For three quarters, it looked as if the Parkland football team and its seniors would be playing in their final game of the 2017 season. But just as champions do, the Trojans fought until the very end and came for the win.

Facing adversity for the first time and trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter, it looked as if Liberty was about to come away with an upset win in the second consecutive week after beating Freedom to end the regular season. But top seed Parkland scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Hurricanes 36-23 in the District 11 Class 6A quarterfinal last Friday night at Parkland School District Stadium.

“When we were in the locker room, I asked the guys if they wanted this to be our last game together,” said senior running back Jahan Worth. “It could have very well been. The guys took that to heart and really came out ready to play and play our game. It was just the little things we needed to do to win.”

The Trojans (11-0 overall) trailed for most of the game, and were outplayed for a majority of the contest.

Down 23-14 with 11 minutes left in the game, Worth rushed for three fourth-quarter touchdowns to spark the Trojans’ comeback.

Worth had a game-high 124 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

“I wanted the ball,” Worth said. “I thought that if anybody on offense was going to get the ball, that it should be me. I have a special connection with all of the offensive linemen and we just take care of business. Our mentality is that we’re going to score on every possession, and we all work our tails off to do so. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Trojan quarterback Michael Ruisch threw for 225 yards and connected with mainly three targets. Tyler Hays (eight receptions, 128 yards), Cole Wetherhold (five catches, 55 yards) and Nick Johnston (four receptions, 41 yards) all gave the Hurricanes secondary fits all night.

Liberty (4-7) did not back down from the five-time defending district champion Trojans.

The Hurricanes went into halftime in front 16-14 behind running back Nasir Legree (120 yards).

Quarterback Todd Erney (189 yards passing) was successful with both his arms and his legs. When he connected with Jaden Vazquez for a 28-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, Liberty went up 23-14 and took that lead into the fourth quarter.

But Parkland responded by scoring on all three of its possessions in the fourth quarter via Worth touchdown runs, and the defense did not allow another first down until the game was already decided.

“There were some times in the game where my head was down and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen,” said Worth. “I wasn’t sure what the outcome was going to be because Liberty was coming strong. They were ready for us and they came after us.

“But after that [first fourth-quarter] touchdown that we scored, all the linemen came over and I saw the excitement coming around. We just rallied off of that.”

Parkland’s season lives on as it now takes on Easton Friday night at Parkland School District Stadium in the district semifinals.