Western quarterback Hurst’s clutch play in overtime secures win over Coconut Creek
On a night where Western senior quarterback Collin Hurst didn’t play his best, he came up big in crunch time.
The four-year starter for the Wildcats found sophomore running back Chance Washington wide open hugging the sidelines for a 15-yard touchdown pass in overtime for a 10-3 victory over Coconut Creek on Friday.
Despite throwing a surprisingly low 132 yards, Hurst’s winning toss was his 70th career touchdown pass as the Wildcat’s quarterback.
The 10 points were the fewest for Western in 22 games in regulation play since a 14-9 loss to University School on Sept. 13, 2019.
“It was a team effort and our defense picked us up today,” Hurst said. “Our defense really showed why they are one of the best in the state. We had a tough time on offense tonight and through adversity we came through in the end.”
Still with a touchdown lead in the overtime, Coconut Creek had its chance to send the game into another extra period.
On fourth and 6, Creek quarterback Asante Daniels looked for an open receiver, found none and sprinted to the corner of the goal line. He fell a yard short when he was driven out of bounds at the one by junior Omar Thornton.
Game over.
“Obviously we couldn’t have played worse on offense,” Western coach Adam Ratkevich said. “At the end of the day our defense has been the brand. Champions find a way to win. Half our drives were ruined on bad snaps. We need to get in rhythm on offense with all the firepower that we have. We’ll build off this and get better.”
Thornton’s tackle was an indication how well Western’s defense had to play against their opponent on this night.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said Thornton. “We stood up tall the whole game. We made big plays and came away with the victory.”
While the Western (2-0) offense had troubles handling the ball and making clean snaps to Hurst in the shotgun, they came up big on several occasions.
The Cougars (2-1) had a 20-yard field goal attempt blocked by Jordan Dean as time ran out at the half and a goal line stand with the ball inside the Western one, led to Coconut Creek’s 22-yard field goal by Jeffery Hernandez with 5:44 left in regulation tying the score at 3-3.
The Wildcats will have a busy week to prepare for next Friday’s home game against St. Thomas Aquinas. The Raiders have beaten Western in the last two meetings by a combined score of 72-37.
Aquinas defeated Cocoa 42-14 Friday night to improve to 3-0 and has outscored the three opponents 132-51.
Western has now gone six consecutive quarters in regulation without scoring a touchdown.
They staggered in the second half of a 33-14 victory over Johns Creek in their season opener two weeks ago after taking a 33-point half time lead.
Coconut Creek, on the other hand has yet to allow a touchdown in regulation this season. They opened the season with a pair of shutout victories, outscoring opponents 84-0.
“We had our backs against the wall a few times,” Coconut Creek coach Johnnie Sloan said. “Our defense stuck in there, but we couldn’t capitalize on offense. Next week is another week getting ready for the next game.”
The Creek defense did a outstanding job holding a usually potent Western offense without points in the first half.
The Wildcats twice got deep into Creek territory only to come up empty.
Late in the opening quarter, the Wildcats got as close as the Cougars two-yard line but pass attempt on fourth down by Hurst fell incomplete. On Western’s ensuing possession the Wildcats got to the Creek 14 only to fumble away a scoring chance again.
Erron Brown recovered the ball for the Cougars.
Hurst, who had trouble handing the snap from center throughout the first half, lost 33 yards on one mishandling of the ball, giving it back to Coconut Creek.
Western lost two of five fumbles on the night.
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 2:04 AM.