In the world of sports all good and bad streaks eventually come to an end. Friday night at Harmon an epic streak ended in grand fashion as junior Braylon Johnson caught the winning TD pass with just under a minute remaining in the game.
Thirty-one games over the course of four years this team was the doormat but Friday night the Hawks pulled the rug out from under their opponent, showing an incredible amount of poise.
The team who lost to Highland Park last year 60-28 had the look of just another Friday at Harmon late in the third quarter. Highland Park had just scored another TD making the score 26-8 when the Hawks simply decided that enough was enough.
The last football victory for Harmon was in 2011 vs. Wyandotte 14-6. I remember this squad well as senior wide receiver Darrin Hawkins, running back Isaiah Ming and quarterback Terrance Simmons all made our original All KCK Preps team. There were high hopes for this core group and I remember at the end of the season saying a rebuilding effort was coming but who would have known how long of a process it would be.
In the 31 games since that victory the Hawks have been outscored 1547-250. Let that number settle in for a bit. That means on average you are losing week to week by 41 points. Head Coach Steve Jackson however stayed committed to this job and continued to build up to this moment. Jackson despite the limited number of players pressed forward.
The announcement at the start of 2014 that Harmon would be classified as a 6A team was yet another gut punch for the Hawks. Shawnee Mission East dealt the biggest blow in this streak with an 83-0 loss. Despite all that the coaching staff stuck by these players and stayed the course. The administration at Harmon looked past the losses and understood the job Jackson was doing developing these young men.
Harmon lost their opener to Desoto 56-0. This past week the Hawks trailed by 18 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. In one 14-minute stretch, perseverance and persistence came together to spark a 22-0 run by the Harmon Hawks. Harmon had only scored 22 points or more in a game five times in the 31 game streak but none of that mattered as these young men sent a shot heard across the city.
Harmon could go the rest of the season without another victory and nothing will diminish this win for the school, coaches and players. This week Harmon is the story at SHUKC, Braylon Johnson has the play of the game and the Hawks are the team of the week.
