Newberry Struggles in Loss to Hawthorne

NEWBERRY — After opening the high school football season with an impressive 68-10 win over Santa Fe last week, the Newberry Panthers learned Friday there’s more work to do before they can compete against the likes of state power Hawthorne.

The Hornets, last year’s Class 1B rural state champions, jumped on the Panthers for a 21-7 lead after the first quarter en route to a 40-10 win.

Big Plays Cost Newberry in the First Half

Newberry (1-1) couldn’t contain the Hornets on their first drive, allowing junior quarterback CJ Ingram to put together several chunk plays and the game’s first touchdown.

Senior David Schmidt returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a Newberry TD to even the score at 7.

Hawthorne (2-0), winners of 14 consecutive games, then seized momentum and never let up.

On the following kickoff, Hawthorne senior Alvon Isaac returned it for a touchdown to put the Hornets up for good at 14-7.

On Newberry’s next play from scrimmage, quarterback Keil Mcgriff had his pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown. 

Newberry’s offense was plagued by penalties, stalling productive drives behind the running of sophomore Kaleb Woods, who gained 92 yards in the opening half. Woods led the Panthers to a field goal that cut their deficit to 21-10 at the half.

All Hornets in the Second Half

Hawthorne’s talent was on full display after the break. Ingram ran the ball himself for most of a drive that ended with his second score and a 27-10 advantage.

After rushing for more than 100 yards and the two touchdowns, Ingram added a passing touchdown toward the end of the game to settle the final margin.

The Panthers couldn’t amount much offense in the final half while their defense wore out. 

Up Next

Newberry looks for better results on the road at West Port on Friday.