Hawks Rally Falls Short Against Hendrix

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Looking to bounce back from their week one loss at Berry, Huntingdon Football welcomed the Hendrix Warriors to Samford Stadium for the Hawks home-opener this afternoon. 

Following a first quarter that saw Huntingdon turn the ball over twice without finding the endzone, the Hawks fell behind as much as 23-0 before halftime. The team rallied late in the game, but couldn't complete the comeback, suffering the 30-28 loss to move to 0-2 on the year. 

How it happened

Receiving the ball to start the game, Hendrix marched down the field with a 9 play, 65-yard drive that ended in the endzone as the Warriors took a 7-0 lead inside the opening five minutes.  The Hawks didn't help their case,with a fumbled handoff on Huntingdon's first offensive drive setting the Warriors up in prime position. Huntingdon's defense held, but Hendrix managed to tack three points on the board, extending their lead to 10-0 by the 8 minute mark in the first quarter. 

The Warriors kept pouring it on as the first half played on, forcing two Huntingdon punts before pushing their lead to 16-0 on an pick-6 early in the second quarter.  A short touchdown pass just four minutes later put the Hawks down 23-0 with 10 minutes remaining until halftime. 

With the two teams trading punts on the ensuing possessions, Huntingdon finally got on the board at the 1:53 mark in the quarter, as quarterback Jake White found Timothy McReynolds on an 11-yard pass to cut the deficit to 23-7. The Warriors went three and out on the next possession, and the Hawks capitalized, as White and McReynolds connected again, this time 44 yards out as Huntingdon entered halftime down 23-14.

Starting the second half with the ball, Huntingdon would go three-and-out on their first possession, but the defense continued to stifle the Hendrix offense, forcing a turnover on downs following a huge fourth down run stop by Braylon Miller and Joe Brunson. Through the bulk of the third quarter, neither offensive could generate much momentum. The second half stalemate finally broke with two minutes remaining in the quarter, as Timothy McReynolds fielded a punt, crossing from sideline-to-sideline en route to the endzone, diving past the pylon as the Hawks drew within two, 23-21, entering the final quarter of play. 

Hendrix finally stopped the bleeding as the fourth quarter got underway, finding the endzone after a 3 play, 52-yard drive to bring their lead to 30-21 with 11 minutes to go. The Hawks kept rolling offensively, as White connected with Brody Covington from two yards out to cap off a 9 play drive that cut the deficit back to two, 30-28 with 6:50 remaining in regulation. 

With their backs against the wall,, the defense stepped to the challenge, forcing a Hendrix punt with 2:44 to go, but the Warriors managed to down the ball on the Huntingdon 1 yard line. Facing the entire field with a chance to tie or take the lead, the offense couldn't get things going, allowing Hendrix to kneel out the clock and walk away with the win. 

Hawk Top Performers

• #1 Timothy McReynolds- 5 receptions, 73 yards, 2 rec. touchdowns, 1 punt return TD
• #8 Braylon Miller- 10 total tackles
• #9 Cole Sackman- 10 total tackles

The Hawks look to bounce back on September 20th at home, playing host to the McMurry Warhawks for the first time since the 2007 season. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM CT.