The Hawthorne varsity football team is back in the state championship.
The top-seeded Hornets put together a complete performance on offense, defense and special teams to defeat No. 13 seed Williston, 28-7, in the Rural state semifinals on a cold, rainy Friday night at Annie Mae Phillips Stadium.
“Great team win,” Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram said. “We got it from special teams, we got it from offense and, of course, defense was lights out all night.”
After forcing the Red Devils’ offense into a quick three-and-out, the Hornets (10-1) worked the ball past midfield on their first offensive drive after quarterback Adrian Curtis scrambled on a third-and-long to give Hawthorne a first down. A personal foul penalty on Williston (8-5) at the end of the play tacked on an additional 15 yards.
The drive would ultimately end with a 14-yard touchdown run by running back Keenon Johnson to give the Hornets the early 7-0 advantage.
Later on in the first quarter, the Red Devils quickly worked the ball onto Hawthorne’s side of the field after a run of more than 40 yards by running back Jamari Williams.
However, Williston’s offense would stall inside the 10-yard line, leading the Red Devils to send out kicker Ryan Gagne for a 24-yard field goal attempt.
But instead of Williston potentially cutting its deficit to four, Gagne’s kick was blocked and scooped up by the Hornets’ Nathan Jennings, who returned it for a touchdown to give Hawthorne a 14-0 lead in the opening seconds of the second quarter.
The Hornets were back in Red Devils’ territory later on in the quarter after a run by Johnson moved Hawthorne past midfield. This was followed up with an unsportsmanlike penalty on Williston to put the Hornets at the Red Devils’ 32-yard line.
A few minutes later, Hawthorne found the end zone again after a 9-yard touchdown run by Johnson to put the score at 20-0 with just over two minutes to play in the half.
The Hornets’ offense came out clicking on its opening drive of the third quarter, quickly moving the ball past midfield thanks to a mix of passing and running. However, that momentum was taken away after a backward pass resulted in a fumble and Williston recovery.
After the Red Devils’ offense failed to capitalize off the turnover, Hawthorne was back on Williston’s side of the field again almost midway through the quarter following back-to-back runs by sophomore Ryheem Moore and Johnson. But the Red Devils’ defense stood tall and stopped the Hornets on fourth-and-short to get the ball back.
Hawthorne’s defense returned the favor on Williston’s next offensive drive, allowing the offense to get one last chance before the end of the quarter.
The Hornets would seize the opportunity, as Curtis connected with wide receiver Dacarion Debose on a 39-yard touchdown pass to give Hawthorne a 28-0 lead with roughly 40 seconds to play in the third.
The Red Devils’ offense managed to crack the scoreboard with under 10 minutes to play on a 10-yard touchdown run by Williams. This came via a muffed punt by the Hornets.
That score by Williams would go on to be Williston’s only points of the night, as the Red Devils’ notorious Wing-T offense was shut down for much of the night.
“You got to give them credit. They’re extremely fast,” Williston coach Robby Pruitt said of Hawthorne. “They’re a good football team. They were just better than we were tonight.”
With the win over Williston, the Hornets advance to next week’s Rural state championship at The Villages, where they will face No. 2 seed Madison County in a rematch of last year’s state title game.
FHSAA Football playoffs
Friday, Nov. 29
Area teams in bold
State Semifinals
Rural
Hawthorne 28, Williston 7
Madison County 34, Union County (Lake Butler) 8
Semifinals
Rural (Division B)
Dixie County (Cross City) 52, Trenton 22
Regional Finals
Class 2A-Region 2
Cocoa 40, Newberry 3
Class 6A-Region 1
Buchholz 25, Oakleaf (Orange Park) 19
