With win, Hawks second in 13-6A
Hendrickson stays just behind Cedar Ridge in district race.
With Cedar Ridge in good shape to defend its District 13-6A football title, the battle for second place in the district was waged Thursday night at the Pfield. In a high-scoring affair highlighted by numerous big plays, Hendrickson defeated Stony Point 37-22 to stay close to Cedar Ridge in the district race.
The Hawks (5-2, 3-1) took over sole possession of second place in 13-6A. Their lone defeat in district play came at Cedar Ridge, a 43-27 loss Sept. 29.
Stony Point, which lost to Cedar Ridge 42-21 on Oct. 13, slipped to 4-5 overall, 3-2 in district play.
“It was important for us to come out and get this one,” Hendrickson coach Chip Killian said. Stony Point “is an explosive football team and does so many great things on offense. We just needed to execute, and we did that pretty well in the second half.”
Hendrickson’s offense controlled the game from its opening possession. After forcing a punt by Stony Point, the Hawks marched down the field, leaning on running back D.J. Jackson. The 5-foot-6 Jackson helped Hendrickson to the Stony Point 25, gaining large chunks of yardage with each carry.
But on the seventh play of the drive, the Hawks opted for a pass and a little trickery. A flea-flicker surprised most of the Stony Point defense, leaving wide receiver Thomas Williams wide open down the seam for a 25-yard touchdown reception.
The Hawks’ next touchdown came on their next drive, and it came quickly. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Blaine Barker found Kamryn Nobles on a wide receiver screen. The junior took it 45 yards for a touchdown to give Hendrickson a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Stony Point scored two of the next three touchdowns to cut Hendrickson’s lead to 21-14 at the half. Tigers quarterback Donovan Rybachek showed off his passing prowess, throwing for first-half TDs of 4 yards to Jaylen Williams and 24 yards to Tyler Cleveland.
Hendrickson’s rushing attack continued to hurt the Tigers in the second half, while the Hawks’ defense allowed only eight points.
After Donny Newsome scored for Hendrickson on a 5-yard run, Barker added a rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter to make it 35-14.
Jackson finished with 101 yards on 14 carries as Hendrickson earned its third consecutive victory.
The Hawks will close the regular season with district contests against Round Rock (1-6, 1-2) and Pflugerville (2-5, 1-2).
Stony Point will wrap up the regular season Friday against McNeil (1-7, 0-4).
■ Crockett 57, Lanier 0: After being named Crockett’s homecoming king before kickoff, quarterback Ryan Waugh accounted for five touchdowns as the Cougars blanked Lanier in a District 25-5A game at Burger Stadium.
Waugh rushed for touchdowns of 3, 4 and 12 yards. He also threw a pair of touchdown passes: a 34-yarder to Evan Ayers and a 28-yarder to Jacorey Skaggs.
Of Waugh’s 21 carries, 10 went for 10 yards or more as he finished with a game-high 161 yards rushing.
“It was certainly a night to remember. It gives us momentum going into our game against Reagan next week,” Waugh said.
Nicholas Baca averaged 6 yards per rush as he racked up 126 yards for the Cougars on 21 carries. He also scored on a 7-yard scamper.
Crockett (2-6, 2-2) totaled 483 yards of offense while limiting Lanier to 92 yards.
Willie Tryon returned an interception 48 yards for a score just before halftime to give Crockett a 36-0 lead.
Kaliceon Lewis gained 43 yards rushing for Lanier (2-6, 1-4).