It was a hit that certainly wasn't easy to watch and the fact that it happened in a high school contest almost made it worse.
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Mililani and Wainae played in a heated contest under the Friday night lights in Hawaii high school football action at Aloha Stadium, and for all intents and purposes, it was a great game for Mililani, which won the game 42-6 in 2017. With that said, a play early on in the contest stood out for all the wrong reasons, and unfortunately, it overshadowed the Trojans' big win.
Mililani quarterback Dillon Gabriel (who is now the UCF Knights quarterback) dropped back in the first quarter and targeted wideout Ryan Chang up the sideline, who completely beat his man-on coverage and looked to have a seam. It was a good throw from Gabriel and Chang did have a step or two on his defender, but he never saw the safety, Sam Freeney, coming over the top and closing on the route, and the wide receiver.
What resulted was one of the nastiest hits you'll see in any level of football, NFL included. Freeney launched himself helmet first at Chang and considering the momentum of both players, the collision was monumental.
Not only did Freeney lead with the crown of his helmet, but he struck the wideout in the head as well.
Keep in mind, this is hard to watch.
Massive Targeting Hit Earns Ejection in Hawaii
Waianae get action pic.twitter.com/MT3jMQRDfQ
— mariaaa 🌈 (@godsbaddest) October 21, 2017
According to prep sports reporter Kalani Takase, Chang was able to walk off the field under his own power, which is truly a miracle considering the severity of the hit.
Chang is up and walks off on his own power. The guilty party, Sam Freeney, has been ejected from the game for targeting.
— Kalani Takase (@SLKalani) October 21, 2017
Freeney was immediately flagged and ejected, which was more than warranted.
This post was originally posted on October 21, 2017.
