Panthers Eye Playoffs, Pull Away from TJ
It wasn’t the prettiest of victories, but it does push Hillcrest one step closer to a winning season and a playoff berth.
The Panthers pulled away from Thomas Jefferson 35-6 on Thursday at Loos Stadium, virtually clinching a return to postseason play next month.
“You want to try and get the best seed you can,” said first-year Hillcrest head coach A.D. Madise. “We’ve gotten a little better each week.”
Depending on results of Friday’s games, Hillcrest will at least remain tied for second place in District 5-5A Div. II heading into next week’s home finale against Adamson. The Panthers have won five of their last six games.
Asher Randall and Jacoby Ogbonna connected on two long touchdown passes to lead the Hillcrest attack. Randall found Ogbonna on a 28-yard strike late in the first quarter to start a run of 28 unanswered points as the Panthers (5-3, 4-1) pulled away.
Randall, who finished 13-of-20 passing for 229 yards, hooked up with Ogbonna and freshman Dash Davis for scores on consecutive possessions in the second half. Ogbonna, who also is a standout linebacker for Hillcrest, tallied six catches for 130 yards.
“He’s a really intelligent player,” Madise said of Ogbonna. “We all can see what he is when he’s got the ball in his hands, but people need to realize who he is without the football, when he’s on defense or when he’s blocking for his teammates. He gets it.”
Caleb Butler added two short scoring runs, punctuating Hillcrest’s first drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone. His second score came midway through the second quarter, following DeSean Williams’ recovery of a muffed punt at the TJ 1-yard line.
That was one of three takeaways by the Panthers, including interceptions by Jaylin Ransom and Luke Stevenson. Hillcrest limited the Patriots (3-5, 1-4) to just 57 total yards after halftime.
JaYaveon Brown caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Jesus Oyoua in the first quarter as the Patriots cut the deficit to 7-6. Oyoua also found Noah Grams on a 30-yard completion earlier in the drive.
The TJ defense recorded five sacks, including an 11-yard tackle for loss by Irvin Vences to stop a Hillcrest scoring chance following a Patriots turnover early in the second quarter.
However, TJ struggled to move the ball consistently while being saddled with unfavorable field position for much of the game. Jovani Soberanes accumulated 83 yards on 26 carries as the workhorse for the Patriots.
Still, the program is showing significant improvement in the second season under head coach Bobby Estes, who came out of retirement to take over at TJ a year ago. The Patriots have already clinched their best season in almost a decade.
“We competed and played hard. It’s not done in a day, and we’ve got a couple of weaknesses we need to shore up, but I’m really proud of these kids,” Estes said. “We’ve come a long way in a short time. It’s a high-character group.”
