Coach Pickert Preps Team Before Opener Vs. Rye Country Day School

             The visiting Hornets received the opening kickoff and returned it to their own 32 yard line, where Hackley began on offense.From there, quarterback Sean-Patrick Legister quickly moved the offense down field. Behind solid blocking of the offensive line, long runs by Conor McSpedon and Andrew Poulin brought the ball deep into RCDS territory. Then the drive stalled. A penalty erased a Hornet touchdown, then an RCDS interception ended the drive. However, the Hornet defense made sure that the drive was not wasted. They forced RCDS to punt and on 4th down the Hornets recovered a bad snap inside the 10 yard line. On 1^st down, Andrew Poulin powered his way inside the 1 yard line. On the next play, Sean-Patrick Legister took the center snap and drove into the end-zone to put Hackley on top 6-0.

             On the ensuing kickoff, the RCDS receiver dropped the ball. Hackley recovered and the Hornet offense was quickly back in business. Business it was, as the Hornets swept left on consecutive plays, abusing the right side of the RCDS defense. Breaking tackles along the way, this time it was Andrew Poulin carrying the ball to pay dirt. The successful “Point After Touchdown” (PAT) gave the visiting Hornets a 1^st quarter 13-0 lead. 

            The 2^nd quarter fared no better for the home team, as Conor McSpedon stepped in front of an RCDS receiver and picked off a pass, returning it past midfield. The Hornet offense, looking exceptionally sharp for an opening day game, again quickly maneuvered downfield. From deep inside RCDS territory, Sean-Patrick Legister ran to the right behind an armada of blockers into the end zone for the score. The PAT put Hackley up 20-0, which was the half-time score. 

            Hackley kicked off to begin the 3^rd quarter. As it had the entire 1^st half, again the Hornet defense dominated, quickly stopping yet another RCDS drive. The RCDS offense could not sustain a drive all afternoon against the swarming Hornet defense. Led by Andrew Cheever, Nate Zand, Shane Hoffman, and sophomore Morgan Peerman, Hackley never permitted RCDS past its 35 yard line. Late in the quarter, Sean-Patrick completed a 60-yard pass to Michael Larkin, again putting the offense in sight of the RCDS end-zone. Wanting to end any hope of an opening day, home team comeback for RCDS, the Hornets did not waste the opportunity to salt away their opening day win, and 1^st league victory in decades. Jean Luc Ohayon took the handoff and blasted into the end-zone putting the game out of reach, giving the Hornets a commanding 26-0 lead. Andrew Poulin closed out the Hornet scoring by kicking a 30 yard field goal, making the score 29-0, which was the final.

             After the game, quarterback Sean Patrick Legister said that, despite his early interception, “We played well and picked it up after the turnover.” When asked about how the offensive line played in front of him, Sean stated, “We’ve heard a lot about other teams’ lines being bigger than ours, but our linemen worked hard, held more than their own and did an excellent job.” Commenting about next week’s game against Kingswood Oxford, Sean said, “It’s going to be tough. They have a very good running back, who has received a full ride to Syracuse University. We’re looking forward to it.”

To take on a powerful Kingswood Oxford football team.

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