Collinsville rebounds from loss with strong second-half road performance against Tulsa Edison

By Mike Moguin 

Photo of Collinsville's Hudson Henslick, who scored two touchdowns on runs of 68 and 33 and one on a pass of 31 yards in the Cardinals' 42-21 win against Tulsa Edison Thursday night 

TULSA - After seeing its 21-game winning streak end at home last week, Collinsville returned to its winning ways as it put away Tulsa Edison, 42-21, Thursday night at LaFortune Stadium.

They also had to do it without a clock that was inoperable on the scoreboard. Only game officials were able to keep track as those outside the field could watch and guess.

Wide receiver Hudson Henslick only ran the ball three times, but all made a difference in two touchdown runs of 68 and 33 yards. He finished with three touchdowns for the Cardinals, as he also had one receiving for 31 yards.

Henslick also intercepted a pass on defense and made an onside kick recovery.

Blake Gilkey scored a pair of TDs, one in each category, and Zach Stein also had one TD on the ground.

But the win did not come easy.

Collinsville (8-1 overall, 5-1 in District 5A-4), which still harbors hopes for a district championship after last week's loss to undefeated Grove, led only 14-7 at halftime. The Cardinals struggled in the first half against an upset-minded Eagle squad led by the passing of Luke Parrish, combined with a ball-control offense, and a pair of Cardinal turnovers.

Edison (4-5, 2-4) almost scored first in the second quarter before turning the ball over on downs near the goal line.

This led to a halftime talk that led to Collinsville creating a firestorm in the third quarter.

“I told them in the first half we weren’t ready to play,” Cardinals’ coach Kevin Jones said. “We were sluggish, we were moving slow, we weren’t focused, it was just a really bad half of football and the guys just weren’t ready to go.

"Nothing against Edison, they played really well. Hat's off to them. But, we just settled down and came out in the second half and started executing and that did wonders.”

After Edison kicked off to start the second half, Collinsville took over possession at its 30-yard line following a 25-yard return.

Gilkey gained 2 yards on a handoff; then on the second play, Henslick found a hole and went through the Eagle defense for a 68-yard TD, making it 21-7.

“We didn’t play how we wanted in the first half,” Henslick said. “But coach (Jones) talked us up. We got on the board, we got things fixed and we were ready to come out and play in the second half.”

The Cardinals then made an onside kick, and after traveling further, Henslick recovered it at the Eagle 25-yard line.

Once again, it took just two plays to score.

Quarterback Kaden Rush threw an 18-yard pass to Stein. Then Gilkey marched in from 7 yards for the TD and it was 28-7, Collinsville.

After Edison went three-and-out, the Cardinals were on the move again, starting at their 36. A holding call pushed them back 5 yards, but Rush connected with Stein for a 19-yard pass to midfield.

Then came a 30-yard run from Jack Keith, followed by a 20-yard rush for a TD by Stein. Within a few minutes, the game from a close one-TD game turned into a 35-7 rout.

But Edison refused to give up and continued to play with a feisty attitude.

Parish led his team with three consecutive pass plays before scoring an 18-yard TD on a keeper. The score was 35-14 heading into the final period.

Defensive back Corey Rowland intercepted a pass off of Rush in the second play of the final quarter, taking it 50 yards to the Cardinal 18. The Eagles moved to the 3, where Parish hit DeKindrick Spears for a TD, making it 35-21.

The Cardinals would then respond with Henslick running to the outside, only to find another hole for an open 33 yards to the end zone and the last TD of the night.

Edison later moved the ball on the next drive out to the Collinsville 40, but time expired.

Parish finished with two TDs and 259 yards on 31-of-59 pass attempts.

The Cardinals got on the board first in the second quarter as Rush hit Henslick with a forward pass. Henslick then circled around Edison defenders to his left toward the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown reception.

The Eagles answered back on the next drive as Parish drove the team from their 27-yard line to the Collinsville 30 with his passing, where he threw a game-tying TD to Rowland, a junior wide receiver.

Collinsville struck back. After Gilkey took the ensuing kickoff 40 yards to his own 46, he would later catch a pass from Rush before taking it in for a 13-yard score, giving the 20th-ranked Cardinals a 14-7 lead.

Edison would not give up, as they got out to the Collinsville 43. But the first half-clock expired.