PENN’S 4 TDS, stout defense enough for Hazen.
HAZEN 42, MOUNT IDA 0
HAZEN — Tarrall Penn and a stiff defense were all the Hazen Hornets needed Saturday night.
Penn scored four touchdowns and the Hazen defense held Mount Ida to 53 yards of total offense, as the Hornets rolled to a 42-0 victory over the Mount Ida Lions in the Class 2A semifinals at Hornet Field.
Hazen (13-0) scored on its first four possessions and held a 30-0 lead at the half. The Hornets will play Junction City in Friday’s championship game at War Memorial Stadium in a rematch of the 2014 state title game.
Penn scored on runs of 11, 26, 27 and 1 yards. He finished with 110 yards on 13 carries.
“He was amazing,” Hazen junior quarterback Blayne Toll said of Penn. “He broke so many tackles. I’ve never seen him break as many tackles as he did tonight.”
Mount Ida (11-3) managed five first downs and committed three turnovers. Of Mount Ida’s 40 offensive plays, 20 went for no gain or negative yardage. The Lions punted four times and advanced into Hazen territory only once.
Hazen will be playing in its fourth state championship game but will be gunning for its first title.
“We play with a lot of passion,” said senior linebacker Kade Perry, who recovered one of Mount Ida’s fumbles. “We do it for each other.. … It seems like we have some extra motivation for every play. We just play like we’re going to bring something to this town that they’ve never had before. That’s what our goal is and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The Hornets took the opening kickoff and used seven plays to march 53 yards for a touchdown. Penn’s 11-yard run with 8:24 left in the first quarter would be all Hazen would need.
“We knew when we got that first touchdown that it was going to be just like every other game,” Toll said. “We like to get the ball first.”
“They have a good defense, but we like to score on the first drive,” Perry said. “It’s like scoring first in the Super Bowl. The first team who scores usually wins.”
Hazen compiled 19 first downs and had 354 yards of total offense. The Hornets scored twice in the second half on a 36-yard pass from Toll to freshman Quincey Mcadoo and on 15-yard run by sophomore Donavon Harris.
Toll completed 4 of 7 passes for 55 yards. Junior Ay’Jon Green scored on a two-point conversion and ran 13 times for 85 yards. Rasheed Mills and Jacob Weems added twopoint conversions.
Weems also recovered a fumble and senior safety Junior Minor came up with an interception.
Mount Ida quarterback Cade Jackson completed 3 of 12 passes for 14 yards. The Lions longest play from scrimmage was a 13-yard run by senior Gage Dyer.