Hawthorne comeback falls short at Class 6A Oakleaf

Hawthorne's Darian Bowie (1) scored a fourth-quarter touchdown against Oakleaf. File photo by C.J. Gish
Hawthorne's Darian Bowie (1) scored a fourth-quarter touchdown against Oakleaf.
File photo by C.J. Gish

The Hawthorne football team played from behind all night in Orange Park on Friday.

Their bus was late, and the kickoff was moved back 20 minutes, but the Hornets never gave up in a 35-26 loss at Class 6A No. 5 Oakleaf.

“This is a great team,” Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram said of the Knights, who improved to 4-0. “They’ll make a deep run in the playoffs. So, we had nothing to lose coming here to play a tough opponent.”

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It was the first loss of the year for Rural No. 1 Hawthorne (3-1), which doesn’t play a Rural opponent all season.

“It was physical,” Ingram said. “We had guys go down, and of course, we don’t have numbers, but we filled some guys in, our bus was late, we got here late, and they’re not even making excuses. I told my brother (offensive coordinator Greg Bowie), I felt like we were still going to win the game. We were confident coming in here.”

Oakleaf got a break when Hawthorne sophomore quarterback Richard Roundtree Jr. appeared to be down but fumbled, and Kamauri Townsend recovered for the Knights at the Hornets’ 18-yard line.

On the next play, senior running back Fareed Coleman scored on an 18-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 6:19 to play in the first quarter.

“Both knees were definitely down,” Ingram said. “But we get calls sometimes, whether it’s a home game or an away game, and that’s the way it works. If we take care of the ball, we really give ourselves a chance.”

After a 3-and-out, the Knights scored again on their next possession

Senior quarterback Jack McKissock threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to UAB commit Jordin Price for a 14-0 lead with 52 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

But that’s when the Hornets got their first break of the game.

After a Hawthorne punt, the ball touched an Oakleaf player and sophomore Dakarai Wiggins recovered the ball at the Knights’ 27-yard line.

On the next play, Roundtree threw a 27-yard scoring strike to junior Dominick Harvey with 10 minutes to play in the half. Junior Nathan Jennings’ extra point cut the deficit in half at 14-7.

“He (Roundtree) came out and made some unbelievable throws,” Ingram said. “He’s just that kind of kid.”

Oakleaf answered, though, marching 66 yards on 12 plays and consuming almost six minutes off the clock.

It was ground and pound as the Knights called 11 run plays and capped the scoring drive with a 17-yard touchdown run by Coleman, who broke several tackles on a 4th-and-2 play.

Senior kicker Sam Pena’s extra point gave the Knights a 21-7 lead with 3:59 to play in the half.

Hawthorne pinned Oakleaf deep in their own territory to start the second half, forcing a punt from the Knights’ 3-yard line.

Hawthorne quarterback Richard Roundtree Jr. threw for two touchdowns at Oakleaf. File photo by C.J. Gish
File photo by C.J. Gish Hawthorne quarterback Richard Roundtree Jr. threw for two touchdowns at Oakleaf.

Senior Darian Bowie returned the punt from the Knights’ 35-yard line down to the 8-yard line.

Facing a 4th-and-goal at the 3-yard line, the Hornets ran a trick play.

Roundtree flipped it to Jennings, who threw a 3-yard touchdown pass in the left corner to junior Messiah Gent to make it a one-score game at 21-14 with 6:33 to play in the third quarter.

Once again, the Knights responded, driving 67 yards on just five plays.

McKissock threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Coleman for a 28-14 lead with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Hawthorne drove from its 14-yard line to the Oakleaf 33-yard line on the next possession, but Roundtree’s pass on fourth down was intercepted by senior Rodney Townsend Jr.

“A couple of throws got away from Roundtree,” Ingram said. “We had some one-on-one matchups. We wanted the ball to kind of go outside, but he was being pressured. And again, he’s just a sophomore, so I’m extremely proud of this squad.”

A couple of possessions later, McKissock completed a 37-yard pass to James Madison commit Trace Burney to put the Knights just outside the red zone.

Two plays later, McKissock (6’2, 180) completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Price. The extra point was blocked with 5:59 remaining, but the Knights were comfortably in front at 35-14.

“Man, they can run,” Ingram said. “I thought I had some guys that can run, but he had some nice passes. Right when we were getting back into the game, he made some big-time throws at key moments. Great-sized quarterback throws a great ball. He has some athletes that can run and go up and make plays and they did that tonight, and some of them we had some tight coverage…he played great tonight.”

Surprisingly, Oakleaf kicked an onside kick, but the entire Oakleaf team overran the ball and Hawthorne’s Kyler Ingram fielded it at midfield and had an easy return all alone down the left sidelines for the score. The extra point was blocked, but Hawthorne was back in it, down 35-20 with 5:59 to play.

“We were definitely surprised,” Cornelius Ingram said. “We were actually kind of upset, the coaching staff. We try to play the game the right way. And again, there’s still six minutes left, so we can’t be too upset with the call by them…with the game on the line, I don’t know if they kick that onside kick, but yeah, we were kind of surprised as well.”

Hawthorne’s defense forced a turnover on downs on a 4th-and-1 play at midfield and the Hornets’ offense took advantage.

Roundtree capped a 48-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Bowie with 1:33 remaining. The two-point conversion pass failed, ending the chance of a come-from-behind victory.

“We were in it, especially if we were to capitalize on a two-point conversion, we were still in it,” Ingram said. “This can be a special group. I’m very confident in them. They’re still confident in themselves. Tough opponent on the road. I wanted to see what kind of guys I had, and I did tonight. I saw what I needed to see. I was definitely pleased, even though we didn’t come out with the win. This is a good football team.”

Hawthorne won’t play again until a home game against Bayshore (Bradenton) on Oct. 3. However, Ingram said he is still trying to add another game to the schedule over the next two weeks.

“We’re definitely trying to find one,” he said. “I feel like that’s too much time off. There’s no game practice that can simulate a game, no matter how hard we practice and watch film, so hopefully we’ll find one next week.”

Football scores

Thursday, Sept. 11
Florida School for the Deaf & Blind (St. Augustine) 62, Countryside Christian 34

Friday, Sept. 12

Buchholz 30, Manatee (Bradenton) 13
Eastside 33, Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 17
Santa Fe (Alachua) 24, Palatka 20
Newberry 51, Keystone Heights 7
Oak Hall 21, Branford 20
Saint Francis Catholic Academy 60, Cornerstone Academy 0
Lecanto 42, GHS 0
Oakleaf (Orange Park) 35, Hawthorne 26Trenton 28, Jefferson County (Monticello) 8
Mandarin (Jacksonville) 14, Bradford (Starke) 7
Williston 63, Lake Minneola 0
Columbia (Lake City) 9, Madison County 0
Fernandina Beach 28, Fort White 27
Baldwin 28, Union County (Lake Butler) 0
Chiefland 41, Lafayette (Mayo) 14
Godby (Tallahassee) 36, Suwannee (Live Oak) 31
Lake Weir (Ocala) 32, Bell 8Taylor (Pierson) 22, Bronson 6
Belleview 65, Dixie County (Cross City) 13
OFF – P.K. Yonge

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