Hawthorne eyes another championship run

Another year, another state title for the Hawthorne Hornets in 2025.

Not to sound ho-hum about it, but it’s become almost a yearly occurrence for the Hornets.

Hawthorne finished 11-1 a year ago, and allowed only 22 points in four postseason wins, including a 24-8 triumph over previously unbeaten Blountstown in the Rural State Championship Game at The Villages.

Hawthorne captured its third state championship in four years, narrowly missing a four-peat with a 21-14 loss to Madison County in the 2024 Rural State Championship Game.

“I’m extremely proud of my guys, proud of my coaching staff and the people around my program,” Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram said. “There’s a lot that goes into it besides our players showing up and doing it on Friday nights. I’m definitely happy for our community and very proud of these young men for what they have accomplished.”

The Hornets have also played in six consecutive state championship games.

Ingram said the major thing the Hornets had to work on in the offseason after another state title is simply staying humble.

“We’ve been able to keep our guys humble throughout this process,” Ingram said. “We’ve had a lot of success, and it’s hard sometimes hearing how good they are from family members, community people, whoever. We kind of know how to nip it in the bud. We break them down and then bring them back up.”

Ingram stepped down temporarily as head coach in January, but decided to return.

“It was tough. When you think about your kids graduating, you’re looking at the writing on the wall and wonder, is this my time to maybe get out and see what else is out there?” Ingram said. “But the response I received from my players, these kids were going to leave and transfer wherever I coached if it was nearby. This is the kind of impact I wanted to have as a coach.”

As for the 2026 Hornets team, Ingram says this is the most depth he has had in his 12 seasons as the Hawthorne coach. That’s obviously a very telling comment.

Junior quarterback Richard Roundtree Jr. returns to lead the offense. As a sophomore last season, Roundtree threw for 2,581 yards and 30 touchdowns with only seven interceptions and ran for another five scores.

Also returning is junior running back Derryek Gillins, who rushed for over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2025.

Last year’s leading receiver, Darian Bowie, graduated, but seniors Nathan Jennings and Raheem Moore return. Jennings caught 34 passes for 336 yards and five touchdowns while Moore added 22 catches for 364 yards and three TDs.

Defensively, Hawthorne must replace last year’s leading tackler, Kyler Ingram, who also graduated. But junior defensive lineman Demeion Rutledge returns after posting 58 tackles, including nine for loss and 6½ sacks, along with sophomore defensive lineman Jacari Lockhart, with 29 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks.

The ball hawk in the secondary is Jennings, who led Hawthorne with seven interceptions and 14 passes defensed. Joining Jennings is junior transfer strong safety Maverick Jones, who led the area with eight interceptions for Williston in 2025. And the list of players goes on and on. It’s almost an embarrassment of riches.

The schedule is daunting. With the rural classification being combined into 1A, Hawthorne is now in a district. The Hornets will play in 1A-4 with Chiefland and Williston.

Following the preseason kickoff classic at Vanguard (Ocala), the Hornets open the regular season at 4A power Bishop Moore (Orlando). Hawthorne then hosts Newberry and Hernando (Brooksville) before a showdown with seven-time state champion Northwestern (Miami) to be played at The Villages on Saturday, Sept. 12.

“I like the schedule; I get to showcase my abilities,” Roundtree said. “We all get to showcase our abilities. Everybody says we don’t play anybody, so obviously we have to show everybody that. We’ve got a good schedule; we just need to continue what we were doing last year.”

The rest of the schedule consists of home games against Williston, Hardee (Wauchula), and Dunnellon and road contests at Bayshore (Bradenton) and Chiefland.

“The type of games we have on our schedule this year has never happened in Hawthorne’s history,” Ingram said. “It tells you where our program is, it tells you where our program is headed, and I’m extremely excited about this upcoming season.”