Birds of Prey: Hawks suffer defeat to Allen Eagles, 17-36

The Hawks’ record has gone down to 2-2 after a tough and gritty loss to the Allen Eagles on a cool and sprinkling Friday night.

The game started very slowly with the Hawks and Eagles giving the ball back and forth. Even after senior defensive back Travis Stone intercepted an Eagle pass, the Hawks could not do much with it. A fumble recovery by junior linebacker Clay Holford also led to zero Hawk points but rather the Eagles recovering a Hawk fumble and giving themselves a 7-0 lead with a touchdown pass to end the first.

However, in the second quarter the action picked up immensely. The Eagles started off by rushing in another touchdown to give them a 14 point lead. Once the Eagles got the ball back, however, they put a snap into the back of their end zone to give the Hawks two points on a safety. The momentum seemed to change when senior wide receiver Jamal Adams caught a nine-yard touchdown pass, but after a failed two-point conversion, the score was only 8-14. On the following kickoff, the Eagles took the ball all the way home and failed their attempt at a PAT to bring the score to 8-20. The next Hawk drive was set up by a good run from senior running back Braelen Evans that put the Hawks on the one-yard line, which lead to a one-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Carson Proffitt. But once again the Hawks had trouble on the PAT and a bad snap temporarily halted the score at 14-20. The Hawks later blocked an Eagle punt that set up a field goal for senior kicker Joel Carlos. With only a couple of minutes left, the Eagles drove down the field and got a field goal of their own, ending the half with a score of 17-23.

The third quarter was remarkably slow, with both teams making a bit of distance and then handing the ball over. Some sign of life did come with a 60-yard reception by Adams, but a holding call on the Hawks brought it right back. Two plays later, the Hawks were actually 20 yards behind where they started and what some fans called the “flag-apalooza” began. The Hawks started to look weary especially after a fake kick by Carlos on fourth down failed to convert. Neither team was able to put the ball in the end zone in the third.

The fourth quarter started with the Eagles converting a fourth down to put them in good field position. After words were exchanged between senior defensive end Daniel Wise and the referees, regarding a facemask and a ripped off helmet, and later Coach Brian Brazil and the referees, the Hawks found themselves minus Wise, who was ejected. The Eagles, getting even better yardage from the altercations, rushed for a touchdown and failed a two-point conversion putting the score at 17-29. The Hawks raced down the field, but once in range of the end zone, Proffitt threw an interception. As tensions grew on the Hawk end, the team was given many unsportsmanlike conduct flags for pushing or jarring with the Eagles. The Eagles would later rush down the field ending in another touchdown and the end of the game.

Final score: 17-36 (L)