DOWN PAT: Hun School quarterback Patrick Holly prepares to throw a pass in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday at Peddie, junior star Holly shook off a second quarter injury to hit on 9-of-16 passes for 143 yards, helping Hun rally from a 14-0 third quarter deficit to pull out a 23-14 win. The victory improved Hun to 7-0 and extended its winning streak to 21. The Raiders wrap up the season by hosting Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) on November 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Patrick Holly got off to a rough start for the Hun School football team as it played at Peddie last Saturday in a Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) showdown.

The junior quarterback misfired on several passes as the Raiders found themselves down 7-0. Then late in the second quarter, Holly was driven into the turf on a sack, landing awkwardly on his shoulder and neck.

Getting helped off the field, Holly sat on the bench, appearing dazed and confused and possibly done for the day.

But after consulting with trainers and playing some catch during halftime, Holly returned to the fray in the third quarter.

“I went through some tests at half, started throwing the ball, felt pretty good,” said the 6’3, 197-pound Holly. “I knew I had to get back in there with my guys.”

After Hun fell behind 14-0 midway through the third quarter, Holly helped the team get back into the game, engineering an 80-yard scoring march, aided by two passes that bounced off Peddie defenders into the hands of Raider receivers. Josh Henderson scored on a one-yard run and added three two-point conversions to make it a 14-8 game.

“We had those two lucky plays, sometimes you just need luck in football and we got it,” said Holly, reflecting on the drive. “The momentum shifted after that.”

Later Holly led Hun on another march, which culminated when he pitched a lateral to lineman Fred Hansard on a fourth down play and the 304-pound behemoth rumbled 15 yards into the end zone as Hun went ahead 15-14.

“We just put it in this week,” said Holly. “The situation came up, fourth and medium and we just said hey why not do it. It is our last really big game and we just ran it.”

Hun sealed the deal with a 97-yard drive, ramming the ball down Peddie’s throat with Malcolm Brunson scoring on a two-yard run and Tucker Strycharz bulling in for a two-point conversion to make the final margin 23-14. The win improved the Raiders to 7-0 as they posted the team’s 21st straight win with Peddie dropping to 5-2.

In assessing the Hun rally, Holly said it was triggered by an intense will to win.

“They have a lot of really good players, getting down 14-0 was tough,” said Holly. “We came back in the second half and we just wanted it more than them.”

Holly, the son of former Princeton University star quarterback and NFL player Bob Holly, is having a really good time at Hun in his first year at the school, having transferred there from Bergen Catholic.

“I have been here all the time over the years,” said Holly. “My dad knows the area really well. It was a natural fit.”

Hun head coach Todd Smith was proud of the way Holly overcame adversity in the win.

“Patrick is a warrior, we followed the protocol and kept him out of the rest of the second quarter,” said Smith.

“We brought him back in and he came back in the second half and he took some lumps for us. It’s just a great way to finish the game.”

Battling back against a talented Peddie squad required some great execution and resilience on the part of the Raiders.

“The kids made plays, we capitalized off of some mistakes they made,” said Smith.

“At the end of the day, our kids just kept making plays. We can’t ask for more than that. They never gave up on each other, we just kept playing.”

One of the plays of the day, if not the year, was the throwback to Hansard.

“It is something we put in this week for him, we were so happy it worked,” said  a grinning Smith.

“Running it on fourth down was gutsy, we were excited about it. We practiced it a lot this week and it worked. It was the perfect time to call the play.”

Coming down the stretch of the contest, Hun outworked the Falcons in the trenches.

“I thought we took over in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, “ said Smith.

“There is no better way to end a drive than to go up an extra score when you are running the ball every down, going 97 yards for a TD.”

In Smith’s view, the defining quality of this year’s squad is its refusal to quit.

“I think we are a system; each team I have had here in my three years at Hun has been much different,” added Smith.

“This team is not like the team I had two years ago or the team I had last year. They just grind, we found a way. We were down 14-0 to Friendship Collegiate in Washington D.C. (a 20-14 win on October 1). We were down 14-0 today and the kids just kept responding.”

Holly, for his part, believes the Raiders can grind out one more win this fall when they host the Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) on November 6 in the season finale.

“It will be alright, we are expecting to win,” said Holly. “We are going to enjoy this one because it was a taxing win. It took a 100 percent effort from everyone. It was really tough.”