Fort Worth Polytechnic snaps playoff drought as Parrots upend Fort Worth South Hills
Winner. Take. All.
That was the scene Thursday night at Scarborough-Handley Field as Fort Worth South Hills and Fort Worth Polytechnic battled for the final playoff spot in District 4-5A Division 2.
South Hills last made the playoffs in 2017. Poly last made the dance in 2009.
Poly snapped its playoff drought with a 30-19 victory over the Scorpions. The Parrots (4-6 overall, 4-3 district) also picked up their first win over SH since 2008. They will travel to Lubbock-Cooper for the bi-district round at 5 p.m. Friday.
“Our kids are battlers and they’ve done a great job all year,” Poly coach Jeff Green said. “This one is for our kids and the community. We’ve done a good job building up the community on the east side and Poly zone. We have great support and great fans and I want to thank all those people.”
South Hills (4-6, 3-4) came out the gate strong with a 13-play, 68-yard drive. The Scorpions rushed 12 times, which included an 8-yard touchdown run from Christopher Clayton.
Deshawn Ford rushed for 12 yards on fourth-and-11 the play before and SH led 7-0 with 5:51 left in the quarter.
After going three-and-out on its first drive, Poly got some luck when the Scorpions shanked a punt attempt, giving the Parrots the ball at the SH 29. Six plays later, the Parrots tied it at 7 with a 1-yard run by Traylon Brown just before the period came to an end.
“I’m happy. We worked hard for this. Coach Green took us and reformed us,” Brown said. “He told us to believe in each other, to hug and love one another. He changed that for us.”
Poly got inside the SH 10 on its next possession, but it fumbled and the Scorpions recovered at its 5.
However, South Hills was forced to punt.
On the next Scorpion drive, Parrots’ linebacker Omaurion Millsap intercepted a pass attempt and returned it 25 yards to put Poly up 14-7 with 3:18 left before intermission.
The Parrots recovered a SH fumble on the ensuing drive, but went into the break with the 14-7 edge after their 30-yard field goal attempt was blocked. On the possession, a 28-yard TD run by Quincy Carter was brought back on a holding penalty.
Luis Martinez made a 25-yard field goal, but that was negated on a false start.
That didn’t faze Poly as the Parrots extended their run to 30 unanswered points with a pair of second-half touchdowns and a safety to go up 30-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Parrots stopped SH on a fourth-and-4 at the SH 29. Six plays later, Carter bounced off a pair of defenders to score on a 7-yard run to make it 21-7 with 3:11 to go in the third.
“We weren’t worried. They couldn’t stop our offense. The coaches did a great job,” Carter said.
After a Scorpions’ punt went out of the end zone, Poly increased the lead to 30-7 on the first play of the final period when Brown rumbled for an 11-yard TD run.
“The line opened some holes and when I see green, I go,” Brown said.
South Hills snapped its scoring drought when Ford hit Jaylon Rhodes on a 16-yard TD pass, but after a failed 2-point conversion, the score was 30-13 with under 10 minutes left.
The drive was extended when Poly was called for a roughing the passer on a fourth down attempt.
SH made it closer at 30-19 when Ca’lub Holloway scored on a 1-yard run with 4:03 to go.
Carter and Brown combined for 301 yards rushing for the Parrots, who gained 313 yards total. South Hills was led by Holloway’s 70 yards on the ground. Clayton added 59 yards and Ford threw for 109.
“We have some big bruisers on the offensive line. We knew we could come in and be successful,” Green said. “Quincy has been a blessing for us and Traylon has been a great running back for us the last few years.”
Added Carter, “This is my first year playing quarterback and the team had faith in me since day one. To help lead them to the playoffs, it’s a wonderful feeling.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 9:25 PM.
