Hawks lose close one on the road
Shorter builds early lead but can’t sustain it in loss at Delta State
The Shorter Hawks traveled west to Cleveland, Miss., for their second-straight away game this month to take on the Statesmen of Delta State University on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks dropped a tight, defensive game to the home team 14-13.
The Hawks got on the board first in the game, as the Shorter special teams unit came up with a huge play. Shorter’s Bryan Rice blocked a DSU punt, and Trevon Hawkins picked the ball up and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown to put the visitors up 7-0 with 8:30 left in the opening quarter.
After forcing a three-andout on the next DSU drive, the Hawks cashed in their second touchdown of the game, as quarterback Aeneas Dennis threw a 25yard touchdown pass to John Dietl III to make the score 13-0 with 5:57 left in the first quarter. (The extra point was blocked by DSU.)
The DSU defense frustrated the Hawks’ offense from there. The Statesmen finally got on the board with 5:31 left in the first half, when DSU running back Deion Dampier rushed for a 20-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 13-7, which was the score going into halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Dampier scored what proved to be the gamewinning touchdown on a 91-yard run with 7:16 left in the fourth quarter to put the Statesmen up 14-13. Dampier finished with 152 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 15 carries, and DSU (4-5, 2-4) teammate Rico Owens II rushed for 104 more.
As for Shorter, while no one stood out on the stat sheet on the offensive side of the ball, the defense was a different story. Cornell Washington led the unit with 10 total tackles, while Nemo Reddish and Fabian Reid both had nine tackles apiece. Reid finished with four tackles for loss and three sacks in the game as part of his total. Hunter Hodson finished right behind them with eight total tackles.
The Hawks (2-7, 0-6) will be back in the friendly confines of Barron Stadium next Saturday, as they will host non-conference foe Erskine College at 1 p.m.