Hackley Kicks off 2006 Home Opener

            It wasn’t long after Hackley kicked off to Horace Mann that it became obvious the game was going to be a hard hitting, defensive battle. The Horace Mann Lions’ 1^st possession came to an abrupt halt when a swarming Hornet defense jarred the ball loose and recovered a fumble near midfield. The momentum swing was short lived, as the Lion defense returned the compliment by recovering a Hornet fumble. However, the Lions couldn’t capitalize on the turnover as interior line play was being controlled by the Hornets. On the Hackley’s next possession the offense began to establish an effective ground game. Jelani Doeman (#25) and Andrew Poulin (#12) had consecutive 20 yard runs as the Hornet offense rolled to the Lions’ 20 yard line. On a big 4^th down play defense again prevailed when good coverage in the secondary caused a Hackley pass to fall incomplete, turning the ball over to the Lions on downs. Not to be out done, on its next defensive series the Hornets again smothered the Lions' offense with quarterback sacks by Nathaniel Zand (#57) and Andrew Cheever (#58). There would be no scoring in the 1^st quarter as the Hornets’ following drive ended with the Lion defense again recovering a fumble.            

Going into the 2^nd quarter, it began to seem that the 1^st team to score in this contest dominated by defense would be the team to win. It also seemed that the first score would be a result of good defense. With the Lions in possession of the ball, the Hornet defense forced a 4^th down punting situation. A high snap from center combined with a hard rush prevented the punter from getting off a kick. Hackley took over at the Horace Mann 40 yard line and the Hornets had great field position to begin its 1^st drive of the 2^nd quarter. Again the Hornets took to the ground game. Andrew Poulin ran an inside end-around for 30 yards and a 1^st down deep in Lions’ territory. Consecutive carries by Conor McSpedon (#34) brought the ball to the Lions 5 & then down to the 1. Then the Hornets crossed up the Lions defense as Sean-Patrick Legister (#1) rolled right and hurled a TD pass to Andrew Poulin giving the Hornets the lead. Andrew kicked the PAT and the Hornet home faithful cheered a 7-0 lead. Momentum had swung completely to the side of the Hornets and the Hackley defense was determined to keep it that way. Sensing the need to swing momentum back their way and in need of a big play, the Lion offense wasn’t having any success on the ground, so it took to the air. And a big play it was. Andrew Poulin eyed the quarterback and his instincts brought him to the ball. In full stride, he stepped in front of the Lion receiver, picked off the pass and raced down the left sidelines for a 40 yard TD interception. His PAT kick put the Hornets up 14-0 and that was the score at halftime.

Great defensive play continued in the 2^nd half. On its 1^st possession of the 3^rd quarter the Lions worked their way to a 4^th down and 1 yard-to-go near midfield. They ran the middle, but again the swarming Hornet defensive line was there to smack them down. Yet, the game tone would not change as a riveting hit caused another Hornet fumble, putting the Lion offense back on the field. Showing why they came into the game undefeated, the Lions had not quit. Their quarterback threw a long pass into the right corner of the end zone and the Lions’ #36 made a great catch while managing to keep one foot in bounds for the TD. The PAT by #3 got them back into the game, cutting the Hackley lead in half at 14-7. The Hornets knew that to win, they had to answer the Lion score with some offense of their own. They drove down field and answered the bell when Rory McDermott (#22) hauled in a 22 yard TD pass from Sean-Patrick. The PAT by Andrew Poulin extended the Hackley lead back to 14 at 21-7. Things weren’t quite over as the Lions’ #23 caught a 68 yard TD pass and with the good PAT they were within a TD at 21-14. But throughout the 4^th quarter the Lions could get no closer. Two late Hornet TD interceptions were negated by holding penalties, but the Hornet defense nevertheless closed the door on the Lions, to remain undefeated at 4-0 by the final score of Hornets 21- Lions 14.

Support the Hornets next Saturday night (10/14) as they try to end Brunswick Bruin’s amazing 33 game winning streak dating back to 2003. Last week the Brunswick upset Poly Prep in an incredible, come from behind 27-26 double overtime home victory.                   

Back to Booster Club Newsletter Home Page