Duke Butler ran for 163 yards and one touchdown and quarterback Eric Nelson accounted for 218 yards of total offense and two more scores as the Viera Hawks recorded a 44-22 road win over Tohopekaliga (2-2) on Friday night.
Trailing 20-7 at halftime, quarterback Sabby Meassick opened the third quarter by leading the Tigers on a 13-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a 19-yard pass to Tre Punter to cut the gap to 20-14. On the ensuing Hawk possession, Viera had a fourth and five at midfield. Nelson first attempted to draw the Tigers offsides but eventually took the snap and handed off to Butler, who bowled over three defenders to pick up the first down on what may have been the play of the game. Butler eventually scored on a 15-yard run to make it 27-14.
Tohopekaliga drove the ball to midfield on its next possession before Dimitri Jean intercepted his second pass of the game. From there, Butler picked up 27 yards on two carries before Nelson found Shaun Hartman over the middle for a 43-yard touchdown.
The Hawks' ability to make big plays and capitalize on Tiger mistakes led to the win. Although they missed an opening drive field goal, the Hawks intercepted Meassick on his third play from scrimmage and scored two plays later on a 39-yard pass from Nelson to Hartman.
On Toho’s next possession, a Meassick pass bounced off a receiver’s hands and was picked off Dimitri Jean, who raced 60 yards for a score and a 14-0 lead. Meassick led the Tigers the length of the field and cut the gap to 14-7 on a 19-yard scoring pass to Punter, but Dominick Maxwell added Viera field goals of 30 and 22 yards.
Maxwell put the game out of reach with a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter when a Meassick pass went through a receivers’ hands and William McClure intercepted it and returned it 73-yards down the right sideline for a ‘pick-six.’
Meassick capped the scoring on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tayshaun Dillard late in the fourth quarter.
There were some positives in the game for Tohopekaliga. The Tigers, who came into the game with just over 100 rushing yards through three games, saw both Xaevez Brown and Gavin Aponte combine for close to 150 yards on the ground. Punter caught six passes for 81 yards and two scores; while Meassick was 22 of 43 for 240 yards and three touchdowns.
“We played hard and did some things well tonight but we made too many mistakes to win the game,” Tigers coach Anthony Paradiso said. “We had breakdowns in the secondary and gave up two touchdowns over the top and the two pick sixes, regardless of how they happened, were killers. All we can do and go back to work this week and try to get better.”
Tohopekaliga opens district play next Thursday at Harmony (3-2), who lost to Lake Howell on Friday, 26-10.
