CHESTERFIELD – Messiah Smith and Dakarri Hollis played 7-on-7 football as teammates for five years before Hollis joined Smith in the Parkway North backfield this fall.
“We’ve been building a chemistry for a while,” Smith said.
On Friday, they produced a chain reaction of touchdowns.
Smith and Hollis combined to rush for 297 yards and four scores before connecting on the game-clinching touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter as Parkway North cruised to a 39-7 victory over Marquette on Friday at Marquette High School.
Parkway North (3-1), which snapped a three-game losing streak to Marquette, scored at least six touchdowns for the third consecutive game.
The Vikings’ offense started at absolute zero when a dropped pass, a sack and an incompletion produced a fourth-and-19 punt after their first three plays.
“The first drive, we didn’t come out prepared and it humbled us. We had to come back the next drive and show who we really are,” said Hollis, who threw for 137 yards and ran for 113.
Hollis threw a quick screen to Jordan Morgens-Clark that went for 32 yards, then cradled the ball himself on the next play for 23 more. A tough, four-yard touchdown run up the middle by Hollis became the catalyst for an explosive first half for the Vikings.
“When we came off the field after that first drive, we were a little disappointed because we thought that we stopped ourselves. It was nice to go out and respond the way we know we’re capable of,” Parkway North coach Karl Odenwald said.
On the next Vikings’ drive, junior Antoine Gunn juked defenders in the hole and picked up 31 yards, and Hollis found senior Colin Griffin twice, including a 22-yard strike that set up a second, short touchdown run for the senior quarterback.
Then, the Messiah Smith show began.
Early in the second quarter, Smith dashed through the line of scrimmage, pinballed off a linebacker, raced down the sideline and avoided a final defender’s dive for an electric 63-yard touchdown run.
He closed the third quarter with an almost identical 60-yard touchdown run down the right sideline that put the Vikings ahead 31-0.
“I have to do my part for this team and be a leader. If I do the things I do, it motivates everybody,” said Smith, who ran 12 times for 184 yards and two scores.
While Parkway North ate up large chunks of yardage on the ground, the Mustangs did not. Marquette (2-2) gained just 152 yards rushing on 35 carries and lost two fumbles.
“We get better defensively every week,” Odenwald said. “We’ve got tough-nosed kids who buy into the scheme and we have great coaches who put a gameplan together. Our defense, which a lot of people thought would be an Achilles’ heel, is a strength for us.”
Early in the fourth quarter, Vikings’ junior defensive end Tyler Baur snuffed out a screen pass and stepped in front of Marquette running back Devin Hollins for an interception to give Parkway North its fourth takeaway of the game.
“We’d been studying screens all week. I saw the running back coming out and I knew it was going to happen,” Baur said.
Then, Hollis and Smith showed their chemistry one final time. On fourth-and-8, Hollis rolled right, Smith ran a corner route and the two connected on a perfectly-timed, 31-yard scoring strike.
“He threw a beautiful ball. I just had to do my job to catch it,” Smith said.
And it may tough to catch Smith, Hollis and the Parkway North offense as it continues to gain continuity and confidence.
“We’re still connecting,” Hollis said. “When we really get it going, this will be one of the best offenses in the state.”
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