Hawks Beat NAIA 's 17th Ranked Webber International, 35-23
Huntingdon scored 14-points off of Webber International turnovers, including a forced fumble by D.J. Chappel and Cornelius Jenkins' blocked punt for a touchdown. Taylor Hughes made the most of his first collegiate start, by throwing for two touchdowns and running one for a score.
"I'm proud of the way our guys stayed focused and played hard to get a win today," said head coach Mike Turk.
Webber International jumped up 7-0 in the first quarter, with a ten-play 62 yard drive. Taylor Atwood led the Warriors to the endzone, by diving in from two-yards out after eight minutes of action.
The Hawks responded on the next drive, behind the arm of freshman quarterback Taylor Hughes. Hughes capped off the eight-play 80 yard drive, with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Cody Pearcy. Corey Robertson converted the extra-point to tie the game 7-7, with just under five to play in first quarter.
The Warriors started the next drive on their 11 yard line, after a delay of game penalty. On the next play, D.J. Chappell ripped through the offensive line to force Warrior's quarterback Torrance Moise to fumble, while Kirk Johnson recovered the ball on the 16 yard line for the Hawks.
Huntingdon capitalized off the turnover two-plays later, when Taylor Hughes ran 6-yards for the score. The Hawks took the 14-7 lead with the score, and didn't trail again in the game.
Webber International's next drive was halted on a third-and-long, when D.J. Chappell sacked Moise for a 6-yard loss. The Warriors responded when Deivon Tate intercepted a Taylor Hughes pass midfield on a third-and-long, early in the second quarter.
After the turnover, the Hawks defense held Webber International to a fourth-and-three on the Huntingdon six yard line. Mason Prater cut the Hawks lead down to four-points, 14-10, when Prater kicked a 24-yard field-goal, on fourth-and-three.
On the Hawks next possession, Hughes connected with Brian Watts for 35-yards down to the Warriors 15 yard line. Huntingdon was unable to convert the third-and-long in Webber International's red-zone. Corey Robertson's 30-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left, with 6:17 left in the first-half.
With three-minutes left in the first-half, Huntingdon found the endzone twice extending the lead to 28-10 at the half. The first score came when Cornelius Jenkins blocked Adam Riley's punt and Jenkins returned it 20-yards for the touchdown. A Warriors personal foul set up the next points, when Taylor Hughes hit Cody Pearcy for a 30-yard touchdown pass, with thirty-seconds left in the half.
In the second half, the Hawks and Warriors exchanged field position until 2:26 on the clock. Huntingdon scored the only points of the third quarter, when Trevor Manuel took the hand off 15-yards straight up the middle into the endzone. Robertson's extra-point added the final points for the Hawks on the day, 35-10.
Webber International gained momentum in the fourth quarter, by scoring 13-points on three straight possessions. Mason Prater converted a 50-yard field-goal attempt on fourth-and-seven, with 14:46 in the fourth. After a successful on-side kick, Webber International's Taylor Atwood scored on a three-yard run, capping a five-play 56 yard drive.
The Warriors final three-points came from a Neal Posey interception by Beau Barnes, the 31-yard return into the Hawks territory was brought back to the Webber International 35 yard line, due to an illegal block. Huntigdon's defense made the Warriors earn the field-goal, after a 12-play 58 yard drive ending on fourth-and-goal, when Prater kicked a 24-yard field-goal with five minutes left in the game.
Huntindon's defense came up big limiting Webber International to only 23-points on 77-plays compared to the Hawks 46 total offensive plays. The Hawks offense gained 262 total yards of offense, 118 on the ground.
Despite allowing Webber International 336 total yards, the Hawks defense held the Warriors to 7-of-19 on third down. The Warriors were forced to kick field-goals on three of the five scoring drives, including the 50-yard long attempt.
Taylor Hughes completed 8-of-14 passes for 137 yards, including two touchdown passes from 30 and 35 yards. Hughes also contributed 47 rushing yards on 5 carries, including one touchdown run.
Trevor Manuel led the Hawks in rushing with 13 carries for 53 yards and one touchdown. Cody Pearcy caught both receiving touchdowns and led the team with three receptions for 66 yards.
The Hawks defense held Webber International's dual-threat quarterback to only 95 total yards of offense, after negative 27 rushing yards. Taylor Atwood led the Warriors with 90 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while backup quarterback Collin Saring ran for 60 yards on eight carries.
Defensively, Huntingdon was led by Kirk Johnson with 9 total tackles, including 6 solo stops and a recovered fumble in the game . Keith Anthony finished next posting 7 total tackles, while breaking up three passes. Jared Sill led the defense with 1.5 sacks for a loss of 13 yards, while the on a day where the Hawks sacked the quarterback five times.
The Hawks return to action on Saturday, Oct. 30, for the final home game of the season against Trinity (3-4). Saturday marks the 2010 seniors last home game, with kickoff set for noon.
