Hawthorne Dominates Newberry On The Road

The Hawthorne High Hornets (3-0) crush the Newberry High Panthers (2-2) 48-7 in an Alachua County 1A matchup.

Early Drama for Hawthorne

Newberry knew they had a big test at hand against a top-ranked Hawthorne team, and they came out hot with a touchdown on the opening kickoff return. Hawthorne was quick to connect on the next drive and made the score 8-7.

Wow, Senior WR Perrion Sylvester returns the kickoff for Newberry. 7-0 start for the Panthers 15 seconds into the game. Hawthorne ball at the 20.@FlaHSFootball @ThePrepZone @GNVpreps @ESPNGainesville @HMHSHornets @HHS_Football352 pic.twitter.com/H6UGQeus5q

— Weiss (@ZackaryWeiss_) September 17, 2021

Newberry kept the game close and held most of the momentum in the first quarter after recovering a muffed punt by the Hornets. The Panthers drove the length of the field, only to get stopped at the 1-yard line – TWICE!

A missed field goal by the home team would leave the score 8-7 to end the first.

Rebound Time

As if nothing, the Hornets put their first-quarter struggles behind them and came out hot in the second quarter. A dominant defense forced big stops, but it was the run game that was key to the visitor’s successes. Led by Junior running back Bryan James, Hawthrone began to carve up the Newberry defense and it wasn’t long before lead quarterback, Tyler Jefferson broke into the endzone to make the game 16-7.

After another defensive stop, Hawthorne ran down the field before Jefferson threw a textbook post route to wide-receiver Chris Jonas, putting them in the red zone to punch it in and extended the lead to 22-7. An interception by the Hornets defense and a quick drive down the field allowed Hawthorne to throw another touchdown to Ga’mon Randall and go into the half up 30-7.

Foot on the Gas

Hawthorne dominated every aspect of the ball during the second half. Opening with a kick-return touchdown of their own, they took control and never looked back. Two touchdown drives in the middle of the third quarter made the score 48-7, and the score would remain that way till the end of the game.

SEE VIDEO Hawthorne’s lead is up to 48-7 following an incredible reception and run from senior Camren Cohens and a failed 2p conversion @FlaHSFootball @ThePrepZone @GNVpreps @ESPNGainesville @HMHSHornets @HHS_Football352 #flhsfb pic.twitter.com/bnd4TFnI3X

— Weiss (@ZackaryWeiss_) September 18, 2021

The Final Recap

Bryan James played brilliantly and had close to 200 all-purpose yards plus 3 touchdowns on the night. Credit is also due to the offensive line who started sloppily, but quickly took control of the game after the first. Jefferson was solid at Quarterback with a series of TD’s and even Chaz’ Mackey had a solid showing in the second half. Overall, this Hawthorne team looks dangerous when firing on all cylinders.

Newberry showed flashes of life, but couldn’t hang for all four quarters. Their run game initially shocked the visitors, and they will look to capitalize on that moving forward.

Next Friday, Hawthrone looks to improve to 4-0 as they return home and face West Port

Newberry heads east to play Palatka.

Article content by: @mannyandrs & @zackaryweisss