Hawks suffer first loss
By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
DANVILLE – Danville’s high-flying Hawks, sporting a 5-0 record and scoring 41 points per game, were toppled by Winfield’s Pirates, 35-6, in a homecoming battle at Smith-Owens Stadium Friday night.
The loss left the Hawks with a 5-1 overall record and 3-1 in 3A Region 7 action and knocked them from a tie for the lead with Hamilton to a second place tie with Winfield, 3-3 and 3-1. They will face Hamilton at home Friday night.
The Hawks turned the ball over three times in the second quarter and Winfield made the most of the miscues by scoring 28 unanswered points. They extended their lead to 35 points in the third period before Danville was able to get its offense untracked.
The Pirates scored the second time they had the ball, marching 67 yards on 12 plays. A two-yard run by Joshua Dozier capped the drive and John Weeks booted the extra point to make the score 7-0 with 9:44 left in the second period.
An intercepted pass set up Winfield’s second touchdown. Zackary Galbraith picked off a Caleb Hill pass at midfield and returned it to the Hawk 41. On the first play from scrimmage, QB Jacob Handley and RB Reginald Nalls connected on a 41-yard pass play. Weeks converted the PAT to give his team a 14-0 lead with 8:07 left in the first half.
Less than two minutes later, Dozier broke free in the Hawks’ secondary and raced 49 yards for his team’s third touchdown. His run followed a pass interception. Weeks’ kick for the extra point was no good and the score remained at 20-0 with 6:35 left in the second quarter.
Winfield pushed its lead to 28-0 on the strength of a 68-yard, five-play drive. Handley capped the drive by sneaking the ball over the goal line from one yard out with 35 seconds left in the first half. He then passed three yards to Clint Whitehead for a two-point conversion.
The Pirates scored their final touchdown by marching 70 yards on eight plays the first time they had the ball in the second half. Dozier ran 45 yards for the TD and Weeks added the extra point to make the score 35-0.
The Hawks avoided a shutout by marching 74 yards on six plays the last time they had the ball. Levi George capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run on the last play of the game.
Winfield had 385 yards of combined offense with 285 yards coming on the ground and 100 yards in the air. Danville had 118 yard rushing and 35 yards passed for total yardage of 135.
