By Curtis Rockwell, Sports Editor
The Picayune Item
KILN —
Several streaks continued here at Brett Favre Field Friday night.
Homestanding Hancock won its third straight game, as well as its third consecutive season opener under third year coach David King, and in doing so the Hawks ruined the debut of new Pearl River Central head coach Eric Collins.
Hancock's 43-21 win was also the 13th straight loss for the Blue Devils.
New Hawks quarterback Aaron Ladner threw for almost 300 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for a pair of scores as the home team overcame an early 14-6 deficit with 36 unanswered points to pull out the win in the season opener for both teams.
"We knew they could score some points, we saw that in the spring when they did that against Picayune," Collins said. "We were trying to control the ball and keep it away from them, and that worked for a half until their size started to wear us down."
The Blue Devils got off to a quick start under Collins, scoring on their first two possessions of the year in the new wing-T set. Steven Kubicki, who split time at quarterback with Dylan Spiers, capped the opening drive of the game with a 1-yard keeper and running back Trey Wynn ended the second possession with a 13 yard scoring scamper. JoJo Yates added a two point conversion after the first score.
In between, Ladner hit Tyrone Williams on a 9-yard touchdown toss. But PRC still led 14-6 after Wynn's score with 8:04 to play in the first half.
"We were very competitive from the beginning," Collins added.
But the home team began to take control from that point, and the scoring barrage began in the final part of the second quarter as Ladner scored on an eight yard keeper to tie the game up, and then he found Jakaiyla Lowe on a 50 yard scoring strike to put the Hawks up for good at 22-14 with just over a minute left before intermission.
“We're not satisfied with 43-21," Hancock head coach David King said. "We played sloppy at times and we need to correct those mistakes."
The Hawks wasted no time in extending their lead as the second half began, recovering an on-sides kick by PRC and scoring quickly as Ladner hooked up with Williams again this time on a 55-yard screen pass for a score to make it 29-14.
On Hancock's next two possessions, Ladner ran 20 yards for a touchdown and found Jake Crawford on a 30 yard scoring pass to put the game away as the Blue Devils defense had no answer for the Hawks attack.
The Blue Devils ended the game on a bit of a high note, driving 85 yards for a touchdown as Desmond Michel scored on a 5-yard run. PRC also had a chance to score on the final play, but a pass into the end zone after a brief drive fell incomplete.
"I'm proud of the way the kids played," Collins concluded. "I'm not happy with the loss. But I felt like we did some things we can build on."
The Blue Devils have their home opener against Poplarville Friday night. Hancock hosts Long Beach on the same night.
