Parkland Destroys Bel Air on Homecoming

The Parkland Matadors went in to Highlander Stadium and ruined the homecoming festivities with a 42-20 win over Bel Air.  Parkland's fast pace no huddle offense struck  first when quarterback AJ Briggs found star wide receiver De'quan Henderson to put the Matadors up 7-0 with 9:54 to go in the first quarter.

Parkland running back extraordinaire Deion Hankins then gave his squad a commanding 14-0 lead when he scored on a 1-yard run.  Bel Air finally got on the board late in the first quarter when running back Willie Perez scored to pull the Highlanders within a touchdown.  Both teams would exchange touchdowns before halftime with Parkland taking a 21-14 lead in to the locker room.

The second half was quite a different tale for the Matadors though as they outscored Bel Air 21-6, in what would officially become the Deion Hankins show.  Hankins, who had a modest 64 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown in the first half, exploded as he would go on to score a 43 and 83 yard touchdown, and gained 274 yards in the second half to help his team solidify the win.  Hankins' final numbers were astonishing as he gained 338 yards on 39 carries and scored 3 TD's.

Hankins, who is only a junior, has already received offers from five Division I schools and is generating quite a national buzz as one of the top high school backs in the country.  Other key Matador contributors included QB AJ Briggs who went 13 for 21 for 306 yards, and wide receiver De'quan Henderson who had 6 receptions for 86 yards and 1 touchdown.

A couple of bright spots for Bel Air included QB Isaac Ybarra who rushed for 114 yards and scored two rushing TD's, bringing his impressive total to 6 keepers in the past two weeks, and running back Willie Perez who had 122 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.

With the victory Parkland improves to 3-1, 1-1 in District 2-5A, and will host Hanks next Friday night.  Bel Air falls to 1-3, 1-1 in District 2-5A, and will travel to Riverside to take on the Rangers next Friday.