Huntingdon 54, Maryville (Tenn.) 3
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Hawks shook off the dust after
trailing by a field-goal for eight minutes in the first quarter
then went on a 54-point scoring spree. Maryville was able to steal
three points from the Hawks stingy defense with 8:16 to play in the
first quarter, after early mental mistakes from the Hawks
offense.
With the win, the Hawks (1-0) improve to 4-2 all-time against the
Scots (0-1), the Hawks are now 4-3 in season openers all-time.
"It is always nice to get a win against such a big
rival," head coach Mike Turk said. "This was a good way
for us to start our season, but we still have a long way to
go."
Maryville answered first when Andrew Noboa kicked a 25-yard
field-goal midway through the first quarter, after the Hawks gave
them good field position from an interception. "Our defense
did a great job holding the Scots to only a field-goal after we
gave Maryville great field position," said Turk.
Huntingdon found the end zone eight minutes after the Maryville
field-goal, as senior Tyler Young made a spectacular grab through
traffic in the back of the end zone, which capped off a four-play,
80-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass and 17 seconds to go
in the first quarter. The Hawks marched down the field behind
sophomore Nick Plagenhoef, who completed all four passes on the
drive for 80 yards before connecting with Young to put them on the
board. Plagenhoef finished his first-career start with 16-of-26 for
275 yards, including 3 touchdowns and two interceptions.
After stopping the Scots to begin the second quarter, Huntingdon
marched down the field for a 8-play drive that ended in a 2-yard
touchdown by running back Courtney Moss making the score 14-3 with
11:28 in the first-half.
One minute after the Hawks score, Maryville's punt was
blocked by the Hawks and senior Walker Gantt picked up the ball and
scored with 10:25 giving the home team a 21-3 lead in the second
quarter. "Our coverage was good on special teams and it
always helps when we can get a touchdown, but we've got to
clean up some sore spots in the kicking game," said head
coach Mike Turk.
Following a defensive holding call to extend Maryville's
drive, senior Quinn Hambrite intercepted Zach Dowdy's pass
and celebrated with his teammates in the endzone after a 28-yard
touchdown return. Hambrite's recorded his first-career
interception for a touchdown as a Hawk and extended the lead to
28-3, with 8:35 to go in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Scots opened up with a 13 play-drive for
52-yards, but Andrew Noboa failed to convert a 35-yard field
goal.
The Hawks went three-and-out on their first possession of the
second half, but Carl Sanders bobbled the ball before Maryville
blocked the punt and Kane Crowell recovered the ball at the Hawks
ten-yard line.
The Hawks defense continued to deny Maryville points. After a
fourth-down pass to Idlette was incomplete in the corner of the end
zone. "For the first game of the season our defense did a
great job of tackling today," Turk added. "The defense
came up big for the offense and made plays, and I'm very
pleased with the performance of our secondary. In particular, the
cornerbacks covered and played the ball well today, especially in
limiting Maryville's big play wide receiver Wesley
Idlette." The Hawks defense held Idlette to five catches for
30 yards.
Huntingdon's offense responded quickly after an illegal
substation backed the Hawks up on their own two yard-line.
Plagenhoef dropped back on the very next play and lead Cody Pearcy
into the Hawks record-book with a stunning 98-yard touchdown
reception extending the lead to 34-3.
Plagenhoef found Pearcy again two minutes later on a 10-yard
touchdown reception, capping a seven-play drive of 63 yards to make
the score 41-3.
On the day, the Hawks' ground game gained 345 yards on 40
carries. Austin Bennett and Caleb McCants scored the final two
touchdowns for the Hawks on six and eight yard carries,
respectively. Trevor Manuel led the charge with 135 yards on 9
carries, while freshman Caleb McCants recorded 120 yards rushing in
his first career game with the Hawks.
"We have more depth at the running back position and
we're working on getting all of our backs experience. They
took care of the ball and got a lot of yards after contact for us
today. I'm happy with the way they executed all three phases
of the game," said Turk.
For the game, junior Cody Pearcy, senior Brian Watts and sophomore
Trevor Manuel all caught at least three passes. Pearcy lead the air
attack with six receptions for 183 yards and two touchdowns,
including a school-record 98 yard touchdown pass from sophomore
Nick Plagenhoef with 6:42 to go in the third quarter. Senior Tyler
Young hauled in a nine-yard touchdown reception to put the Hawks in
the lead in the first quarter.
Defensively, junior Kirk Johnson led the team with 8 total
tackles, including 2.5 for loss and one pass break up. Newcomer,
Cornelius Jenkins posted 7 total tackles, with both defensive
linemen recording 5 total tackles. Senior Quinn Hambrite posted 6
total tackles, including his first career interception for a
touchdown with 8:35 to go in the second quarter.
The Scots were led by Dustin Williams on offense, as the
quarterback completed 16-of-29 passes for 119 yards. Williams
connected with each Wesley Idlette and Ryan Roach five times for a
total of 61 yards, while Blake Williams and Matt Likins combined
for seven catches on the day. Senior Demetrius Christian led the
defense with 8 total tackles.
Huntingdon will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 11, against
Louisiana College in Pineville, La. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
from Wildcat Stadium.
For more information on Huntingdon athletics visit
www.HuntingdonHawks.com.
