LONGVIEW – Surely, Waskom had stopped Harmony.

It was third-and-27 after several penalties on the Eagles. The game was tied. All Waskom needed to do was prevent a big gain, and it would get the ball back with a chance to take the lead.

The unlikely soon became reality, though. Harmony converted and went on to score on that drive, winning 20-13.

The Eagles handed the ball to D.J. Click, who bounced off a couple defenders. He kept going until he had gained exactly 27 yards. A facemask penalty added another 15 and Waskom coach Whitney Keeling appeared disgruntled on the sideline.

But the Eagles  hadn’t scored yet.

Before they knew it, they were again in a third-and-long situation after a big sack. Waskom would have to be inordinately unlucky to give up another big gain.

When Harmony snapped the ball and gave it to Barrett Hill, he not only converted the first down, but ran 38 yards for a touchdown.

“It was huge,” Harmony coach Tim Russell said. “When you have third-and-long, it’s definitely an advantage to the defense so when you get a first down it kind of deflates the other team. I think that was one of the reasons after we got the first down on the third-and-long that we came back and scored the touchdown. It took them a second to regroup and you’ve got to take advantage of those moments when they happen.”

Harmony (2-0) went into halftime with a 13-0 lead and seemingly in control of the game.

But Waskom (0-2) chipped away at the Eagle defense to start the third quarter. Its first drive was long and methodical, culminating with a 4-yard touchdown from Chris Stafford.

A big interception on the next drive from Bryan Holland made gave Waskom the momentum. When TK Hamilton broke through the Eagles defense for a 44-yard touchdown to tie the game, the Wildcat fans and players alike went crazy. Russell said though it was a tough moment in the game, he was proud of his players’ response.

“It tests your character,” he said. “Our guys did a great job of coming back together and running the things that we run. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Harmony favored the run, finishing with 36 running plays compared to only nine pass plays. However, the few times it did decide to pass, it was effective. Spencer Seahorn finished 6-for-9 with 83 yards, including a 14-yard connection with Konrad Eichelman for a touchdown.

Defensively, the Eagles forced three turnovers – two interception and a fumble – to ensure its offense had plenty of opportunities.

“We work on that every single day,” Russell said. “Our secondary did a great job. We had four interceptions last week by four different guys. We try to strip the ball and do those things all the time. We believe in takeaways and fortunately tonight, we were able to get a bunch and it paid off.”

TK Hamilton led Waskom with 79 yards on 10 carries, while Jacob Reeves had 46 yards on 10 touches. Raymond Ramirez, who came in to play quarterback after Ty Carter left with an injury, finished with 46 yards rushing.

Barrett Hill was the leader for Harmony, with 70 yards on 15 carries.

Next up, Waskom has a home game with Grace Community on Friday, while Harmony will play Scurry-Rosser. Russell said he thinks there is plenty to take from the victory against Waskom.

Harmony 20, Waskom 13
At Lobo Stadium, Longview

Waskom      0    0      7     6    --    13
Harmony        0   13    0     7    --    20

Second Quarter
HAR--D.J. Click 9 run (2-point conversion failed), 10:53.
HAR--Konrad Eichelman 14 pass from Spencer Seahorn (Ricky Arellano kick), 0:29.
Third Quarter
WASK--Chris Stafford 4 run (Hugo Tapia kick), 3:20.
Fourth Quarter
WASK--TK Hamilton 44 run (kick failed), 10:56.
HAR--Barrett Hill 38 run (Arellano kick), 5:35.

                                    WASK           HAR
First Downs                      10               9
Total Yards                      194            192
Rushes-Yards            46-194         36-109
Passing Yards                   0            83
Comp.-Att.-Int.           0-7-2          6-9-1
Punts-Avg.                  2-31.5       2-31.0
Fumbles-Lost                   2-1            1-0
Penalties-Yards             4-45           10-75

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Waskom, TK Hamilton 10-79, Jacob Reeves 10-46, Raymond Ramirez 7-46, Chris Stafford 8-22, Ty Carter 3-12, Da'Lynn Hill 7-4, Team 1-(-15). Harmony, Barrett Hill 15-70, D.J. Click 3-37, Spencer Seahorn 11-3, Nick Hoelscher 1-11, Konrad Eichelman 2-0, Caden McMillan 2-6 Team 2-(-18).
PASSING--Waskom, Carter 0-2-1--0, Ramirez, 0-5-1--0. Harmony, Seahorn 6-9-1--83.
RECEIVING--Waskom, none. Harmony, Konrad Tichelman 4-20, Nick Hoelscher 1-40, Barrett Hill 1-23.

 

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