Hawks dominate game's middle juncture
by Greg Oshust
goshust@mdjonline.com
October 16, 2010 12:00 AM | 1886 views | 0 0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend | print
POWDER SPRINGS - Hillgrove got off to a slow start, then erupted for 33 points in the second and third quarters before going on to beat North Cobb 39-27 in a Region 4AAAAA game Friday at Cobb Energy/Hillgrove Stadium.

Trailing 6-0 at the end of the first quarter, Hillgrove (5-2, 2-2) came back with 20 points in the second and 13 in the third to pull away. North Cobb (5-2, 3-1) managed to close the gap at the end with a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.

"It was kind of sloppy early on - there was a lack of emotion - but the kids picked it up and played a little better," Hillgrove coach Phil Ironside said.

While Hillgrove quarterback Gage Henry didn't quite have the record-setting performance he had last week against McEachern, when he threw for 472 yards, he still put together a solid effort by completing 17 of 29 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns. Henry also ran for one score.

Hillgrove started the first offensive series in North Cobb territory - starting at the Warriors' 45 - but the Hawks were only able to get to the North Cobb 35 before giving up the ball on downs.

North Cobb took immediate advantage as Demetrius Hill threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller on a halfback option play on the third play of the drive with 9:43 remaining in the first quarter to take a 6-0 lead.

It was Hillgrove's defense that put the Hawks on the scoreboard for the first time as Tolando Cleveland intercepted a pass from Travis Hawkins deep in Warrior territory and ran it back 10 yards for the touchdown with 9:02 remaining in the first half to tie the game at 6-all.

The offense took its turn to score for Hillgrove a little more than 2 minutes later when Henry ran the ball up the middle 15 yards for the touchdown. Andrew Gaughan added the extra point, giving the Hawks a 13-6 lead with 6:41 left in the first half.

North Cobb used a lengthy drive to score its next touchdown as Quentin James ran the ball 5 yards into the end zone to complete a 14-play, 78-yard drive with 1:55 remaining. Derek Graham kicked the extra point to tie the game at 13-all.

Hillgrove struck back on its next offensive series as Henry completed five passes for 80 yards on the drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown strike to Kenyan Drake with 32 seconds left in the half. Gaughan added the extra point and the Hawks gained a 20-13 lead that they took with them into the locker room at halftime.

North Cobb drove into Hillgrove territory on the first series of the second half, but Hawkins fumbled the ball and Clayton Castleberry recovered it for the Hawks at the Warriors' 12-yard line with 10:53 remaining in the third quarter.

Hillgrove took advantage on the first play of its drive as Henry threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Jojo Marshall with 10:16 left in the third quarter to increase the Hawks' advantage to 26-13.

Henry threw another touchdown pass later in the third quarter as he connected with Drake on a 52-yard scoring strike with 1:52 left, with Gaughan making the extra-point try to further boost Hillgrove's lead to 33-13.

Henry once again put some more points on the board for Hillgrove early in the fourth quarter as he threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram with 8:17 left in the game to give the Hawks a 39-13 advantage.

North Cobb narrowed the gap at the end as Hawkins scored on a 10-yard run with 4:23 left and Ty Griffin fired a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Williams with 59 seconds left, with Hill running the ball in the end zone for the 2-point conversion.
Comments
(0)
Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, spam, and links to outside websites will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides