Hart pulled off one of its most dramatic wins in
recent memory Friday night in its season opener, stopping Reese on a
final two-point conversion to preserve a 44-42 triple-overtime victory
at home.
Regulation ended in a 22-22 tie after Sawyer Boos'
17-yard touchdown run, followed by Jordan Thies' two-point conversion,
tied the score with 6:35 to play. The Pirates then saved their chance at
a win in the final minutes by forcing and recovering a fumble inside
their own five-yard line with 1:54 to play, with the Rockets seemingly
on the doorstep of victory.
Each of the overtime periods
resulted in touchdowns for each side - but that final stop on a Reese
running play delivered the Pirates to the win.
It was a sweet
end for a Hart defense that struggled to slow down Reese's hard-nosed
rushing attack throughout the game. Reese, a Division 8 playoff team
last season, ran for 399 yards in the game on nearly nine yards per
attempt. However, the Pirates' key forced turnover - the only one for
either side in the game - and a couple of big-time stops on fourth down
earlier in the game ensured those struggles would be long forgotten.
Hart's
offense made its share of clutch plays, too. Kolton Rockwell's 35-yard
touchdown pass to Elijah Anastasiades as time ran out in the first half
gave the Pirates a 14-8 lead at the time and loomed large in the final
outcome. Haegan Hansen also had a fourth-down touchdown run from two
yards away on his team's opening drive of the game.
Keaghan
Monroe ran for 63 yards for the Pirates in the game, including an
overtime touchdown. Rockwell threw for 55 and added 35 more on the
ground.
On defense, Hansen had 12 tackles, six of them solo
stops, and Kole Thomas added six, as well as coming up with the
game-saving fumble recovery.
