Hamblin returns blocked FG and onside kick for TDs to spark big Syracuse win at Weber
-
- Syracuse High’s Sam Pula (53) and Jayden Perry (23) celebrate a sack during a prep football game at Weber High School on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022.
-
- Syracuse High’s Levi Stowe (left) and Brevin Hamblin (right) tackle Weber’s Nakosi Swain during a prep football game Friday, Sept. 9, 2022.
PLEASANT VIEW — Brevin Hamblin is listed at 6-foot-5 on Syracuse High’s football roster.
The senior safety could’ve been 5-foot-10 and he still would’ve blocked Weber kicker Jayce Jones’ field goal; he got that far through the blockers.
What happened next changed the course of Friday’s Syracuse-Weber football game.
Hamblin scooped up the ball and returned the blocked kick more than 80 yards for a touchdown, which gave an at-the-time sputtering Syracuse team a 21-3 lead instead of perhaps a 14-6 lead had the field goal gone in.
It was the boost the Titans needed in their Region 1 opener at Weber, which they eventually won in dominating fashion 42-17. Everyone knew it was the turning point of the game.
For good measure, and likely for a spot in some record book somewhere, Hamblin returned a Weber onside kick for a TD late in the fourth quarter to give Syracuse its final scoreline.
He’d never once returned either a blocked field goal or an onside kick for touchdowns, let alone both in the same game.
“It’s a feeling you can’t describe, I feel like it’s in the moment, you get that ball and you just gotta go,” Hamblin said.
“I probably will coach another 30 years and never see that again,” Syracuse coach Mike Knight said.
After an 0-2 start with two close losses, Syracuse has won its last three games by double digits while Weber has lost all five games this year by double digits.
In particular, the second half was a bountiful harvest for the Titans (3-2, 1-0 Region 1). After the blocked field goal touchdown, Syracuse eventually took over and quarterback Jake Hopkins lofted a 34-yard pass to DJ Mayes to the 1-yard line. Jake Metcalfe punched in a 1-yard TD run the next play for a 28-3 lead.
Riggin Hamblin intercepted Weber (0-5, 0-2) quarterback Aidan Carter on the Warriors’ ensuing play and then Hopkins found a jumping Mayes in the near corner of the end zone for a touchdown and a 35-3 lead early in the third quarter.
The first few drives of the game all went Syracuse’s way. Sam Pula and a host of defenders sacked Carter to force a punt from near the end zone, then SHS running back Kobe Bennett ran for a 9-yard score a few players after the Titans got the ball.
Another defensive stop yielded another Syracuse touchdown drive. Mayes caught a 10-yard pass to convert a fourth-down play, then Bennett ran for a 14-yard TD the next play for a quick 14-0 lead.
“I’ve been more confident since those first two weeks, I’ve been feeling better and the ball’s getting caught,” Mayes said.
Weber upped its play slightly and Syracuse ran into penalty issues.
The Titans’ bench was called for two sideline warnings in the first half and the team overall got whistled for several first-half flags that doused good drives. At one point, Syracuse had a second-and-48 late in the second quarter.
“We lost our cool a little bit and had a few penalties, that’s everybody included, but I felt like we just couldn’t get out of our own way on a few things,” Knight said.
Jayce Jones — who kicked a 50-yard, game-winning field goal in this game last year — hit from 35 yards to put Weber on the board. Weber’s defense forced a Syracuse field goal and it went wide, keeping the eventual halftime score at 14-3.
The Titans seemed stuck in the mud throughout the second quarter and the first part of the third until Hamblin’s touchdown injected life back into Syracuse.
“It was game-changing because we came out, they stopped us, we had the snap over our heads and they had the momentum,” Hamblin said.
Weber did get two consolation touchdowns in the fourth quarter, starting with Carter’s well-placed pass to Crash Coggins in the back of the end zone, followed by a quick throw to freshman Salesi Moa for the 2-point conversion.
Later, Nakosi Swain ran for a 2-yard TD to cut the score to 35-17, which was followed by Brevin Hamblin’s onside kick return TD.
Overall, Friday was a tough sled for the Warriors’ offense, which surrendered several sacks and couldn’t consistently move the ball.
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.