The Knights were backed against the wall.
Prospect had the ball on Hersey’s 34 yard line and were down 27-23 in the 4th quarter with under 3 minutes to go, so a field goal wouldn’t help. It was 3rd and 11 and they needed to convert if they wanted to win. With an empty backfield, senior quarterback Jack Skoog noticed the Huskies were running man-to-man coverage on his receivers. Skoog saw this and called an audible to change the play.
This audible may have saved the game for the Knights, as Skoog completed a 23-yard pass to senior running back Noah Easter, who made a great spinning catch despite being tightly covered. On the very next play, Easter ran it in for a 11-yard touchdown putting the Knights on top, 30-27, a lead they would hold onto to secure their first win over Hersey in three years.
“He has been balling all day, he’s the fastest on the field, obviously, I don’t know why they manned up on him,” Skoog said. “I don’t know why I wouldn’t throw to him.”
Easter was determined to make the catch.
“I just blanked out,” Easter said. “I looked back at the ball and just had to come down with it.”
After the clutch plays by Easter, the Knights were back on defense. Hersey drove down to Prospect’s 32 yard line, but due to a clutch sack from senior defensive lineman Parker Ray on 2nd and 2, Prospect stopped Hersey’s momentum.
“I just had one mindset that was to do my job and that was to get past the left tackle and hit a quarterback,” Ray said. “I did it, so it felt good.”
Head coach Dan DeBoeuf appreciated Ray’s determination to take down the opposing QB.
“He was unblockable at the end of the game,” Deboeuf said. “Our big time players made big time plays tonight.”
However despite the result of the game, the Huskies did not go down without a fight. Senior QB Colton Gumino and RB Brandon Jenkins carried most of the load for the huskies. They ended the game with a combined 344 rushing yards on 47 carries. The highlight of their constant running was late in the first quarter. After receiving a handoff at his own 27 yard line, Jenkins ( 26 carries, 215 yards) was off to the races. Once he broke to the outside of the field he was gone. This 73-yard run gave the Huskies a 7-6 lead over the knights and gave them lots of momentum throughout the game.
This momentum by the Huskies continued from the 1st into the 2nd quarter. Despite a huge 57-yard punt by senior Carter Cremascoli, pinning Hersey at their own three yard line, the Huskies marched all the way down to Prospect’s eight yard line. With their backs’ against the wall the Knights needed a stop to hold Hersey from extending their lead. On the 3rd and goal play Gumino threw to the back of the endzone hoping for his receiver to come down with it. However, the knights would get the stop they needed as senior safety Lucas Thomas intercepted the ball in the endzone stopping the very long 13 play 91-yard drive in its tracks.
After halftime the score was 12-7 with Prospect on top. After a pretty low scoring first half the Knights and the Huskies weren’t done there. Both Hersey and Prospect scored on their first drives of the half making the score 20-13. After the Huskies first score of the half they continued their pedal-to-the-metal mindset as they went down the field in 3:30 on eight plays capped off by a seven-yard QB keeper touchdown by Gumino tying the game up.
Along with his long punt, Cremascoli had another big play. After Skoog ran the ball for a few yards the Knights were stopped on 4th down with 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter. With the score being 20-20, Prospect needed points, so coach DeBoeuf sent out the kicking unit to take back the lead.
This wasn’t just any field goal, however. this was a 48-yard field goal. Some NFL kickers can struggle
with this distance let alone a high school one. Despite how hard the kick seemed, Cremascoli nailed it, and could’ve made it from a farther distance.
All of these big plays were no doubt fueled by both student sections. This cross town classic game brought tons of fans from both schools filling out the stands. Deboeuf was surprised by how electric the atmosphere was.
“For a Thursday night I thought it was pretty darn good,” Deboeuf said. “Hats off to our student section and hats off to their student section too.”
For the players and coaches this game meant a lot to them. Not only was it a rivalry game, but also Prospect hasn’t defeated Hersey since 2021 . So this win was something they have been dreaming about for a while.
“When I was a sophomore and a junior it was so tough watching that happen, but to finally get it done is the greatest thing I have ever seen,” Ray said. “This is going to be a moment that stays with me forever.”
To see pictures from the Prospect’s big win: https://prospectornow.com/28993/sports/prospect-beats-hersey-30-27/
To relive the epic game, check out the coverage from KTVLive featuring Kenny Munao and Peter Radosh: https://vimeo.com/event/4645617
