District 1-5A is known for its high-flying offenses, but with the game and the season on the line Friday, Parkway’s defense stood tall.
The No. 6 Panthers (11-1) took a lead on the second play of overtime as Kaleb Williams found Draidyn Davis on a misdirection pass, but a missed extra-point left the door open for No. 11 Hahnville (9-3) to potentially pull off a dramatic upset.
Instead, the Panthers managed to shut down running lanes and passing windows and slam that door shut, 37-31, to advance to the Division-I Non-Select quarterfinals for the first time since 2021.
“I didn’t doubt our defense, not one bit,” Parkway senior safety Mark Copenhaver said. “We’d been getting stops all game, and we just never stopped pumping our feet. I knew for sure we were going to get that stop.”
The overtime thriller capped a game full of ups and downs for both squads.
Hahnville provided an immediate wake-up call to the Preston Crownover Stadium crowd with a 71-yard touchdown return by Al’Jarreau Walker on the opening kickoff.
The Panthers quickly responded with a 39-yard bomb from Williams to junior Gary Burney Jr. and a two-point completion to Antonio Gladney Jr. for the 8-7 lead.
Both teams exchanged touchdowns again: Hahnville finding the end zone with a Landen Teague to Aaron Williams touchdown pass, followed by Williams finding Gabriel Gray to even the score, 14-14.
Freshman kicker Thad Smith drilled a 34-yard field goal to give Parkway the 17-14 halftime lead.
Hahnville’s defense reigned terror after the break, forcing two fumbles — the first setting up another Teague-Williams touchdown pass, and the second returned 63 yards by edge rusher Raymond Williams to blow open a 28-14 lead.
The Panthers leaned on junior back Braxxton Black to keep them in it and battle back to a 31-28 lead.
But the Tigers wouldn’t go down without further fight, setting up a late Myles Borey field goal to force overtime and set up the final theatrics.