Huntingdon bounces back for first win of the season

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon football team took control early and controlled all four quarters on Saturday to earn its first win of the season.

The Hawks scored four touchdowns in the first half and pulled away for a 52-17 win over Brevard College. The Hawks built a 45-10 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter before the backups closed out the game.

Huntingdon put together a season-high 566 yards of offense, including a season-high 308 rushing yards. On defense, the Hawks pressured the Tornados with 4 ½ sacks, eight tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries and two turnovers in allowing a season-low 17 points.

"The biggest thing today was putting four quarters together and getting a win," Huntingdon head coach Mike Turk said. "We have been talking about what it was going to take to win and we did it today. We had a really good week of practice, we prepared well and it paid off today."

Records: Huntingdon (1-4, 1-2 USA South); Brevard (1-4, 1-2 USA South)

The Turning Point: Huntingdon took advantage of its opportunities on Saturday scoring on all but two possessions. The Hawks did not score on their first possession of the game and took a knee at the Brevard 12-yard line to end the final possession of the game.

In between, Huntingdon's offense was clicking.

A 1-yard touchdown run by Eric Thomas and a 24-yard touchdown pass from Michael Lambert to Cody Dwyer gave Huntingdon a 14-0 lead. Kobe Smith's career-long 70-yard touchdown run with 6:16 left in the first half made it 21-0. A 10-yard touchdown pass from Lambert to Garrett Headley gave the Hawks a 28-7 lead at halftime.

The Hawks continued to pull away in the third quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run by Thomas and a 33-yard field goal by Chase Young. C.J. Pugh's 49-yard touchdown reception from Lambert on the first play of the fourth quarter made it a 35-point game.

RayRay Trimble closed the scoring for the Hawks with a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.

Notable

1) With seven tackles against Brevard, senior linebacker Trey Hayes pushed his career total to 275 tackles. The Hawks' second all-time leading tackler, Hayes needs 15 more tackles to break the program record of 289 set by Granger Shook. Shook set the record as a linebacker for the Hawks from 2005-2008.

2) Senior kicker Chase Young converted seven extra points and a field goal on Saturday to push his career scoring total to 276 points. Young, who already holds the Huntingdon career record for points by a kicker, needs 43 more points to become the program's all-time leading scorer. Young currently ranks second behind former running back Trevor Manuel. Manuel scored 318 points (53 touchdowns) from 2009-2012.  

Stat Leaders

Offense

Passing: Michael Lambert: 15/20 for 258 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT

Receiving: Jay Davison: 4 receptions for 72 yards

C.J. Pugh: 3 receptions for 75 yards/49-yard touchdown reception

Cody Dwyer: 24-yard touchdown reception

Garrett Headley: 10-yard touchdown reception

Rushing: Kobe Smith: 5 rushes for 98 yards / 70-yard touchdown run

Eric Thomas: 11 rushes for 79 yards, 2 TDs

RayRay Trimble: 1-yard touchdown run

Kicking:  Chase Young: 7/7 PAT; 1/1  field goals (connected on a 33-yard FG)

Defense

Tackles: Ahmaud Taylor (9), Mal Caldwell (8), Karl Dorn (7), Trey Hayes (7)

Sacks: DeAnte' Griffith (2), Tyus Phillips (1), Marc Struck (1)

Tackles for Loss: DeAnte' Griffith (2), Dylan Powell (2)

Forced Fumbles: DeAnte' Griffith (1), Dylan Powell (1)

Recovered Fumbles: Cameron Compton (1)

Interceptions: Trevor Henson (1)

Quarterback Hurries: DeAnte' Griffith (3), Dylan Powell (2), Oaklee Williams (2)

Head Coach Mike Turk on Saturday's win: "I'm pleased to get a win and I'm very pleased with the way we did it. We dominated from start to finish and I'm proud of our guys for that.

"I'm happy for the guys and proud of our coaches. It's a lot more fun and a lot easier to come to work after winning a football game than it is after losing. We have a win under our belt and that makes us all feel better, but we have to continue to work and continue to get better and build on this."

Coming Up: Huntingdon plays at Averett University on Oct. 20 at 3 p.m.