Hawks Suffer Homecoming Loss To Brevard

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Huntingdon football(3-4 overall, 3-2 USA South) was defeated by the Brevard College Tornadoes(4-2 overall, 4-0 USA South) in their homecoming game 25-21.

The Hawks won the coin toss and chose to defer until the second half, giving Brevard possession to open the game.

A 54 yard kick return for the Tornadoes gave Brevard the ball in Huntingdon's territory to get the game underway. Despite starting with their backs against the wall, the Hawks defense stood strong and made a crucial fourth down stop to flip possession at the 13:18 mark in the quarter. After the stop, Dorian Smith ripped one across the middle to Sam Bloodworth for a 31 yard gain on their first play from scrimmage, but the offense stalled, punting it back to Brevard with 11 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

A Tornado missed field goal allowed for the Hawks to mount a 8 play, 75 yard drive that Troy Garner capped off with a 19 yard rushing touchdown to give Huntingdon a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Following a Brevard field goal, the Hawks held a 7-3 lead with just under nine minutes to go in the half. Looking to respond, Huntingdon pieced together what looked to be a promising drive before the Tornadoes picked off Smith and ran it all the way back to go ahead 10-7. Following another Huntingdon three and out, a Joe Brunson pass deflection forced another punt for Brevard. Freshman Malikih Montgomery was just able to get his hand on the punt, giving the Hawks advantageous field position on their own 49 yard line.

Taking advantage of the field position, De'Rodrick Hepburn found the endzone on a two-yard rush to give the Hawks back the lead at 14-10 inside the final minute of the half. On the ensuing kickoff, Markell Jordan poked the ball free from the Tornado returner and Jack Blackman fell on it to give the Hawks another chance from Brevard's 21 yard line before halftime. With two seconds remaining until halftime, Dorian Smith found Brody Covington from three yards out to bring Huntingdon's halftime lead to 21-10.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Hawks were forced to punt on their first possession of the second half. Huntingdon's defense forced another punt on the ensuing possession, where dangerous return-man Timothy McReynolds found a seem to take the ball 63 yards downfield to set up the offense inside the redzone, but a targeting call on the return forced the Hawks to kick off their drive inside their own five yard line. As a result, the Hawks were forced to go three-and-out and bring Landon Pulliam back on the field to punt. After moving the ball back down the field, another missed field goal from the Tornadoes left the score 21-10 entering the fourth quarter. 

Regaining possession to start the quarter, Brevard managed to find the endzone on a 25 yard rush to cut the lead to 21-18 with 12:56 to go. With neither team generating any offensive momentum on the next two drives, the Hawks had the ball with 8 minutes remaining as they looked to extend their lead. Another interception return for a touchdown put the Tornadoes ahead 25-21, and the Hawks couldn't recover, falling 25-21 in the conference showdown.

Hawk Top Performers

• #0 Troy Garner- 14 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown
• #16 Braylon Miller- 9 tackles, 1 tackle for loss
• #12 Markell Jordan- 3 tackles, 1 forced fumble

The Hawks look to get back in the win column on November 2nd, hosting the LaGrange Panthers. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM CT.