With a halftime score of 13-0, a final score of 34-12 seemed unlikely.
But that’s how the scoreboard appeared after the Hockinson Hawks picked up their second victory of the season.
The Hawks got off to an early start, recovering a kickoff and capitalizing on the free possession for a score early in the first quarter against the Hudson’s Bay Eagles on Thursday, Oct. 23. But early in the second half, the Eagles found themselves in the end zone, narrowing the score to 13-6.
Hawks’ first-year head coach Ben Nelson said the commanding victory was proof of how far his players have come mentally this football season.
“I think four or five weeks ago, our guys kind of take that shot and they just fold, and then the game kind of gets away from us,” Nelson said. “I thought tonight they had a good maturity and growth point of just responding to adversity and finishing the game. And just saying, football is a game of momentum, and so when one play goes the opposite way, you’ve got to try to get yours on your end, as well. So, I’m proud of the guys. They responded and turned the page and worried about the next play, not what happened previously.”
The senior class was entering the year with the mindset of improving on last season, and they have. A big key to that has come from the underclassmen, mentored by the senior group.
With this being Nelson’s first season, entering the final week he hopes to honor the senior group in each practice and have a positive finish to the year against the Washougal Panthers at home on Friday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m.
“My hope for the next week is to honor our seniors, put in a good week of practice, you know, coaches put in a good game plan, and do our best to have a positive game,” Nelson said. “We fight to the end. Washougal is a good team, but our guys are getting better.”
The win over the Eagles featured strong showings from the underclassmen.
“We’re getting our young guys a lot of good reps,” Nelson said.
At one point, the Hawks' defense had five freshmen on the field. Next year, the Hawks are set to return eight starting defenders.
Nelson said returning a majority of starters is beneficial for any team.
“There’s still a lot of immense growth to go,” Nelson said. “And I think our young cats are bought into the idea that you do have to work hard in practice to have success on Friday nights, and they’re seeing that. We have kids that have never played high school football before two-and-a-half months ago, and they’re out here playing inside backer, playing outside backer as freshmen, and they’re making plays. So, I think that’s a positive building piece for next year.”
