Hawks capture first playoff win

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon senior Anthony White soaked in the moment, let the realization sink in and tried to put the Hawks' first playoff win in perspective.

Just minutes after the Hawks knocked off Hendrix 38-27 on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, White and his teammates were enjoying another milestone accomplishment.

"This is a big moment for us. This is the first playoff win for Huntingdon and I'm glad I was able to be a part of it," White said. "This team is a special group of guys. We've worked together and accomplished a lot this season with our first conference championship and now a playoff win. But we want to accomplish more."

Huntingdon (10-1) advances to the second round and will play 10th-ranked Mary Hardin Baylor (10-1) on Nov. 28. The location of the game will be announced on Sunday.

Saturday's win was the 80th win in Huntingdon history and marked the first time Huntingdon has reached 10 wins in a season. The Hawks are the first USA South Athletic Conference team to post a 10-win season.

"Getting this win today is a pretty awesome feeling," said Huntingdon head coach Mike Turk, who has been at the helm for every win in program history. "This is one of the things we set out to do, a long time ago. It's taken us a long time to get to this point and it means a lot.

"Hendrix has a very good team and we had to have some guys make some great plays today for us to be able to win the game. We're happy and we're glad we get to play another week."

The Hawks had to overcome a strong start by Hendrix (8-3). The Warriors jumped out to a 17-7 lead in the first quarter and the two teams combined for 48 points in the first half. But the Huntingdon defense stiffened and held the Warriors to three points in the second half.

After allowing 104 rushing yards in the first quarter, the Hawks held Hendrix to 48 rushing yards in the final three quarters. Hendrix running back Dayton Winn, who entered the game ranked third in Division III with 164 rushing yards per game, finished with 121 yards rushing.

"It seemed like both offenses were going back and forth in the first half, but our defense really picked it up," Huntingdon running back John Iwaniec said. "Our defense started getting some big-time stops, like they have been most of the season, and that made a big difference."

White, sophomore defensive back Anthony Wood and freshman linebacker Trey Hayes each had eight tackles. White's eight tackles pushed his career total to 227, moving him into third on the Hawks' career list. White also had one interception against Hendrix, giving him eight for the season and 14 for his career. His eight interceptions this season are tied for second in Division III.

Iwaniec and quarterback Luke Bailey helped spark the offense. Iwaniec, after missing the past two games with an injury, led the ground game with 122 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. He scored on runs of 5, 1 and 12 yards. His final touchdown put the Hawks ahead 31-24 early in the third quarter.

"It felt so good to be back out on the field. It was great to be out there playing with my brothers again," Iwaniec said. "This win means a lot. It's a surreal feeling right now, thinking about this win and what it means to us and for the whole school."

With 915 yards rushing in nine games this season, Iwaniec joins Alex Baronich (2009) and Trevor Manuel (2011 and 2012) as the only Huntingdon running backs to surpass 900 rushing yards in a season. Iwaniec's 15 rushing touchdowns this season are two short of Manuel's school record of 17.

"It was good to have John back out there. He is a special back," Bailey said. "Having him back there as a threat, it changes the defense's demeanor. They know they have to be aware of what's about to be run at them and they also have to be aware of us throwing deep."

Bailey, who has a school-record 26 touchdown passes this season, accounted for the Hawks' other two touchdowns. The junior threw a 23-yard touchdown strike to Diggan Andre in the final seconds of the first quarter and scored on a 14-yard run to close the scoring early in the fourth quarter. The scoring pass to Andre was the 49th of Bailey's career, tying him with Neal Posey for second in Huntingdon history.

Bailey finished with 230 yards passing on a 21-of-27 day and rushed for 74 yards on 10 carries. Zach Camp led the receivers with four receptions for 80 yards.

Freshman kicker Chase Young accounted for the Hawks remaining points with a 25-yard field goal just before the half and five extra points. Young, who is 61-of-62 on extra points this season and 6-for-10 on field goals, broke the Huntingdon and USA South record for extra points in a season with his first extra point of the game.