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He’s not too bad on the offensive side of the ball either.

Hollowell scored three touchdowns and added a two-point conversion Friday night, helping the Vikings to a 27-26 victory over Colonel Richardson in a Class 1A East Region first-round playoff game.

Seventh-seeded Cambridge-SD (4-6) plays at No. 3 seed Perryville (6-4) next Friday in the second round.

“We tried to give it away,� Burnham said after the Vikings had notched their fourth win in five games.

Cambridge-SD took its biggest lead of the game at 21-12, when Hollowell bolted five yards up the middle for a touchdown, then ran in the ensuing two-point conversion with 9 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the game.

The second-seeded Colonels (7-3) answered less than 3 minutes later, as quarterback Bradley Thomas squeezed across the goal line over from the 1-yard line, drawing Colonel within 21-18. Derrick Mitchell swept around left end on the two-point attempt, but was stopped by three Vikings, including Hollowell.

Hollowell returned the ensuing kickoff to the Colonel 37-yard line. But on first down, the reliable Sterling Perkins fumbled and Colonel recovered. Cambridge-SD though got the ball back three plays later, when Tamyron Evans intercepted Thomas.

The Vikings took over on their own 42. Colonel was hit with a facemask penalty against Cambridge-SD quarterback TJ Wilson on first down, moving the ball to the Colonels’ 40. On the next play, Wilson ran left and zipped down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown run, pushing the Vikings lead to 27-18 with 4:32 left. The extra-point attempt banged off the left upright.

“TJ’s a very athletic kid,� Burnham said. “He hadn’t played quarterback since he was in sixth grade. To come out and play the way he has the last several games really shows a lot. He was making some plays and then he was not making some plays. But TJ came up big for us when we needed him.�

Cambridge-SD looked ready to take over on downs with Colonel facing a fourth-and-seven from its own 40. But Thomas launched a pass that Ja’zir Dickerson made a bobbling, leaping grab on before spinning and racing into the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown play. Mitchell ran in the two-point conversion, trimming the Vikings lead to 27-26 with 2:52 remaining in the game.

Cambridge-SD’s Semaj Pinder recovered the ensuing onsides kick at the Colonel 47 with 2:51 left. Hollowell picked up six yards on back-to-back plays for a first down. Wilson ran for 13. Hollowell was then sprung for a 21-yard pickup inside the Colonel 5. A tripping penalty against the Colonels nudged the ball to the 1. But Wilson took a knee three times to kill the remaining clock.

“Super proud of our offensive line and their play tonight,� Burnham said. “We did a nice job running in the box. We lived and died tonight on inside zone. I’m super proud of my kids and their play.�

Colonel, which came in on a seven-game win streak, took a 6-0 lead with 7:31 left in the first quarter, when Dickerson intercepted a Wilson pass across the middle, then found a open sideline, racing 90 yards for a touchdown.

It took the Vikings less than 2 minutes of clock to pull even at 6-all, as Hollowell found a crease on the left side and sprinted 18 yards for a touchdown. Cambridge-SD lined up for the extra point, but Perkins handled the snap then ran left but was stopped.

Hollowell stung Colonel again 1:55 into the second quarter, when he burst through the middle and blazed 55 yards for a touchdown. Collin Bair’s point-after kick made it 13-6, a lead the Vikings would carry into halftime.

“Jayden is our best defender and he stepped up today and played super well at running back when his number was called,� Burnham said. “We had a cramp on number one (Perkins) and he (Hollowell) had a great kick return to give us great field position to go down and score. He has a ton of burst.�

Thomas scored on a 1-yard sneak to complete a 10-play, 59-yard march that got Colonel within 13-12 with 7:20 to go in the third quarter.