South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Hurst-Lewis connection leads Western to first-round victory
DAVIE — Sometimes a performance forces you to leave the real world and enter a fictional realm to find a comparison. For example, Western coach Adam Ratkevich drew from the Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso to find someone to compare to quarterback Collin Hurst.
“He’s Collin freakin’ Hurst, man. That kid’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere,” Ratkevich said, referring to an in-show cheer for legendary player Roy Kent.
Hurst, who said he has seen Ted Lasso, was the star of the show on Friday night, completing 13 of
19 passes for 240 yards and five touchdowns and leading the Wildcats to a 43-7 win over Stoneman Douglas in the Class 8A regional quarterfinals in Davie. Western will face Miami Columbus in the regional semifinals next week.
“It feels great,” Hurst said. “It’s a great confidence boost, but we still have a lot of work to do because Columbus is a great opponent and we obviously have some unfinished business.”
Western got on the board in the first quarter when Hurst threw his first touchdown pass: a
17-yard toss to Tyreik Thorpe. But Stoneman Douglas took the lead soon after when running back Matthew Wilson scored from 25 yards out. Wilson, who scored the only Eagles’ touchdown, finished the game with 92 rushing yards om 16 carries.
Even with Wilson’s 92 rushing yards, Western kept Douglas off the board for the remainder of the game.
“Our brand really, when we took over, was the Davie Strong, which we built in the weight room and we built it on defense when ... with that Black Shirt Defense,”
Ratkevich said. “It really was the brand for a long time. Everybody in South Florida really identified us with that, and I think they still should. It’s to your peril not to pay attention to them.”
The Wildcats wouldn’t let the Eagles savor their lead for long. On Western’s next play, Hurst threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Julian Lewis. Hurst and Lewis connected twice more for touchdowns, including a one-handed grab in the end zone.
“It’s just chemistry between me and my quarterback,” Lewis
said. “We work on this every day. We master it in practice. If we’re not doing it in practice, you’re not going to do it in the game.”
Lewis finished the game with 124 receiving yards and three touchdowns on five catches.
“Juju’s unbelievable,” Ratkevich said. “I’ve had some great ones. I’ve been doing this a long time down here. And Julian’s as good as they come. I haven’t had anybody really shut that kid down all year.”
Along with Thorpe’s early score and Lewis’ three touchdowns, the Wildcats got a touchdown from
running back Nelson Walker. Hurst threw his fifth touchdown pass to tight end Nicholas Watson to start a running clock and seal Western’s win.
Western will get the chance for some payback next week when they host Columbus. The Explorers ended the Wildcats’ season in the regional finals in 2019.
“There’s unfinished business until you put a ring on your finger, right?” Ratkevich said. “You’re still chasing it. They got there’s, and hopefully, God willing, we get a chance at ours.”