A pair of scary moments aside, Hartley High School senior tight end and
linebacker Jacob Matuska described his emotions after beating visiting
Watterson 28-14 on Sept. 28 as being on par with winning a state title
in 2010.
A pair of scary moments aside, Hartley High School senior tight end and
linebacker Jacob Matuska described his emotions after beating visiting
Watterson 28-14 on Sept. 28 as being on par with winning a state title
in 2010.
Led by Matuska and classmates Ja’Wuan Woodley and Marcellus Calhoun,
Hartley improved to 6-0 and Watterson fell to 3-3 after the non-league
matchup.
In addition to Hartley improving to 4-29 in the all-time series against
Watterson, a referee was taken away in an ambulance during the second
quarter and a portion of the visiting bleachers collapsed in the second
half.
“Ever since we were freshmen we’ve been asking when we were going to
play Watterson,” Matuska said. “We’ve only had three other victories
over Watterson, so in my heart it feels bigger than the state
championship.”
Hartley established the tone on the game’s first play from scrimmage
when Woodley took a handoff and completed a 71-yard pass to Alonzo
Saxton to move his team to the Watterson 3-yard line. Two plays later,
Calhoun scored on a 3-yard run.
“We put (the halfback pass) in on Monday because we know the first play is going to set the tone for the game,” Woodley said.
Watterson appeared on its way to tying the game on the ensuing
possession, but a 14-play drive that started at the Eagles’ 27 was
thwarted when Walter Green fumbled at the goal line and the Hawks’
Trevonn Brown picked up the ball in the end zone.
Calhoun made it 14-0 on a 17-yard run that capped the ensuing drive for
Hartley, but Watterson again drove deep into Hartley territory before
quarterback Andy Elberson was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the 1 by
the Hawks’ defensive line.
Two plays later, Hartley’s Sam Mackowiak rushed for 1 yard and head
referee Julius Palazzo collapsed on the field. After CPR was performed,
he was placed on a stretcher 13 minutes later and gave a thumbs-up sign.
The Hawks took a 21-0 lead with 12.7 seconds left in the first half when
quarterback Jared Brandewie hit Matuska in the end zone for a 6-yard
touchdown. On third-and-6 from the Watterson 43 on the play before,
Brandewie connected with Matuska for a 37-yard reception.
Woodley, who led Hartley with 134 yards rushing, scored on a 29-yard run with 8:42 left in the third quarter.
The Eagles made it 28-7 with 3:49 left in the third period on a 7-yard
run by Elberson and cut it to 28-14 with 7:06 to go on a 1-yard run by
DeAndre Golden. Hartley recovered an onside-kick attempt, however, and
Woodley later intercepted a pass by Elberson to seal the win.
“You’ve just got to bounce back from adversity,” Green said. “We never
gave up on ourselves because that’s what Eagles’ football is all about.”
