Hayes to Zysek times 3: Flagler Palm Coast quarterback throws school-record six touchdowns, three to his favorite receiver, in win over Spruce Creek

Quarterback Hayden Hayes and receiver Mikhail Zysek have been developing a connection since Hayes arrived on campus during the summer.

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From the time quarterback Hayden Hayes transferred to Flagler Palm Coast during the summer, he and receiver Mikhail Zysek began developing a connection.

Before the home game against Spruce Creek on Oct. 25, the two seniors got on the field early and threw the ball around, making sure they were in the right mindset, Hayes said.

It didn’t take long for the pair to hook up in the game. One minute and 13 seconds in, Zysek made a diving catch in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown reception from Hayes. Zysek hauled in two more touchdowns in the game and Hayes heaved a school-record six touchdown passes in all as the Bulldogs defeated the Hawks 50-39 in a District 2-7A shootout.

Hayes also broke the single-season school record. He now has 25 touchdown passes in eight games.

It was the second game in a row that Zysek caught three touchdown passes from Hayes.

“Oh, don't even get me started on Hayden Hayes. I love him through and through,” Zysek said. “He's playing amazing. He came here and he took us from a team last year (that went) 4-6. They predicted us this year to not be good again and you see what happens when a team comes together and they play like a brotherhood.”

The Bulldogs improved to 7-1 with two games to play. They host Flagler county rival Matanzas in the annual Potato Bowl game on Friday, Nov. 1, and then finish the regular-season with another home game on Thursday, Nov. 7, against DeLand.

FPC entered the game against Creek ranked fourth in Region 1-7A. If the Bulldogs can maintain that position or move up they will host a first-round playoff game on Nov. 15.

Hayes finished the game with 362 yards passing and six touchdowns with no interceptions. Zysek caught six passes for 187 yards. In addition to his 28-yard touchdown reception, he caught scoring passes of 21 and 76 yards.

“They have a great connection. It’s been like that all year,” FPC offensive coordinator Jake Medlock said of the duo. “They work extra after every practice. Even in the summer when (Hayes) got here, they worked extra. They found a connection, and as you can tell, it's still there.”

Hayes also threw touchdown passes to Braylyn Simmons (66 yards), Roman Caliendo (16 yards) and Marcus Mitchell (5 yards) in the win.

“Obviously, he and Zysek are on a hot streak right now,” FPC head coach Daniel Fish said. “But Hayden trusts everybody and he'll throw the ball to everybody. I'm proud of him, and I'm proud of our guys for stepping up and making plays, because I think he threw great balls all night, but our guys had to make some tough catches with some tough coverage as well.”

Medlock said once Hayes arrived on campus after transferring from Seabreeze, he worked hard to learn the offense.

“I’m so proud of him and the way he’s picked my brain to understand the offense,” Medlock said. “The way our offense is moving, as long as we got (number) 2 back there, we’re going to do some special stuff.”

The Bulldogs' game plan included opening with an onside kick. When Spruce Creek (5-3) won the coin toss and elected to receive, the plan was in motion. The onside kick caught the Hawks by surprise, and the Bulldogs recovered the ball to set up the first Hayes-to-Zysek touchdown. They went up 14-0 on their next possession on Simmons’ long touchdown reception.

Garrett Tucker added a 35-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs up 17-0 early in the second quarter before the Hawks finally got on the scoreboard. FPC led 23-14 at the half.

“We put a lot of time into our Sunday game plan meeting, and we felt like we had a great game plan on both sides of the ball,” Fish said. “We said we’re going to attack them early and we're going to show them some stuff we haven't shown before. We started off with the onside kick. We knew they wouldn't be ready for that. We hadn't shown it all year.”

In the second half, the teams traded scores until the Hawks scored two unanswered touchdowns to pull to within three points at 36-33 with 5:20 left in the game.

But Hayes hit Zysek with a 76-yard bomb on the Bulldogs’ next possession, and Colby Cronk recovered a Hawks’ fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, sealing the victory.

“We knew it was going to be a shootout, and we just got to keep scoring,” Zysek said. “And we kept scoring.”

Marcus Mitchell added 115 yards rushing on 28 carries. Cronk had 3.5 sacks. Grant Winkler intercepted a pass.

“I’m just proud of our kids and our coaching staff,” Fish said. “We knew it was going to be tough, and we knew it was going to be back and forth. There were times where they pushed it really close, and they got real competitive with us and we didn't bow down, we didn't fold. We rose up to the challenge and we threw punches right back at them and landed a couple big blows there in the second half that kind of put them away.”

 

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