Hawks shut out Greensboro for fifth straight win

GREENSBORO, N.C.  – The Huntingdon football team remained unbeaten in conference play with a 57-0 win over Greensboro College on Saturday.

The Hawks took the lead with 17 points in the first 14 minutes of the game and carried a 30-point lead into halftime before letting the younger players finish the game in the second half.

The win was the fifth straight for the Hawks and the shutout was the eighth in program history.

Quarterback Michael Lambert, who only attempted eight passes in the game, completed three touchdown passes in the first half. A 6-yard touchdown to Colton Chinn opened the scoring in the first quarter before a 30-yard scoring pass to Zack Self and an 18-yard touchdown strike to Otis Porter made it 30-0 in the second quarter.               

In between Lambert's first and second touchdown passes, Dontavion Cunningham scored on a 48-yard run and Cole Starr kicked a 38-yard field goal. Eric Thomas added a 31-yard touchdown run in the opening minutes of the second half before Cunningham scored a second touchdown on a 33-yard run. Ray Trimble (1 yard) and Jalen Pugh (2 yards) closed the scoring for the Hawks.

Records: Huntingdon (6-2, 5-0 USA South); Greensboro (1-7, 0-5 USA South)

Setting the Tone: Huntingdon scored on its first eight possessions of the game before punting for the first time with a little less than two minutes to play in the third quarter. As a team, the Hawks averaged 8.8 yards per play for the game and generated 518 yards of offense, including more than 400 yards rushing.

The defense, after giving up 44 yards on the opening possession of the game, held the Pride to 79 yards of offense in the first half and 200 yards for the game. The Hawks also forced four turnovers and recorded nine tackles for loss.

Notable Performances: Huntingdon running back Dontavion Cunningham and linebacker Casey Peppers helped lead the Hawks on Saturday. Cunningham finished with 98 yards and two touchdowns (48 and 33 yards) on six carries and was part of a group of five running backs that combined for 395 yards and five touchdowns.

Eric Thomas led the unit with 139 yards a touchdown on 19 carries. Ray Trimble added 78 yards and a touchdown on six carries, Jalen Pugh had 53 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and Kobe Smith had 27 yards on two carries.

Peppers, a freshman linebacker, led the defense with seven tackles. Peppers also had two forced fumbles and one tackle for loss.

Quick Facts

Series history: With Saturday's win, Huntingdon improved to 7-0 all-time against Greensboro. This was Huntingdon's third shutout in the series. The Hawks have held Greensboro to seven points in the last four meetings.

Porter ties single-season TD record: Otis Porter's 18-yard touchdown reception in the first half was his 12^th touchdown catch of the season. The mark tied the school record set by Cody Pearcy in 2010. Porter is the first Hawk to finish with 10 or more touchdown receptions in multiple seasons. He had 11 touchdown catches in 2017.

Stat Leaders

Offense

Passing: Michael Lambert: 6/8 for 68 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT

Receiving: Zack Self: 2 receptions for 36 yards, 1 TD

Otis Porter: 18-yard touchdown reception

Colton Chinn: 6-yard touchdown reception

Rushing: Eric Thomas: 19 rushes for 139 yards, 1 TD

Dontavion Cunningham: 6 rushes for 98 yards, 2 TDs

Ray Trimble: 6 rushes for 78 yards, 1 TD

Jalen Pugh: 8 rushes for 53 yards, 1 TD

Kicking:  Cole Starr: 4/5 PAT; 1/1 field goals (38-yard field goal)

Rease Noble: 2/3 PAT

Punting: Zach Johnson: 2 punts, 39.0 average, long of 44 yards

Defense

Tackles:  Casey Peppers (7), Mal Caldwell (6)

Sacks: DeAnte' Griffith (1), Dylan Powell (1)

Forced Fumbles: Casey Peppers (2), Jackson Dilworth (1)

Fumble Recoveries: Marc Struck (1), Karl Dorn (1)

Interceptions: D.J. King (1)

Passes Broken Up: Sawyer Kendrick (2)

Head Coach Mike Turk on Saturday's win: "We did some good things today and we did what we hoped to do. We were able to get our starters out of the game and get some young guys in the game in the second half. It was good for those guys to get to play and it was good to see them play well."

Turk on the Hawks' attitude entering the final two conference games: "I think everyone is excited about where we are, but we all realize we still have work to do. We have a good test coming up in North Carolina Wesleyan. They always play us well and we respect their program. We need to have a good week of practice and continue to take steps in the right direction."

Coming Up: Huntingdon hosts North Carolina Wesleyan on Nov. 9 at 1 p.m.