A school-record 70 Blackhawks filled squad rosters and the local gridders put on a spirited scrimmage to close out their spring football program.
In near perfect weather, the Blackhawks put on a display of aerial talent, a strong ground attack, and an opportunistic defense that gave fans attending the event reasons to hope for the future. The scrimmage began with seniors (to be) taking on their sophomore and junior counterparts with the older 'Hawks scoring on both of their first two possessions.
The evening's first play saw quarterback Seth Brumley connect with Dakota Winn for an 11-yard gainer to move the chains. Brumley then hit tailback Shane Ivy on a screen pass that netted 9 yards that was followed up by a 2-yard run by Garrett Easterling for their second first down.
On first down, the defense covered potential receivers but Brumley frustrated them by dashing 18 yards across mid-field. Easterling rushed for a yard on first down, followed by a 7-yard gallop by Nick Hardy, before the seniors nearly scored when Brumley threw a 25-yarder to receiver Tristan Trundle down to the 7-yard line. On the next play, Brumley went to Trundle again with the passing play denting the end zone for the day's first score.
On the next possession, facing a second and 10, Ivy broke loose for an 11-yard jaunt. Two incompletions later, Brumley connected with Winn to pick up 5 yards but needed 5 more for a first down. The 'Hawks then called a sweep right with Ivy carrying the pigskin. Ivy got outside containment, then faked a cut back inside to open the sidelines, which he then dashed home 64 yards for the second touchdown.
Backup quarterback Gage Cawthon opened the next series with runs of 4 and 9 yards to gain a first down on the 33. After another 8 yards by the quarterback, Dillon Massey rushed for 11 yards to cross the mid-field stripe. A fumble, incompletion and a sniffed out pass play limited the gain to 3 yards. The seniors forced their understudies to go to the air with Dakota Russell making an outstanding play on defense with a diving interception.
With four plays left in their part of the scrimmage, the younger 'Hawks got a 2-yard run by Zaine Holley, a 12-yard dash by Jacob Torres, and a 2-yard keeper by Massey to get to the 36. Dakota Canaday ended their offense with a sack of the quarterback just before the mid-scrimmage break.
The second half of the scrimmage started with a bang as Brumley broke loose and rumbled 80 yards down the east sidelines to score on the first play. Restarting, Brumley tossed a 12-yarder to Trundle for a first down, with Canaday bulling ahead for 13 yards on the next play for another first. Brumley lofted a pass to Winn that covered 14 yards for still another first down, moving the ball down to the 37-yard line. Winn rushed for 5 yards with Brumley hitting Hardy on the west edge of the end zone on a 32-yard pass play moments later.
With squads mixing up a bit, Cawthon got things rolling on the next series by ripping off a 35-yarder on first down. Cawthon flung a pass to Hardy that covered 26 yards on the next play, moving the ball into the red zone on the 19.
Two incompletions slowed the drive down after Easterling picked up 2 yards on first down. Canaday saved the drive with a 9 yard run to the 9 yard line. From there, Cawthon took it the rest of the way on the next play.
On the next series, a 2-yard run by Brad Beaver and a 7-yard pass from Cawthon to Hunter Hargiss left them inches short of a first down after an incompletion. Defender Cody Foltz made his presence felt with a sack of the quarterback to end the possession.
Runs by James Tarrett and Massey left the 'Hawks facing a fourth and 3 on their own 27, but Massey threaded a pass to Clayton Brown that netted 18 yards and new life on the 45. Beaver ran twice for 16 yards to get the 'Hawks across mid-field. A sack by defender Kamden Jennings slowed their progress, however.
Massey hit Eric Gamez for a 2-yard pass while Cawthon rushed for 7 more yards, but two sacks by Foltz in the closing moments of the scrimmage prevented any more scoring.
Brumley led the passing attack with 117 yards on 8 for 11 attempts. Cawthon was 4 of 10 for 36 yards while Massey was 1 of 2 for 18 yards.
The senior quarterback Brumley also led the rushing with 98 yards on two carries. Ivy picked up 84 yards on three tries, with Cawthon adding 69 yards on seven forays. Canaday ran twice for 21 yards, Beaver rushed three times for 18, Winn twice for 16 with Easterling rounding out the stats with 5 yards on three tries.
Trundle and Winn each had three receptions for 34 and 30 yards, respectively. Hardy caught two for 58 yards with Ivy, Brown, Torres each catching a pass.
Sports on 06/04/2014