Brookwood makes playoffs with win over Parkview

By Jeff Haws

For the AJC

After being down by two touchdowns early, Parkview made its charge to even the score.But Brookwood had an answer of its own, and the Panthers offense had nothing left in the tank.

Ben McLane’s 47-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Nick Moore put Brookwood back in front in the fourth quarter, and another late score sealed it in the Broncos’ 28-14 win over rival Parkview.

The victory earns Brookwood the fourth and final playoff spot out of Region 8-AAAAA, while Parkview misses the postseason for the first time since 1993, coach Cecil Flowe’s first year leading the team. The Broncos will travel to No. 6 McEachern to open the playoffs Friday.

The momentum was all on Parkview’s side, though, when the Panthers (5-5, 4-4) scored with 3:44 left in the third quarter to complete the comeback and tie the game 14-14.

Following a Brookwood punt, Parkview started its next drive at its own 38, looking for a go-ahead score that could tilt the game in its favor.

That was when the Broncos defense stiffened, though, holding the Panthers to 22 fourth-quarter yards and -- most important -- zero points.

That meant the Brookwood offense simply needed to put something on the board, and when Moore wandered down the left sideline all alone, the Broncos (6-4, 5-3) did just that.

Also providing dividends for the Broncos was the running of Julian Suber, who had 29 carries for 148 yards and the game-clinching score, a 23-yarder with 4:57 left in the fourth.

The senior had 54 of his yards in the fourth quarter, showing his legs weren’t wearing out despite the heavy workload as he worked his way back from an injury.

“I think good tailbacks get better as the game goes along,” Crews said. “They find the tempo of the game and kind of find where the cracks are and are able to take advantage of that in the second half. That’s what we missed for the last five or six weeks while he’s been hurt.”

McLane finished 10-of-15 for 127 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Parkview quarterback Kalik Barnes was 16-of-26 for 170 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.