Knights tackle Hippos
HARKER HEIGHTS — The Hutto Hippos varsity football team endured a loss against the Harker Heights Knights 4435 on Friday night at Leo Buckley Stadium in Killeen.
The Hippos had a rocky start giving up a field goal with eight minutes left in the first. They responded with a touch and extra point to take a 7-3 lead with three minutes left in the first.
Just three plays into their drive, Harker Heights scored and nailed the extra point to grab a 10-7 lead to end the first quarter.
In the second, Hutto took a 14-10 lead on a 24-yard Andy Toddeh pass and the PAT after.
Carson LaPlante completed a 50yard pass to Steven Galindo for a touchdown minutes later. After the PAT, the Hippo led 21-10 with eight minutes to go in the half.
Just before halftime, the Knights found the end zone for a touchdown, but failed on the twopoint conversion, bringing the score to 21-16.
Hutto took advantage, and LaPlante found Carson again for a touchdown.
With the PAT, the Hippos extended their lead to 28-16.
With under a minute left in the half, the Knights Dylan Plake hit Kai McMillan for a touchdown. The extra point brought the score to 28-23 at halftime.
The Hippos’ defense was able to keep the Knights in check through the most of the third quarter, keeping Harker Heights off the board until the final two minutes of the quarter, taking the lead 30-28. The Hippo defense let their guard down in the second half, which led to the Knights taking the lead late in the game with Hutto unable to rebound.
“It was just an emotional rollercoaster, going up and down,” Hutto head coach Will Compton said after the loss. “I think we just had some missed cues. We had a couple of under-thrown balls that led to some turnovers.”
Another touchdown early in the fourth hurt the Hippos, but they were not out yet. Hutto scored on a passing touchdown to get within two point, 37-35. However, the Knights did not look back, picking up another score to secure the victory.
Hutto drops to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in district play.
“Our backs are against the wall and so coaches, kids, senior class, we’ve all got to come together and figure out how to get it done for the next four games,” Compton said.
The Hippos will return to Hutto Memorial Stadium Friday, Oct.
13, at 7:30 p.m. to defend their home ground against the Temple Wildcats in a pivotal matchup for both teams.
