Jim Talbert | Photo Credit: Honaker Football
HONAKER, Va. – Fans of the Honaker Tigers believe in miracles now.
With sensational sophomore quarterback Parker Lowe sidelined by an injury he suffered on his team’s third play from scrimmage and falling behind by two touchdowns, Honaker still somehow rallied for a hard-fought 21-20 win over the Lebanon Pioneers on Thursday night at Fuller Field in the annual Coal Bowl.
Honaker’s offense went flat after Lowe suffered a broken collarbone and the Tigers fell behind 20-7 after three quarters.
“Parker is our guy,” said Honaker coach Aaron Lowe. “We don’t really practice with anybody else at quarterback.”
The Tigers got a lift from Levi Honaker and a stout defense in the fourth quarter on a night that began in nightmarish fashion.
While Honaker was struggling to find some offense, Lebanon controlled the ball with a physical running game keyed by Layne Jessee and Easton Taylor.
Jessee carried the ball six straight times on the opening drive, the last of which being a 32-yard touchdown run to put the Pioneers on top.
Honaker sophomore Brayden Justus – who initially took over for Lowe at QB – hooked up with Levi Honaker to tie the game in the second quarter.
The Pioneers picked up another score before halftime to take a 14-7 lead into the break as Taylor broke a 24-yard run to to set up quarterback Will Jessee’s 1-yard TD plunge.
Both teams struggled with penalties – there was a combined 21 in the game – and cramping in the second half.
Honaker’s defense stifled the Pioneer running game in the second half.
Aided by two 15-yard penalties on the Tigers, Lebanon put its final points of the night on the scoreboard as Will Jessee did the honors from two yards out.
Despite missing the extra point, Lebanon appeared in control of the game.
Appearances proved deceiving and Coach Lowe’s halftime prediction came true.
“I told our guys at halftime – this will be the greatest Coal Bowl story,” Lowe said. “We have lost our quarterback, but you guys are going to go win it without him. Levi Honaker – who had not played quarterback since eighth grade – threw a perfect ball.”
That perfect ball was a 60-yard touchdown strike to Kameron Keen as it took just one play into the second half for the Tigers to get back in the game.
From that point the Honaker defense stood tall, stopping two Lebanon scoring threats and setting up the game-winning score.
A short punt gave the Tigers good field position and Levi Honaker moved the Tigers into scoring position.
The ball was fumbled by Levi Honaker forward into the end zone where Tyler Hubbard landed on it during a scrum that saw both teams have a shot at it.
Using a short passing game, the Pioneers moved down the field on their next drive only to see a fourth-down pass to the end zone fall short.
Lebanon came painstakingly close to taking the lead again as with a little more than two minutes left in the game, a 34-yard field goal attempt hit the crossbar and bounced back into the playing field.
With Lebanon out of timeouts, the Tigers ran out the clock’s remainder and the large crowd celebrated the return of the Coal Bowl trophy to Honaker.