SAN JOSE - Jimmy Parker’s interception return for a touchdown gave Hercules a three-possession lead in the fourth quarter. This led the seventh-seeded Titans to the NCS Division IV championship game, as they upset previously undefeated Harker, 30-14.
“We weren’t scared,” said Hercules captain Kris Miles. “Harker’s a great team, but we couldn’t let their record scare us. We just had to stick together and push for a victory.”
Just moments before, third-seeded Harker (11-1) was driving down the field, trailing 23-7 and coming off a touchdown drive. The Eagles faced a fourth-and-12 from the Hercules 40, and quarterback Nate Kelly seemed to connect with Anthony Contreras for a first down, but the measurement ruled it just inches short. Hercules (11-2) took over on downs, but stalled out and was forced to punt.
However, Emany Johnson, the University of Nevada-Reno commit and leading receiver in the game, booted a punt that went out of bounds at the one-yard line. The perfect punt led to Parker’s interception return off of a deep Harker throw.
“I never even practice punts,” said Johnson with a laugh. “I did pretty well, though.”
This allowed the Titans to hold off the Eagles' comeback and preserve the 23-0 lead they built at the half.
Hercules began the game hot, as Christian Posey intercepted the ball on Harker’s first drive, leading to Johnson's 56-yard catch-and-run touchdown just two minutes into the game. The Titans also later scored on a safety as a snap went out of the end zone.
Then, in the second quarter, Miles, a receiver, threw a 34-yard pass to Johnson on a trick play, before catching a 23-yard touchdown from Felix Reyes on the next play to extend the Titans' lead to 16-0.
Hercules ended its dominating first half with a 23-0 lead after Reyes tossed a short touchdown to Johnson.
“We started off slow and we weren’t focused,” said Harker’s Dominic Cea.
“Our offense, defense, and special teams were excellent,” said Johnson. “We really started strong and that brought us to a win.”
Harker started the second half by driving down the field, as Kelly hit Floyd Gordon for a nine yard touchdown. They seemed to adjust their game plan by having Kelly roll out of the pocket, as he gained first downs by throwing on the run and scrambling. This became necessary as the Hercules defensive front was stingy against the run, especially against junior running back Aaron Smith, who ran for over 1,000 yards this season, but was limited to 29 yards on 16 carries in the loss.
“We calmed down a little bit in the second half - our offense started to drive again and the defense fought hard,” said Cea.
However, penalties and drops pushed Harker out of scoring opportunities, as Parker’s interception return put Hercules up 30-7.
Kelly threw a 32-yard touchdown to Contreras on a fourth-and-22 to decrease the Titans' lead. Contreras then recovered Cea’s onside kick, but the Hercules defense forced a stop, and they ran out the clock to clinch their appearance in the NCS finals against fourth-seeded Fortuna, which upset top-seeded St. Bernard’s 34-33.
Johnson had five receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns, as he used his big frame to routinely catch deep balls over double teams. He also pinned two punts inside the five. Reyes threw for 141 yards and three touchdowns, and Miles led the team in rushing with 40 yards in addition to catching a touchdown.
The Eagles ended their historic season, which saw them win all their regular season games by at least 20 points and win their first playoff games since moving to the NCS. Kelly threw for 123 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to having a game-high 46 rushing yards. Jadan McDermott had two sacks.
“This definitely wasn’t the result we wanted, but I’m happy the team was able to make Harker history and go deep in the playoffs," said Cea. "We put in work for months and the results showed - we had a great season."
Looking forward to the finals against Fortuna on December 2, Miles said: “We’re going to work and try our hardest to get the ‘ship. We weren’t supposed to be here, but we all want to make Hercules proud.”
SCORING SUMMARY
Hercules - Reyes 56 yd pass to Johnson (Martinez kick)
Hercules - Safety
Hercules - Reyes 23 yd pass to Miles (Martinez kick)
Hercules - Reyes 3 yd pass to Johnson (Martinez kick)
Harker - Kelly 9 yd pass to Gordon (Cea kick)
Hercules - Parker 25 yd int return (Martinez kick)
Harker - Kelly 32 yd pass to Contreras (Cea kick)
PLAYER STATS
Hercules
Rushing: Miles 8-40, Corbin 7-32, Total 29-73
Passing: Reyes 6-10 141, Miles 1-1 34, Total 7-11 175
Receiving: Johnson 5-135, Miles 1-23, Total 7-175
Harker
Rushing: Kelly 7-46, Tymous 6-42, Smith 16-29, Total 30-125
Passing: Kelly 13-29 123
Receiving: Gordon 7-55, Contreras 2-44, Total 13-123
