Hall hosted Platt on Saturday afternoon in West Hartford.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Hall football first year coach Steve Markie kept telling his players they were just one or two plays from turning things around after an 0-3 start. Saturday afternoon they made those plays on offense, defense, and special teams to secure a thrilling 24-21 win over Platt.

“At halftime I reminded them it was just a couple of more plays and that we had to make them, and they did,” said Markie.

The defense struck first for Hall with Tyler Redden – who had a huge hand in all phases of the game – halted the Panthers’ opening drive with a third down interception that put the ball at the Titans’ 45. On the ensuing offensive series, it was Redden taking a third down pass from quarterback Tommy Hussey and rambling to the Platt 22.

Two plays later it was Hussey taking it in himself for the 7-0 lead seven minutes in. On the Panthers’ next possession, Hall gave them some help with a facemask penalty on first down, but Declan Mitchell came up with a big stop in the Platt backfield on Trayvon Harrell on the next play.

After two runs did little to move the ball, Platt went for the screen pass, but the throw by Austen Standish was picked off by Quinn O’Neill who rumbled 76 yards to pay dirt to give Hall a 14-point lead and a big boost of energy.

“Looking back, that was a play that gave us momentum,” said Redden on the pick six with 1:35 to go in the first quarter.

Platt would answer with an 80-play drive on its next possession that was highlighted by the passing of Standish and running of Joel Rey. The running back ripped off a 26-yard play no first down, then Standish hooked up with Laron Bromell on a completion and run that brought the ball to the Hall 34.

After a conversion on fourth down, Jesus Vasquez carried the ball on a sweep that brought the ball to the 2. One play later Standish kept the ball himself and the Panthers tried their own version of the Philadelphia Tush Push, but Hall’s defense held strong and the Panthers were called for a personal foul, moving the ball back near the 20. The next play saw Vasquez with a reception and Hall called for a personal foul, moving the ball to the Hall 9. Standish then found Rey on the short toss to put the Panthers on the board early in the second quarter.

Despite good field position to start the next drive, Hall ended it with a punt. Mitchell had back-to-back stops for the Titans but on third down Vasquez hauled in a pass and sprinted down the sideline only to be caught from behind by Redden who raced the length of the field, crossed from left to right, and prevented the TD.

Two plays later, Standish kept the ball himself and ran right to tie things at 14. The next 4:30 on the half saw Hall play some of its best football as they started the drive on their own 26. First Hussey hit Dylan Hosmer for a completion, then as he was being tackled on the next play, Hussey flipped the ball forward to Jackson Bracken who got to the Platt 49. After a pair of penalties pushed the ball back, Hussey dropped back and let go a perfect pass to Redden streaking down the middle. The senior out jumped his defender and high pointed the ball as he crossed the goal line for a top-10 TD catch with 2:12 remaining in the half.

“Tyler says throw me the ball and I’ll get it,” said his coach Markie. “He made the play.”

After the game Redden praised the work of his offensive line and quarterback to get him in position to make the play. “ They gave me a chance to make a play and that’s what I am here to do,” he said.

With the ball back in their possession, Platt moved the ball efficiently down the field, mixing running and passing plays. With the ball sitting at the Hall 20 and only :03 on the clock, Platt went for the field goal to cut the deficit to 4, but two Hall players busted through the line and Ayden Gordon got the block to end the half with Hall leading 21-14.

The Panthers received the second half kickoff and proceeded to execute a seven-play, 54-yard drive capped off with a Vasquez touchdown run off a screen pass from the 20 to tie the game at 21 just under four minutes into the third quarter. Hall’s next possession ended on an incomplete pass and Platt getting the ball at its own 38. A fourth down run by Rey kept the drive alive, then Hall tried to substitute players, but didn’t get off the field before the snap making it first-and-5 at the 12.

Harrell carried to the 5 and Standish took it in on the next play, only to see the score wiped off the board by a 15-yard penalty against Platt. On third down Michael Griffin-Prado made a big stop to force fourth-and-goal to go from the 4 as the third quarter ended.

On the first play of the fourth, Rey ran a sweep for the score only to see a yellow flag take the points once again off the board. On fourth down at the 9, Platt opted to go for the field goal, but Vasquez’s kick went wide with 11:50 to play.

When they got the ball back, Hall switched to an up-tempo offense that saw Hussey throw a series of quick, short passes to move the ball down the field. A screen pass to Redden and a catch and run by Bracken brought the ball to the 36. After an incompletion, Hall was flagged for holding stalling the drive. On fourth down Hussey was sacked by a trio of Panthers to turn the ball over on downs with seven minutes remaining and the score tied.

Facing a fourth-and-10 at the Hall 30, Standish dropped back to pass when Griffin Margolis came free up the middle and hit the quarterback as he was releasing the ball. The pass floated down field and Hall defenders managed to knock it out of bounds to give the ball back to the home team.

With 4:35 remaining in the game, the Titans took possession at their own 30. Following an incompletion on first down, Hussey ran for the first down. After a short completion on first down, Platt was called for too many players on the field and Hall now had first-and-10 at the Platt 29. After a Bracken run on first, Hall was called for holding on second down. Three plays later and Hall had managed to get to the 24 where it was now fourth down.

The Titans took a timeout and came out prepared to try the field goal. “There was no question in my mind that we would kick the field goal,” Markie said.

Before Noah Kabakoff got a chance to kick, Platt was called for offsides, moving the ball five yards closer. Kabakoff then banged home the field goal with 1:00 to go to put Hall back on top, 24-31.

“Before the timeout, I walked over to Noah and said, ‘You are going to kick the game-winning field goal,'” said Markie.

Game-winning field goal in @HallWHAthletics football vs Platt game Saturday captured on video by Bennett Forrest! #WestHartford #cthsfb pic.twitter.com/jtell7cVi1

— We-Ha.Com (@WeHartford) October 6, 2024

Platt had failed to use its timeouts to save clock time during the Hall drive, and they began their final drive at their own 30 with :53 to go. An incomplete pass on first was followed by a short run on second – and again Platt did not call a timeout. On third-and-5, it was Carlos Nunez and Margolis combing to stop the receiver just short of the first down marker. On fourth and one, Platt hit a square out for the first down with :20 to play at their own 45.

The Panthers decided to go for it all on first down and Standish dropped back to pass. Under pressure from the Hall defense, he let a long ball go down field into triple coverage and Griffin-Prado was there for the interception at the Hall 20.

The Titans ran out the clock and secured their first win on the season.

“The first two weeks we were in those games, then being 0-3 it was a little devastating,” Redden said after the game.

“A first win is always special,” said Markie the long-time assistant on winning his first as the head coach. “I am so proud of how hard they played today and all year.”

Hall has a bye next week and will be back at home hosting New Britain on Friday, Oct. 18, with kick-off at 7 p.m.

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