Lake Hamilton looks to repeat against Hall
With a 4-0 start to the season, the Lake Hamilton Wolves look to continue that trend as they welcome the Little Rock Hall Warriors tonight at Bank OZK Field.
The Wolves (4-0, 1-0 6A West) have yet to struggle against an opponent as they have outscored their opponents 200-82 in the first four weeks of the season, but last week at El Dorado, Lake Hamilton turned in its closest win yet, 40-21.
Sophomore running backs Owen Miller and Tevin Woodley, who have alternated as the leading rusher in each game this season, combined for 340 yards in the conference opener for both teams.
“They both had really good football games to give us an opportunity to win that game,” Lake Hamilton head coach Tommy Gilleran said. “It seems like, one week they try to take away Tevin, and then Owen shows up, and then take away Owen and Tevin shows up. … They’re both good running backs, and we’ve got a really good offensive line. And then our quarterback [Layne Warrick] can throw the ball just well enough to keep people balanced.”
Lake Hamilton jumped out to a 13-0 lead behind touchdown runs by Woodley and Miller, and by the break, the Wolves held a 20-7 lead. Miller ran the ball in from the 5 halfway through the third for a 27-7 lead, and Lake Hamilton would not let the Wildcats pull within two scores from that point.
“Yeah, our kids did good,” Gilleran said. “Then even when it got to 33-21 … to drive down there and score again to make it 40, kind of push through it late in the fourth quarter, made a big difference on our team.”
Lake Hamilton devastated the Warriors 42-6 a year ago, scoring 21 points in each of the first two quarters before allowing Hall (2-2, 0-1) a chance to score in the third. Gilleran said that the coaches have been encouraging their players not to overlook the Warriors, despite last year’s rout.
“We’ve talked about it all week, not overlooking them,” he said. “The thing about it is they’re really skilled. they’re real fast, and they’re real skilled. They just make a lot of mistakes, and sometimes they’re not in great position. So overall, they do some things that hurt them. … But our kids have been real focused this week. We had a really good practice yesterday, and our kids were focused and took care of business.”
On top of last year’s win, the Wolves will be hosting the Warriors for homecoming, which can add another factor that can distract players. Gilleran feels that his seniors will help to keep the underclassmen focused at game time, despite the extra distractions.
“This group of seniors has been really good about managing the locker room and managing on the field and managing everywhere else and know the importance of winning this game on Friday,” he said.
While Gilleran would like to see his Wolves shellack Hall again this season, the team he has seen on film is much improved.
“They’re better than they were last year is what we see from them,” he said. “I mean, they’re a lot better than they were from last year, but we’re a lot better than we were last year, too. So I kind of feel like we’re peaking at the right time for us as a football team, but it’ll be really good game. I hope we can do that but we have to play games, and you’ve got to run the ball, you’ve got to score touchdowns, you’ve got to play defense.
“All the distractions that are going on make it harder on those things, but you know, hopefully we can come out and perform at a high rate and give us a chance to win the game.”
Gilleran said that his team is looking to control Hall quarterback Braelon Adams, a 6-2, 202-pound senior, as well as junior linebacker Manachi Baker. Adams is a dual-threat player with accurate throwing and can run the ball, and Baker has good hands and leads the team in tackles.
“The quarterback’s a big deal,” he said. “He throws it OK. If there’s a lane and he’s open, he can run, so we’ve got to kind of keep him hemmed up and then maintain the other kids that they throw to.”
The Wolves are finally back at full strength after several players have spent time on the sideline due to injuries.
“Everybody’s back, so we’re in we’re in pretty good shape that way,” Gilleran said
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.