Tarkington upsets Hardin in unforgettable finish, 27-26

HARDIN – In a game that will not be forgotten soon, the Tarkington Longhorns defeated the Hardin Hornets as time expired, taking bragging rights in with what could be considered a controversial last-second touchdown 27-26.   

The Longhorns started the game with a drive that ended up being a turnover on downs after trying to establish the run with Nathan Wells.   

On their first offensive drive, the Hardin Hornets fed the ball to Javeon Watley and Trevor Jones, establishing the Hornets rung game, but the Longhorns defense forced a turnover on downs.   

It was a quick first quarter and neither team could establish their running games. 

After shaking off the rust from their bye week in the first quarter, the Longhorns came back in the second with a fifteen-yard touchdown run from Michael Galvan to put Tarkington up 7-0 with 9:29 left in the first half.  

The Hardin Hornets couldn't produce an efficient offensive drive, which caused them to attempt a punt, which was ruined by a bad snap and gave Tarkington the ball on Hardin's two-yard line.   

Wells, whom the Longhorns had been feeding the ball to all night, capitalized off of Hardin's turnover and scored a two-yard touchdown run with 7:40 left in the first half.  

Now down 14-0, Hardin had to find a way to come back after two scores from the Tarkington Longhorns were left unanswered.   

Tarkington's Wells had a different idea, though, and he came down with an interception after the Longhorns defensive line tipped a thrown ball from Hardin.  

However, Hardin didn't allow Tarkington to capitalize off their turnover and stopped them on fourth down to get the ball back with about two minutes left in the half.  

Since Hardin's running game wasn't working for them, they decided to switch things up a bit.  

Hornet quarterback Hunter Whitehead floated a ball to wide receiver Anthony Walters on an excellent gain of yardage to put them near the endzone with half a minute left in the half.  

Hardin's Watley finally found the endzone with a two-yard touchdown run to put the Hornets on the scoreboard.   

After a blocked extra point kick, the score with twenty-two seconds left in the half has Tarkington up 14-6.  

And yet, even with twenty-two seconds left in the half, the Hardin Hornets were able to tie the game.  

Tarkington's punt returner fumbled the ball around mid-field, and the crowd went wild.   

In one play, the Hornets put another score on the board with a thirty-five-yard pass into the endzone from Whitehead to Walters.  

The duo also scored for the two-point conversion, which tied the game 14-14 with thirteen seconds left in the first half.   

The Hornets received the second half kickoff and started strong. After feeding Watley the ball for good yardage runs, Whitehead decided to find Walters again for another touchdown strike with 8:19 left to play in the third quarter.   

The extra point conversion failed, though, and the score was 20-14 with Hardin momentarily ahead.   

The Tarkington Longhorns bulldozed right back and capped off their drive with a five-yard touchdown run by Karson Jones to put them up 21-20 with 3:34 left in the third quarter.   

Hardin's Josue Ibarra and Watley helped lead them back down the field, which allowed another touchdown on a fourth down throw from Whitehead to Walters.  

Hardin went up 26-21 with 1:36 left in the third quarter.   

Tarkington nor Hardin could produce much offense for the rest of the third and most of the final quarter.  

Hardin kept on pushing the pile and continued with the run game in an attempt to run down the game clock.   

Tarkington made a huge defensive stop against Hardin with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter.  

Tarkington's kick returner made a colossal run, placing the Longhorns at half field, but a holding penalty cost them, which set them back at their thirty-yard line.   

Tarkington's Tanner Johnson threw a thirty-six-yard dart to Zachary Hughes, and they hurried up to the new line of scrimmage to spike the ball with eleven seconds left.   

Johnson scrambled for twenty-two yards to put Tarkington at Hardin's ten-yard line with two seconds left on the clock.  

Tarkington's Johnson scrambled to the right on the game's last play, as Hardin defenders chased after him, and tossed the ball to the back of the endzone where a pile of Tarkington receivers and Hardin defenders were tangled competing for the ball.   

The referees did not clearly indicate whether it was an incomplete pass, a touchdown, or an interception.   

The officials ran to the pile of players, gathered on top of the ball, and after separating everyone, the officials found a Tarkington player lying on top of the football.   

The officials immediately called it a touchdown.   

Tarkington won on a last-second touchdown toss from Johnson and defeated district rivals Hardin 27-26.  

Tarkington (4-1, 1-0) will travel to Orangefield on Oct. 9 to take on another district rival, the Bobcats, who are coming off a 32-20 win against Anahuac and who hold a 2-0 district record.   

The Hardin Hornets (3-3, 0-2) will go into next week with a bye and compete against Orangefield on Oct. 13.