Last Wednesday, Parkland quarterback Devante Cross celebrated his 18th birthday, the point in one’s life that enters a boy into adulthood.

Two days later, Cross flexed every muscle of his 6-2 frame when the Trojans needed it most.

Cross accounted for 291 total yards (171 rushing) and four touchdowns in Parkland’s 63-21 win over Wyoming Valley West on Friday night of the District 2/11 Class AAAA Subregional Championship. The senior quarterback, after throwing a 101-yard pick-six to the Spartans’ Sean Judge that tied the game at 14-14 early in the second quarter, scored the next two touchdowns to regain control.

Then, between a defensive score and a Hail Mary situation as the halftime whistle sounded, the Trojans (12-1) added three more touchdowns over the final 4:17 of the first half that boosted their lead to a commanding 49-14 advantage at the break.

“We put in scorer team with Hail Mary,” said Cross. “What happened was, I threw it and it slipped on me, that’s why it was short. Kenny [Yeboah] caught it and there was nothing he could do. He saw our teammate Zach Bross just standing there. Kenny just threw it to him, and Zach just ran it in. That was a great play for us to end the half.”

That was the fourth play of their drive, and Cross just wanted to give his favorite target a fighting chance as he let it fly from near midfield. The Trojans were able to one-up those plans.

“He [Yeboah] did that on his own,” head coach Jim Morgans said. “We wanted to get the ball down deep to him and see if we had something. He did that on his own. He’s a heck of an athlete.”

Instead of letting that game-tying interception haunt him, it only seemed to fuel Cross’ fire moving forward.

Not even two minutes later, Cross capped a six-play Trojan drive with a 15-yard scoring scamper. A quick three-and-out for Wyoming Valley West sent the ball back over Parkland’s way. On their next play from scrimmage, it was Cross taking the shotgun snap 77 yards up the left sideline that would begin a scoring avalanche for the No. 2 seeded Trojans.

“Look I threw a pick-six, big whoop,” Cross said of his mindset after that interception. “Congratulations, that was a great play made by him. We have to come back out and still play football. That pick-six was in the past and we have to move forward.”

“I got great blocks from the offensive line,” added Cross about his 77-yard touchdown. “And then Erik DiGirolamo and Zach Bross made great blocks on the outside. I just used my athleticism to run.”

Morgans was quick to acknowledge the offensive line’s presence in helping Parkland run for 382 yards on the night. Erik DiGirolamo, who scored Parkland’s first touchdown not even four minutes into regulation, ran for 108 on 15 totes.

“We’re real happy with our offensive line,” Morgans said. “We have three of those kids coming back, too. Those kids spend a lot of time in the weight room.”

After Cross’ back-to-back rushing touchdowns gave Parkland a 28-14 advantage, Noel Brouse intercepted a pass from Spartan quarterback Aaron Austin on the first play of their ensuing drive. Exactly 14 seconds after their previous touchdown and 30 yards later, Brouse’s pick-six made it a 35-14 game. Austin left that game on that play as well with an injury and did not return.

“That’s his second one,” Morgans said. “He had one against Del Val.”

“Our defense played great all night,” Cross said. “We gave up that first score and that was it. That pick-six is on me. It was another great testament to our defense and how hard they work.”

Justin Lessel recovered a squib kick on the ensuing kickoff for the Trojans. Four plays into their next drive, Cross found a leaping Yeboah in the right side of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown.

“Things just kind of snowballed,” Morgans said. “That wasn’t an onside kick...the kid just mishandled the ball. Sometimes it’s good to be lucky.”

“We settled down and we knew what we had to do,” Cross said. “That’s what we did. We came out here and played our football.”

That miraculous Hail Mary play ensued, ending the night for most of Parkland’s starters after Jahan Worth recovered a Spartan fumble on their first play of the second half and returned it 28 yards to the house

“At first, we were still going to come out and keep it rolling,” Cross said. “This team, they can score a lot of points in a hurry. They’re a really good football team, so we didn’t think the game was over.”

Parkland advances to Friday’s PIAA quarterfinals round where it faces District 12’s Lasalle College at Northeast High School in Philadelphia.

“It’s another year, another chance shooting at one of those Philly Catholic teams,” Cross said. “This year we want to beat them.”