CMS Hawks get back on track vs. Lenoir City
Hawk Gavin Smith picks up big yardage on a kickoof return against Lenoir City Thursday night. — Ken Leinart
Hawks Andrew Meier and Dawson Woodard provided thunder during the game.
There wasn’t a lot of flash with the thunder. The final was a respectable (sorta) 22-6. If not for one missed tackle and nice spin move from Panther Skyler Peters the Hawks would have thrown a shutout.
But the Hawks — and Meier and Woodard — owned the game because they owned the trenches.
“Our offensive line had an outstanding game,” Head Coach Eric Woodard said afterward. “They controlled the line of scrimmage.”
It helped that Meier and Woodard turned in workman-like performances. Nothing flashy, just hard, gritty gains up the middle often times dragging Panthers along with them.
Lenoir City couldn’t stop the ground and pound game of the Hawks, even with Jessie Ventura at linebacker (and they did have a Jessie Ventura at linebacker).
If that one-two punch wasn’t enough, the Hawks also got key production from Mason Hopper out of the backfield and from Gavin Smith on the two kickoffs he handled.
The Hawks, as a team, helped themselves Thursday night — the Birdmen had one fumble, but recovered it, and one punt was blocked on more of a missed kick than a pure block.
“Give Norris and Jefferson credit, they’re good teams, but we had some bad turnovers in those games,” Eric Woodard said.
“Not that any turnover is good. But we had turnovers at crucial times. We challenged the kids this week to protect the ball … Except for the blocked punt they did just that.”
The Hawks had back-to-back punt blocks of their own — the second leading to Clinton’s third score of the game.
The Hawks drove the opening kickoff 56 yards capping the opening sequence with a 21-yard Meier touchdown. Woodard showed signs of what he would do later in the game when he bulled in for the conversion.
The Hawk defense promptly shut down the Panther offense.
“We put in a new scheme this week, wanting to test it out,” Woodard said. “The defense really responded to it.”
Dawson Woodard plowed his way for most of the following 84-yard drive. On at least two carries he looked stopped for a short gain only to pick up more yardage with a crew of Panthers at his feet or his back.
The last five yards of the scoring drive opened the second quarter and the Hawks used a little “trickeration” for the score.
Big man Caleb Cook, who usually toils in the trenches for the Hawk offense, got the call on a delayed handoff for the lineman and five yards for the score.
“We worked on that a little,” Coach Woodard grinned.
Hopper took a short dump pass and dragged a Panther defender with him for the conversion.
The Hawks seemed to lose focus late in the first half, picking up four penalties in the final offensive drive of the half. It didn’t kill the drive, just ran it out of time as the Birdmen kept retaking yardage lost to the yellow hankies.
The final score for the Hawks came after a blocked punt, Hopper finishing off a short 16-yard drive from four yards out. The conversion failed.
The Panthers notched their score after a 15-yard penalty set them up 35 yards from pay dirt. Peters slipped through one tackle and danced around a Hawk for a nifty 35-yard score.
The Panther conversion failed.
Lenoir City threatened again in the fourth quarter. After getting a blocked punt the panthers set up shop within shouting distance of the end zone.
The Hawks defense came through, however, getting an interception at the goal line and taking the ball out to the 11 to erase the threat and allow the Hawks to go back to the ground and pound game and run out the clock.
“We have CAK next week,” Woodard said. “And hopefully after that, the playoffs.”