central Huskies found themselves trailing 19-0 at Nelson Field in Bellaire last Friday night. The Big Reds had just capped off a 74-yard, 15-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, literally the most methodical manner imaginable in which to take a three-possession lead. 

However, the game is 48 minutes for a reason, and the Huskies needed every single one of them to finish the job. Over the remaining 2 1/2 quarters, the Huskies switched gears and outscored the Big Reds 29-7 down the stretch for a 29-26 victory. The win was the Huskies' third of the season, with two games remaining on the slate to push towards a .500 finish.

"That was a guts game.," said HC coach Anthony Hayes. "To close out the game on defense in the manner that we did, it showed mental toughness. Bellaire is a good football team, and they’re capable of beating anyone on their schedule. 

"To go to Nelson Field and gut out a victory over a well-respected program, it's a really good win. We had not won there since 2009 (HC's first playoff team).” 

The Huskies had indeed not won along the river in 16 years, and the Big Reds (3-5) had won six straight contests dating back to 2015 heading into the Oct. 10 matchup.

With 20 seconds remaining before halftime, quarterback Brady Hyre took a third-down snap from the Bellaire 17 and got the comeback started for the Huskies. Hyre found fellow senior Kayne Dunkle in the middle of the defense, who then navigated his way to the pylons to put Harrison Central on the board. Placekicker Noah Thaxton was true on the PAT, and the Huskies headed for the locker room down 19-7 but with momentum.

“We dug ourselves a pretty deep hole in the first half and we only had two options; we could sit there at the bottom of that hole and hope that somebody would come along and bail us out, or we could start climbing out one step at a time on our own," Hayes said. "Everyone dug into that dirt wall and pulled themselves out tonight.” 

 The defense did its part in the third quarter, holding Bellaire scoreless, and with 1:13 remaining in the period, senior running back Beau Rinkes took a handoff and bounced outside to pay dirt from 17 yards away. Thaxton drilled the PAT and the two teams headed to the final quarter iwith the hosts clinging to a 19-14 lead. 

Three minutes into the fourth, Big Reds quarterback Michael Dippel found star receiver Kole Gonglik for a 50-yard scoring strike — a dagger that normally would’ve sent the Huskies into damage control mode. Not last Friday night.

On the first play of the ensuing Huskies offensive possession, Hyre burst through Bellaire’s second level for a 52-yard gain. Two snaps and nine yards later, Rinkes was back in the end zone, and Thaxton’s PAT boot made it 26-21 with 8:25 to go.

The Huskies defense forced a Bellaire punt with 4:20 on the clock, a punt that Jacob Quito returned to the Bellaire 40. A steady five0play drive full of Rinkes and Hyre on the ground led to a 2-yard touchdown dive for Hyre with 2:08 to play. Quito added the two-point conversion to put the Huskies in front 29-26.

Bellaire would go from its own 5 to the Harrison 13 before the Huskies defense forced an incomplete pass on a fourth-and-3 with 27 ticks left, sewing up Harrison Central's third win in its last four outings.

The Huskies offensive line answered the call in the second half at Bellaire as HC outrushed the Big Reds 228-73. Hyre finished with 135 yards rushing on nine tries, while Rinkes carried it 15 times for 91 yards. Dunkle caught two passes for 30 yards to lead the Huskies in what was a quiet night through the air as  the Huskies outgained the Big Reds 309-300 in total offense.

Defensively, Lance Smith hauled in an interception to stall out a second-quarter Bellaire drive. Senior Zander Stabile led the unit with 13 tackles, one of those for a loss.

“We are proud of these young men. We’re going to enjoy this one and then turn our attention to a really good Edison team,” Hayes said.