Dorial Green-Beckham and Hillcrest gain national TV victory

Hornets beat Seneca 48-26 on ESPNU

August 28, 2011|by Joe Hickman

Everyone knew that ESPNU's decision to move the Springfield Hillcrest-Seneca high school game from Friday to Saturday and air it on national television was to showcase the talents of Hillcrest's senior receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, rated by many as the top high school prospect in the country.

And despite the pressure on all the Hornets to perform well in the national spotlight, Hillcrest recovered quickly from a shaky start to dominate Seneca 48-26 at Joplin's Missouri Southern stadium.

With a large crowd from Hillcrest in attendance watching the first-ever nationally televised football game involving a Springfield public school, Green-Beckham caught 18 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns, including the game's first score in the first quarter. Senior quarterback Matt Futrell, after getting intercepted on the first play of the game, settled down afterwards to complete 28 of 47 passes for 471 yards and five touchdowns. And it was Futrell's arm that carried the Hornets to success as the running game struggled. And it wasn't just about Green-Beckham as every receiver that played for the Hornets caught at least one touchdown pass.

After Green-Beckham scored the first touchdown, Hillcrest's second touchdown was set-up by a 72 yard hook-up between Futrell and Juwan Johnson, as the sophomore stepped in front of a defender ready to intercept the pass and took off down to the Seneca three yard line. From there the Hornets scored to take a 14-6 lead and never let the Indians get any closer.

Before the first half was over, Futrell also connected on touchdown passes to tightend Levi Skinner and receiver Jonah Hill, and by the half Hillcrest had a commanding 27-6 advantage.

Up next, Hillcrest will play another high-profile game on Thursday at the Simmons First Classic which features 14 teams in seven match-ups over three nights at various locations. The Hornets are playing in one of three games on Thursday at Razorback Stadium on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, facing Rogers Heritage at 5:30 p.m. Lebanon also plays that day at Razorback Stadium, taking on Springdale Har-Ber at 8 p.m.

|

|

|