One play was all it took for Olympus to grab an early lead. Quarterback Harrison Creer found a wide open tight end in Cameron Latu for a 69-yard touchdown on the game’s first snap Friday.
It would become a familiar theme throughout the night as Creer accounted for five touchdowns — four through the air and one on the ground. The Olympus quarterback was busy shredding West’s porous secondary on a 45-42 road win.
“Everything was working for me tonight, and the line did a great job of protecting me,” Creer said. “Our motto this week was to win the fourth quarter, and we stuck to our guns and were able to pull it out.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME <br>Olympus quarterback Harrison Creer threw a touchdown on the first play of the game and never looked back. It was the first of five total TDs on the night, including three to running back Jack Holberg.
Creer’s favorite target by a mile was Jack Holberg. The duo connected on three touchdown tosses as West couldn’t muster an answer for them. Just when it appeared that the Panthers were garnering momentum by taking their first lead of the night, Creer orchestrated an impressive drive that concluded with him finding his reliable target to give Olympus the lead for good.
“Harrison and I are good buddies off the field, and that helps with our chemistry,” Holberg said. “We were confident in our offense and in our team, and we never had any doubt about the outcome.”
West was its own worst enemy in the initial stages of the game. Two productive drives stalled in the end zone when quarterback Romeo Johnston was intercepted twice. Johnston would right the ship on the Panthers’ third drive as he lobbed a pass into the corner of the end zone to John Abercrombie to tie the score. As the game progressed, Johnston began to heat up, hitting Viliami Makoni three times in the end zone to cut into the Olympus lead.
Although Johnston connected with Abercrombie late in the fourth quarter, it was a little too late. A weak punt and yet another Johnson interception thwarted West’s finally rally.