Last year, Hendrickson finished the regular season 9-1, losing only the season opener to the Raiders. But a year after that 50-23 loss, the Hawks had a little revenge on their mind. They shut out the varsity football team 28-0 Friday in this year’s season opener.
“I felt that we had a good chance of beating them as long as we executed both offense and defense,” senior Aerik Ashley said. “I knew the game was going to be a great challenge because of what happened last year and the determination for redemption that the Hendrickson team had.”
Hendrickson got out to an early lead with a 32-yard touchdown in the first quarter and two touchdowns in the second quarter, including a 49-yard touchdown run by the Hawks’ Lane Griggs.
“We felt motivated,” junior Brandon Wells said. “We felt that we had a chance to come back and fix some of the mistakes we made in the first half.”
Trailing 21-0 at halftime, the Raiders came out in the second half with a stingier defense. They kept the Hawks out of the end zone for the entire third quarter, forcing them to punt several times.
“It was definitely a difficult aspect for us,” senior Jordan Washington said. “We came from the locker room and had a phenomenal talk about our performance. It all came down to how we prepared our minds in the second half.”
Other defensive highlights included three sacks, two by Ashley and one by senior AJ Martin. Junior Brandon Wells also broke up a pass in the third quarter that would have led to another Hendrickson touchdown.
“It felt intense knowing that they would have scored if I didn’t break it up,” Wells said. “I didn’t want that feeling of letting my teammates, and the coaching staff down. ”
The Raiders failed to reach the end zone, coming only as close as the 32-yard line but turning the ball over. Hendrickson held the offense to only 10 first downs and 163 total yards. Quarterback Billy Ray McCrary was the leading rusher with 21 carries for 75 yards.
The Hawks tacked another touchdown in the fourth quarter to make the final score 28-0.
“Although we took a tough loss, we have been working hard and preparing for this week’s game,” Washington said.
The Raiders continue non-district play this week, taking on Cedar Ridge at Bible Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
“I feel much more prepared knowing that everyone is ready to execute on all cylinders,” Ashley said. “Everyone was looking great during practice this week and you play how you practice so it should be a great game.”
