|
Explosive Hornet Offense Lines Up Vs. Kingswood Oxford Defense |
|
|
| Game Report |
|
The Hornet offense threatened first with a sustained drive down to the Kingswood Oxford 10 yard line, early in the 1st quarter. However, the home team's defense stiffened and Hackley settled for a short field goal attempt. The kick sailed just right of the goal post. Kingswood Oxford averted an early deficit and took over at their own 20 yard line. Two long pass plays brought the Kingswood Oxford offense to the Hackley 10 yard line. Not having yielded a touchdown this season, the Hornet defense dug in. They bent, but did not break. A 1st down tackle by Morgan Peerman (#5), a big 2nd down sack by Jelani Doeman (#25) and Nathaniel Zand (#57), and a third down incompletion forced Kingswood Oxford to attempt a 20 yard field goal. The kick was good, and Kingswood Oxford took a 3-0 lead. This was Hackley's first deficit of the year. How would the Hornets respond? On Hackley's next possession the offense began to assert itself. A few strong runs set the stage for a big play. With the Kingswood Oxford defense being forced to come up and defend the run, a play-action pass caught their defensive backs out of position. Speedy Rory McDermott took a short pass over the middle from Sean-Patrick Legister and sliced through the Kingswood Oxford secondary, outracing everyone to the end-zone for a 40-yard TD reception. The PAT failed and Hackley led 6-3. The Hornet defense then slammed the door on Kingswood Oxford's next attempt at a drive, quickly forcing a punt and getting the ball back for the offense. On its next possession, Hackley strong ground game again set up the pass. This time Sean-Patrick took the snap on the KOx 40 yard line. He rolled right then heaved a long pass from the Kingswood Oxford 47-yard line to their 2, where Rory McDermott out dueled a defender, made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch, and lunged into the end-zone for his second touchdown reception. Again the PAT failed, but the Hornets had stunned the home crowd, taking a 12-3 lead. Once again the Hornet defense shut down the talented Kingswood Oxford offense and forced a punt. Rory McDermott took the punt at his own 34 yard line and headed for the left sidelines. He turned the corner, headed up field, then went into high gear as he crossed into Kingswood Oxford territory. At the Kingswood Oxford 30 yard line, he cut right all the way across the field and headed toward the end zone. At the 10 yard-line the pursuit finally caught up, but the great special team effort gave Hackley a 1st & goal at the Kingswood Oxford 10. Giving Rory a break, Andrew Poulin took a pitch left and swept toward pay-dirt. Two defenders met Andrew at the 2 Yard-line, but probably wished they hadn't, as Andrew crashed though them both and plowed into the end-zone, putting Hackley up 18-3. Going for the two point conversion, Andrew took the handoff and went up the middle, again crossing the goal-line. With three minutes before the half, the Hornets held a comfortable 20-3 lead. Or so they thought. Not about to lye down in their season opener in front of the home crowd, Kingswood Oxford had not yet quit. Their #3 took the following kickoff and raced 85 yards down the right sidelines for a touchdown, breathing new life into the home team and cheers from the home faithful. Moments later Hackley received the kickoff, but a big hit at the Hornet 30-yard line sent the ball up into the air, headed toward the Hackley goal. Kingswood Oxford pounced on the loose ball and suddenly the Kingswood Oxford offense was back in business and threatening at the Hackley 24-yard line. On 4th down the Kingswood Oxford quarterback avoided strong pressure from the Hackley line and passed into the Hornet end-zone. Jumping high to make the catch, Andrew Poulin intercepted the pass ending the Kingswood Oxford threat. The half concluded with Hackley up 20-10. In the 3rd quarter, Sean-Patrick again found his favorite target of the day, Rory McDermott, open over the middle. Rory took the 20-yard pass and turned it into an 80-yard catch and run for his third touchdown of the afternoon. The two point conversion was good and Hackley was up 28-10. The Kingswood Oxford quarterback then responded, completing a 40-yard pass play. However, the receiver was hit hard, fumbled, and Jesse Schwartz (#11) recovered the ball, again ending a Kingswood Oxford threat. In the 4th quarter, Jelani Doeman (#25) added to the scoring, catching a 38-yard touchdown pass. A successful 2-point conversion boosted the Hornet lead to 36-10. Michael Larkin (#7) joined the touchdown parade, hauling in a 15-yard TD pass. The PAT upped the total to 43, making the final score Hackley 43-Kingswood Oxford 10. In only its second game of the young season, both the Hornet offensive and defensive units are functioning cohesively. In two games, the offense has amassed 72 points, while the defense has not yet allowed a TD, yielding only one field goal in 8 quarters of play. Special teams have been great as well, allowing only 1 long return in a multitude of attempts. |
