Nearly an hour after the final whistle, Ingram was still grappling with his emotions. There are few scenarios that could be more heartbreaking than how the Hornets lost Saturday night's title game.Īnd that showed as Hawthorne's players and coaches agonized over the loss. Even after the bad snap we felt like we could've driven the ball down the field and scored." Hawthorne is hurting, but is in good hands I felt great about the game coming in and I felt great in the fourth quarter. "You can't make those kind of mistakes in key moments. "A bad snap really changed the game," Ingram said. Hawthorne losing the turnover battle by a margin of 2-0, yet still leading through most of the game spoke volumes about the Hornets' talent and proved that, without a doubt, Hawthorne belonged in the state championship.īut when the Hornets committed the faulty snap, allowing the Cowboys to block the punt and return it to the 2-yard line before punching it in on the ensuing play, it was simply too much for Hawthorne to come back from. the margin of error has to be very small," Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram said.
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"We always try to let the kids know, especially at this part of the season, if you're still playing. When playing postseason high school football, the margin for error is small - let alone the state title game. Margin for error too miniscule for late punting mishap Ruth finished with a team-leading 11 tackles. However, the Hawthorne offense failed to capitalize on the big break when Jefferson threw his second interception of the night to the same defensive back who nabbed the first one - Jonathan Akins.īut even still, the Hornets' defense, led by junior end Jailen Ruth, stood tall and prevented the Cowboys from finding the end zone. However, it was the Hornets who got a big break when a punt coming off the foot of sophomore Josues Knapp took an unprecedented bounce, hit a Madison County player and was recovered by the Hornets. Defense dominates second halfĬoming out of halftime, the Hornets looked to white-knuckle their 12-7 lead.Īnd for much of the second half, they did.īoth teams' opening possessions of the second half ended in punts. With a one-point deficit, senior quarterback Chaz' Mackey, who led the Hornets to the title game last season, checked into the backfield and sparked a scoring drive that Jefferson finished with a 32-yard pass play to senior Camren Cohens, followed by a 10-yard scoring rush - Jefferson's second of the night. Madison County answered Hawthorne's call with a score of its own on the ensuing drive.īut the Hornets wasted little time countering the Cowboys jab. On their opening possession, the Hornets drove down to the Madison County 25-yard line thanks to rushing pickups from junior running back Brian James and penalties against the Cowboys.īut the drive came to a halt when junior quarterback Tyler Jefferson's pass bounced off the chest of senior Anthony Morgan and into the waiting hands of Madison County's Jonathan Akins.ĭespite the turnover, the Hornets' defense prevented the Cowboys from capitalizing and the teams traded possessions until Hawthorne found the scoreboard with 7:38 to play in the first half on a 31-yard rush from Jefferson to take a 6-0 lead after the failed two-point try. Just 12 minutes away from winning the program's first state football championship, the Hornets' side of the stands at Gene Cox Stadium, which held just under 4,000 spectators, was buzzing with excitement.īut a poor snap to Hawthorne's punter early in the fourth quarter proved to be catastrophic as Madison County blocked the delayed punt attempt and returned it to the Hornets' 2-yard line, where the Cowboys were quick to capitalize and take a 13-12 lead, which ultimately won them their second state title in three years.įootball recruiting: Lakeland DL Brownlow-Dindy holds top spot in USA Today Top 100įour takeaways from Hawthorne's second consecutive loss in the state title game: Hawthorne battles back from early mishaps
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TALLAHASSEE - The Hawthorne Hornets (10-1) entered the fourth quarter of Saturday night's Class 1A state championship game with a 12-7 lead over the Madison County Cowboys (11-3).