It was Tyler Harshaw's night.
The Hibriten High running back gained 193 yards as the unbeaten Panthers defeated St. Stephens 34-13 in the Indians' homecoming game Friday night.
Hibriten (6-0 overall) improved to 2-0 in the Northwestern 3A-4A while St. Stephens dropped to 3-4, 1-1 in the conference.
Harshaw, who carried 18 times, scored on a tackle-breaking, 38-yard run early in the second quarter and fought his way into the end zone from 2 yards out with one minute, 41 seconds to play.
"We got in an I-formation and pounded it a little bit," Chuck Cannon, the Panthers' head coach, said.
"We have all kinds of good backs.
"One of them is going to have a good night and it was his turn."
With Kaylen Pearson contributing 81 yards and a touchdown in six carries, the Panthers finished with 347 yards of total offense.
"There were a few busted assignments," St. Stephens head coach Fred Whalen said, "but I think, overall, our defense played pretty well."
On offense, the Indians gained 253 yards and lost three important interceptions.
—A theft by Pearson immediately preceeded Harshaw's 38-yard scoring run.
—Darius Lipford returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half.
—Josh Dula picked off a pass after St. Stephens drove as far as the Hibriten 8 in the third quarter.
"We shot ourselves in the foot at the beginning," Whalen said. "I think as we got behind it hurt us, obviously."
Hibriten scored its first TD — on a 7-yard run up the middle by Leo Guevara as time ran out in the first quarter — after St. Stephens failed to make a first down on a fake punt, giving the Panthers the ball on the Indians' 27.
The Panthers led 21-0 after Pearson weaved 47 yards for a TD with 5:53 remaining in the first half.
At that point, St. Stephens had gained only 11 yards and didn't have a first down.
The Indians then began to move when Tanner Miller hit Taylor Martino with an 11-yard pass and, on the next play, Parker Kersey gained 51 yards to the 9 on a pass from Miller.
Two plays later, Miller scored on a 4-yard run and the score was 21-7.
Hibriten had lost quarterback Jamichael Walton, due to what Cannon said was a dislocation in his shoulder or arm, with 1:10 remaining in the first half.
Whalen said he learned that Miller, the St. Stephens quarterback, was dizzy at halftime. Miller didn't re-enter the game after the first play of the second half.
Kayln Hoyle, who replaced Miller, engineered a 53-yard drive that ended when Dula intercepted.
The next time the Indians got the ball, they drove 73 yards to cut the Panthers' lead to 27-13. The key play was a 36-yard pass from Dyson Littlejohn to Kersey and, four plays later, Littlejohn scored from the 4 with 9:32 left to play.
Littlejohn rushed for 73 yards on 14 carries as Antonio Sherrill, St. Stephens' leading rusher this season, was limited to five carries, due to an ankle injury.
St. Stephens defensive back Jacob Kerley was taken to a hospital because of an injury, Whalen said. Six of his starters had the flu, he said.
"I couldn't be prouder of the way we handled adversity," Whalen said. "Hibriten has a darn good football team."
Cannon also complimented his opponent.
"St. Stephens is an awfully tough, tough physical team," he said. "We feel fortunate to get out of here with a win."
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