It was a tale of two halves Thursday night at the Pfield as Harker Heights took on Weiss.
The first half belonged to Harker Heights running back Re’Shaun Sanford as he rushed for 175 yards on 20 carries, helping the Knights jump out to a 21-7 halftime advantage.
But in the second half, the Knights defense rose to the occasion. Knights defensive linemen Christopher Robinson had an important interception, linebacker Kabriel Anderson-Dale recovered a fumble, and the defense as a whole forced two turnovers on downs inside Weiss territory to help the Knights hold off the Wolves for a 21-14 victory.
After the game, Harker Heights head coach Jerry Edwards praised his defense’s effort.
“I think our defense won us the football game tonight,” Edwards said. “I was super proud of our defense and the amount of turnovers [they forced] and their ability to keep [Weiss] out of the end zone tonight.”
A week after Harker Heights lost a heartbreaker to Odessa Permian 28-27, Edwards said Thursday night’s win was a crucial one as the Knights looked to keep their season on track.
“It was huge for us to come out and hold on like we did in the second half,” Edwards said. “District 12-6A is going to be a dogfight. It’s a tough district, and Weiss is a quality football team. So for us to come out and get a win tonight, it was huge for us.”
On the other side of the field, Weiss head coach Steve Van Meter was disappointed with his offense’s performance a week after it hung 49 points on New Braunfels.
Weiss operates with a two-quarterback system but neither found their rhythm on Thursday as the Wolves turned the ball over three times. Tate Reiland finished eight of 12 for 114 yards with a touchdown and a fumble, while Jax Brown threw for 121 yards on 13 completions with a touchdown and an interception.
“We had our chances, and I think we just played extremely poor on offense,” Van Meter said. “We didn’t play well up front, so that caused us some issues. We’ve got to get them fixed.”
One bright spot for Weiss was its defensive performance. In the second half, the Wolves held the Knights to four punts, a missed field goal, and an interception by Titus Massaquoi in the end zone. They also limited Sanford to just 51 yards rushing.
Simmons Jr. proved to be an elusive weapon on the night for Weiss with six catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. (Credit: Pat Carrigan)
But going back to the opening half, it was actually the Weiss offense that struck first on Thursday. Reiland delivered a strike to Tory Simmons Jr. for a 24-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter.
Sanford quickly responded, leaving Weiss defenders in the dust on a 64-yard touchdown run just a minute later. Sanford, who finished with 226 rushing yards, said it was his preparation all week that led to plays like that on Thursday.
“I know that I can hit it downhill,” Sanford said. “I’m kind of powerful for my size, so I know that if I get downhill, I can get going, and I got the speed to take it to the house. That’s what I was focused on all week when I was watching film and practicing.”
Plake finished with 79 yards passing and two touchdowns on Thursday. (Credit Pat Carrigan)
Midway through the second quarter, the Knights went in front for good. After a 32-yard run by Sanford and a 48-yard completion from Dylan Plake to Kai McMillian, Plake found a wide-open Tyler Johnson for a seven-yard score to cap off a six-play, 87-yard drive.
But the Knights weren’t done. After Sanford delivered with a 21-yard run on fourth and short, Plake found Alexander Bailey for a six-yard touchdown with just 13 seconds left in the half.
In the second half, the lone score by either team came with 49 seconds left in the game as Brown hit Simmons Jr. for a 20-yard score to cut Harker Heights’ lead to seven.
But the lack of scoring didn’t mean Weiss was without opportunities. At one point, the Wolves got it down to the Harker Heights one yard line, but a botched trick play lost them 18 yards and eventually forced a turnover on downs. The interception by Robinson late in the fourth quarter also served as a big deflator as the Wolves had moved the ball to the Harker Heights 25-yard line.
Looking forward to next week, Weiss will travel to Temple for another tough District 12-6A contest. Van Meter said the health of his football team is his biggest concern right now.
“I just think we’ve got to get healthy,” Van Meter said. “We’re thin, and we’re beat up a little bit. We’ve got to evaluate where we’re at in our injury deal and then we’ll go from there.”
For Harker Heights, a year after coming up one game short of a district title, the Knights have their eye on the top prize this year. Sanford said Thursday night was a big first step towards achieving that goal.
“It kind of sends a message to everybody else,” Sanford said. “We’re trying to win a district championship. That’s really our ultimate goal. And to start off 1-0, that gives us a good start.”
