Hawthorne’s Defense Stands Strong in Win Against Miami Power
HAWTHORNE – Defense was the name of the game Thursday when the Hawthorne Hornets collected their fourth win after taking down the Miami Northwestern Bulls in a weather-delayed 16-12 victory.
The contest between two of the state’s better football programs wouldn’t get underway until a little more than two hours after the original 7 p.m. kickoff time. The conditions were less than ideal, but they seemed to only get worse for the Hornets, as starting quarterback Richard Roundtree Jr. went down with an ankle injury on the first drive of the game. This left his younger brother, Jusiah Roundtree, to fill in.
“You can’t do anything about Mother Nature, of course,” Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram said. “But to go through all of that, star quarterback pulled out early … A lot of things went wrong, but our guys’ confidence never wavered.”
The Class 1A Hornets defense was the star of the show after Roundtree Jr. went down. The Class 4A Bulls (3-1) only made it into Hornet territory once in the first half.
The Hornets (4-0) went up 8-0 in the first quarter after Dakarai Wiggins rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and added the two-point conversion.
“He was special,” Ingram said of Wiggins, who accounted for Hawthorne’s 16 points..
The Hawthorne defense made the 8-0 lead stand throughout the first half by making stops when it was needed most.
An interception by the Bulls put them within the Hornets’ 15-yard line, but Hawthorne responded with an interception of its own moments later with its back up against its own goal line.
Senior linebacker Ari Bentley made the interception and he added a second pick before the game was over.
“Ari had some bright spots, man,” Ingram said. “We worked the coverage all week, he actually picked those balls off all week, and I’m the scout team quarterback.”
The Hornets defense forced an interception, a fumble and turned the Bulls over on downs in just the third quarter alone, leaving the game stuck at 8-6 until 4:03 to go in the fourth quarter, when Wiggins scored on a 46-yard run and his conversion run was successful.
Northwestern had made it an 8-6 game early in the third quarter when junior quarterback Dontavius Kinchens connected with freshman wide receiver Donte Anderson on a 42-yard touchdown pass, but the try for two failed.
The fourth quarter also saw Roundtree Jr. come back in the game to try and help secure the win for his teammates.
“He’s our leader,” Ingram said. “He’s won the state championship as a sophomore, as a freshman he had to step in to start in some very big games. … Our players believe when he’s in the game, we have an opportunity to win.”
A late-game touchdown run by the Bulls was not enough when they failed on the conversion run and their onside kick was recovered by Hawthorne to secure its 44th consecutive home win.
The Hornets travel to Bradenton to face the Bayshore Bruins next Friday at 7 p.m..
Category: Football, Hawthorne High School, High School Sports
