Newberry Drops to 0–2 After Setback to Hawthorne

NEWBERRY — The Hawthorne Hornets outscored the Newberry Panthers in the last three quarters Friday night for a 32-7 win that extended their series winning streak to six games.

Newberry wide receiver Hayden Moore said the rivalry loss would serve as motivation.

“I feel like this is just motivation in general,” Moore said. “Being 0-2 isn’t a great feeling, especially to our rivals. This loss will give us the self-motivation that we need to bounce back.”

The Panthers trailed 14-7 at the half and never bounced back. They didn’t score after the second quarter and were hindered by penalties that gave Hawthorne more than 70 yards.

Newberry also threw two interceptions, including one by quarterback Kobe Johnson, who finished with 86 total yards.

Minnesota commit Kaleb Woods ran for 56 yards as flags and stoppages repeatedly disrupted drives.

“I just felt that my offensive line blocked better, I read the game better and played harder,” said Woods, who expressed his improvement after running for only five yards on eight carries in the loss to University Christian the previous week.

The Panthers had to overcome the first-quarter injury to senior wide receiver Laharry Debose.
“It is always a tough emotional roller coaster to see your teammate taken out of the game,” Newberry coach Edward Johnson said

Johnson praised his team’s quick reaction to Debose’s injury, but credited Hawthorne (2-0) for managing the night.

“I think they responded well early. We just have to play better,” he said. “That had nothing to do with the outcome. They just beat us in every way tonight.”

Looking ahead to another tough test at 7:30 p.m. Friday against visiting Ocala Vanguard (1-1), Johnson said the Panthers need to focus internally.

“We have to worry about us right now, we have to get ourselves better, fix the small things and then we can worry about opponents,” Johnson said.

Category: Football, Hawthorne High School, High School Sports, Newberry High School