On a frigid November evening in 2018, undefeated Parkview squared off against a 9-2 Archer squad with a trip to the 7A state quarterfinals on the line. The host Panthers trailed by five with under three minutes remaining until an 86-yard scamper by running back Cody Brown put Parkview up one. Just about a minute later, Archer quarterback Carter Peevy connected with Braylen Weems to set the Tigers up within the five, after which running back Semaje Banks barreled in for the go-ahead score. Down 36-29, Parkview needed one successful drive to keep their playoff hopes alive. Facing fourth and 8, quarterback Jordan Williams fired a pass over the middle to standout receiver Malik Washington, who snagged the ball at the Archer 49-yard line and stumbled backwards to midfield. First down.
Except it wasn’t, according to the referees.
The officials spotted the ball at midfield, ruling Washington short and turning the ball over on downs back to Archer, who sealed the second round victory with a kneel down. The undefeated season for Parkview was over. But what if Washington had been given the first down?
Parkview running back Cody Brown commits to Miami Hurricanes #GwinnettFB https://t.co/VPbwzh2Qsb pic.twitter.com/uySKfOC7tn
— Gwinnett Daily Post (@GDPsports) March 9, 2021
With a timeout to spare and no evidence of impactful defense in the past three minutes of the game, Parkview could have scored the game-winning touchdown, maybe on a pass to Washington himself. This would have kept the Panthers at home against Tift County, an at-large bid whom they had already beat that season on the road. As the overwhelming favorites, the Panthers would have likely won and advanced to face Colquitt County in the state semifinals.
Defeating the Packers on the road is almost impossible to do; however, Parkview wasn’t any ordinary team in 2018. They had gone undefeated and knocked off both Lowndes and Milton, the latter being 2018’s eventual state champion. The Panthers had an explosive rushing attack, and Colquitt County had just given up 252 yards on the ground to McEachern in the second playoff round at home.
All the best to #ArcherNation @Archer_Sports @Archerteam7 @RedZone2k15 – Time to go on the prowl. #GwinnettFB pic.twitter.com/laR9baYCqo
— ???? ????? (@bjaj1) November 28, 2015
Additionally, Parkview had success in the turnover battle: the Panthers only turned the ball over five times all year while forcing 15 interceptions. Colquitt County had turned it over 18 times until that point. While the odds would be in the Packers favor, Parkview still had a fighting chance. And had they somehow won that game (like Archer almost did in reality), they would have faced Milton in the state championship, a team they had already defeated 37-35. The prospect of Parkview’s first state title since 2002 seemed too real.
However, all this will never be known. The underlying fact was that the officials’ ruling in the Parkview-Archer thriller ended any hopes for a Panther state title very early in the playoffs. We won’t ever know how that 2018 season would have ended had Parkview somehow pulled out the victory. The only question that can be asked is “what if?”
