Page Hangs On For Road Win Over Mt. Juliet

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the best Mid-Tennessee matchups of Round Two lived up to the billing last night as the road Page Patriots walked into the Golden Bears Den and defeated Mt. Juliet, 42-39, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A Playoffs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Picking up the win wasn't easy for the Patriots as they had to fight, scratch and claw their way to victory but by the final whistle, the road team was headed to the next round with their championship hopes still alive.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game didn't start the way the Patriots wanted as Mt. Juliet came out inspired and ready to compete, scoring first and leading 10-0 before Page woke up and jumped back into contention.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After going scoreless in the 1st quarter, Page bounced back in the second to eventually take a 14-10 lead, spearheaded by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='305696' first='Colin' last='Hurd']</strong>, <strong>Caden Walker</strong> and the Patriots run game. By the 2nd quarter, the Page offensive line was starting to wear down the Golden Bears front seven and moving the ball down field easily with their rushing attack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/CSmithScout/status/1591244569445892101?s=20u0026t=FPrJrkjZGUhqM3POcfnk0g","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CSmithScout/status/1591244569445892101?s=20&amp;t=FPrJrkjZGUhqM3POcfnk0g </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The true moments that turned the tide into the Patriots favor was the disruptive play from sophomore edge linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219439' first='Eric' last='Hazzard'] </strong>when midway through the 2nd quarter, he blocked a punt that eventually led to seven points then on the next offensive play, he sacked Golden Bears quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219402' first='Tyler' last='Travers'],</strong> caused him to fumble where senior defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='211198' first='Jase' last='Hoath'] </strong>scooped it up for a defensive touchdown.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hazzard was an absolute beast in this game, displaying great pressure off the edge, flying to the ball on run downs while also making plays when his team needed it. He wasn't the only one as Hoath had a tremendous game working off the edge and junior O-lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='149171' first='Ronan' last='O'Connell'] </strong>was strong against the run.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Patriots looked to be sitting pretty headed into halftime but things quickly turned around at the start of the 2nd half. Trailing by eleven points, Mt. Juliet came out of the locker room on a mission as their special teams made a statement by blocking two punts in back to back offensive possessions for Page, scooping and scoring on both of them to take a 24-21 lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was exactly what the Golden Bears needed to get back in this game but from then on out, what we got was an offensive explosion of points from both teams that made the finish exciting.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After giving up the lead, Page bounced back quickly scoring two offensive touchdowns to put them back in front at 35-24 but they needed to maintain the pressure as Mt. Juliet wasn't going down without a fight.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Behind the arm of Travers, the Golden Bears offense quickly put themselves back in contention with two scores in the 4th quarter and down to within three points after a successful two point conversion on their final offensive touchdown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":512430,"width":451,"height":296,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/20221111_194323-scaled-crop-1421x933-1668379054.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-512430" width="451" height="296"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sitting at 42-39 with 2:25 to go, the game came down to the Page offensive picking a few first downs to milk the clock away or the Golden Bears making a quick stop to get the ball back but unfortunately for the home team, the Patriots would get those 1st downs and come away the victor.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was a hard fought win for the road team and a battle that should help Page moving forward as they have a huge rematch in the quarterfinals against rival Nolensville. For the Golden Bears, it was tough to lose and end the season but they fought their tails off and put together a very good 2022 campaign.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players of the Game&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- ‘25 (DE/LB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219439' first='Eric' last='Hazzard'] </strong>- Page: This sophomore edge rusher was a game changer in this contest who continued to build his stock as one of the top prospects from our #TN2025 recruiting class.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- (DE/TE) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='211198' first='Jase' last='Hoath'] </strong>- Page: On the other side of the D-line, Hoath produced a stellar game himself, consistently playing in the backfield and picking up a defensive touchdown along the way. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/CSmithScout/status/1591235502661054465?s=20u0026t=FPrJrkjZGUhqM3POcfnk0g","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CSmithScout/status/1591235502661054465?s=20&amp;t=FPrJrkjZGUhqM3POcfnk0g </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- ‘25 (QB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219402' first='Tyler' last='Travers'] </strong>- Mt. Juliet: Travers put forth one of his best games of the season against Page. He made several quick great decisions outside the pocket while pinpointing passes on several key 3rd downs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- (QB/LB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='305696' first='Colin' last='Hurd'] </strong>- Page: Mr. Everything for his Patriots team, Hurd was a major factor in his team's 2nd round win, delivering several key passes in the 2nd half and producing multiple punishing tackles on defense.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- (S) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='153474' first='Osize' last='Daniyan'] </strong>- Mt. Juliet: While Daniyan is suited in college at safety, it was his play on offense that puts him here as made several big catches throughout the game, especially in the 2nd half while making multiple key blocks that sprung to big runs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":512432,"width":521,"height":342,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/20221111_194201-scaled-crop-1509x991-1668379407.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-512432" width="521" height="342"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->