For the fourth consecutive year the Hawthorne football team is headed back to the state semifinals.
On Friday night in Levy County, junior Keenon Johnson ran for over 100 yards in the first half as Hawthorne defeated Williston, 34-16, in a battle of unbeaten teams in an FHSAA 1R-Region 4 Final.
“Man, it feels so good,” said Johnson. “It’s just a good feeling going back (state semifinals), but we’ve just got to focus on the next game.”
The defending state champion Hornets (11-0) will host Blountstown next Friday in the 1R state semifinals. The Tigers (8-3), who advanced with a 14-10 win against Port St. Joe in the Region 2 Final, lost at Hawthorne, 28-0, in last year’s state semifinals.
“It feels great just to be able to get this far,” said Hawthorne senior Andrew Zock, who made an impact on offense, defense and special teams. “Coming into an atmosphere like this we knew it was going to be crazy. It was a big game and to be able to beat a team as good as Williston means a lot to us.”
The Red Devils (11-1) began their first drive at their own 27-yard line and marched down the field, getting into Hawthorne territory on a 26-yard run by senior Jace McDonald.
However, the drive stalled at the 12-yard line and senior Eddie De La Cruz drilled a 28-yard field goal with 6:55 to play in the opening quarter for a 3-0 lead.
The Hornets took advantage of a short kick, and a penalty, to begin their first drive at the Williston 42-yard line.
Johnson had runs of 9, 6, 16, 8, 12, and 4 yards on the drive, hitting half the century mark on the Hornets’ first offensive series.
“He ran the ball physical tonight,” said Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram. “We knew it would be a physical game…he was solid all night.”
Then on 4th-and-goal, junior quarterback C.J. Ingram threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to USF commit Alvon Issac to give the Hornets a 7-3 lead with 1:50 to play in the first quarter.
Williston, which never punted in its 52-17 win against Pahokee in the regional semifinals, punted twice in the opening half.
Following their second punt, Johnson scored on a 44-yard run to give Hawthorne a 14-3 lead with 5:57 to play in the half.
“It was power right and I followed behind Jaheim (Darby),” he said. “It was open so I hit it, and I scored, and it felt good.”
The scoring run put him over 100 yards in just a quarter and a half.
“Coming into the game we knew the run game would be there if the O-line just stayed on their man,” Johnson said. “We knew our O-line could do it. I just trusted them and ran behind them.”
However, Williston answered.
Senior running back Ja’mez Jamison rushed up the middle for a 60-yard touchdown run to bring the Red Devils within four, 14-10, with 3:53 to play in the half.
It was bitter-sweet for the Red Devils as quarterback Shamon “Shooby” Coleman suffered an injury on the 73-yard drive. Although he did return in the second half, Coleman was never the same.
Hawthorne’s Caleb “Megatron” Rollerson returned the kickoff 27 yards to put the Hornets in Williston territory again, beginning their next drive at their 43-yard line.
Johnson had an 8-yard run, and a pass interference against the Red Devils moved the ball just outside the red zone.
A couple of plays later, Ingram hooked up with Isaac again on a 24-yard scoring pass to give the Hornets a 20-10 lead with 1:20 left in the half.
The Hornets pulled away in the second half.
After being backed up to their own 5-yard line on the first possession of the second half, Johnson had runs of five and three yards to give them some room.
Then, Ingram capped a 95-yard scoring drive with a 77-yard touchdown pass to Matthew McKinley-Daniels, who broke a tackle at the 10-yard line and it took it to the house for a 27-10 lead just two minutes into the third quarter.
The defense took over from there, holding the Red Devils scoreless in the third quarter.
“We knew that if we were gap sound up front and we did our job in the back end that we would be alright,” said Zock, a Navy commit.
The final score of the night came on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Coleman to junior tight end Jackson Islam with 5:46 to play in the game.
Zock, who recovered a fumbled punt in the first half, hauled in a 16-yard touchdown pass across the middle from Ingram with 1:41 to play in the third quarter. He was wide open on the play.
The win extended the Hornets’ streak to six straight postseason wins and their 23rd straight win overall.
“I feel like I have one of the most balanced teams in the entire state of Florida, all classes,” Ingram said. “We play special teams really hard, of course offense and defense we’re locked in and focused. I’m proud of my guys. It’s a big win for them.”
Friday, Nov. 24
Class 4S-Region 1 Final
No. 1 Buchholz 37, No. 3 Bartram Trail 17
Class 2S-Region 2 Final
No. 1 Bradford (Starke) 43, No. 3 Baker County (Glen St. Mary) 0
Class 1R-Region 3 Final
No. 1 Madison County (Madison) 17, No. 3 Union County (Lake Butler) 14
Class 1R-Region 4 Final
No. 2 Hawthorne 34, No. 1 Williston 16
