Hawks Prevail in Ugly Fashion

A win is a win. That's a good thing for the Hawks, after a very sloppy 42-30 win over the Wilby Wildcats.

On the third play of the game, Woodland was bailed out of an early drive by Wilby thanks to Sidney Sumler's forced fumble after a 44-yard run. But the Hawks couldn't capitalize. Sumler fumbled the ball right back to the Wildcats.

However, he came right back to help the defense again, this time intercepting a potential touchdown pass at the goal line with 2:00 left in the first quarter.

After the first period went scoreless, the Hawks finally got on the board with Jon Murren's 30-yard scoring dash on the first play of the second quarter. Brandon Fowler added the PAT to make it 7-0 in favor of the home team.

The Woodland defense continued to hold, forcing a punt on Wilby's next possession. But the Hawks committed their second turnover of the game on Cody Kingsley's interception at the Wilby 8-yard-line.

After the defense held the Wildcats to a 3-and-out, things got sloppier for Woodland. On the first play of the ensuing drive for the Hawks, Murren fumbled at the Wilby 42-yard-line. The 'Cats took advantage, driving 56 yards in 2:02 for the score, capped off by a 3-yard run by Derrick Collins. The extra point failed, so Woodland maintained a 1-point advantage.

The Hawks employed the spread offense on their final drive of the half, and it was successful. The 15-play drive, which lasted 4:16, resulted in Kingsley's first touchdown pass of the night. He found Rob Carlson from the 10-yard-line to give Woodland some breathing room heading into the half. Fowler tacked on the PAT to make it 14-6, which would be the halftime score.

In the second half, things went just the opposite for Woodland. The offense clicked while the defense, particularly the secondary, faltered. The Hawks started off with the ball and Will Volage scored on a 6-yard-run, capping a 72-yard drive. Fowler kicked another extra point to make it 21-6.

After the defense forced another 3-and-out (which would be the last time Wilby would be stopped on offense), Volage came right back for Woodland to score again. This time his 1-yard run finished off a 92-yard drive, and with Fowler's 30th-straight PAT, the Hawks finally held a comfortable lead at 28-6.

From that point on, things turned around for Wilby's offense. The Wildcats went on a 10-play drive lasting 5:41 for their first score of the half. It was capped off by Sir Daryll Johnson's 10-yard TD pass to Collins. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, which made it 28-12.

On the ensuing Hawk possession, Kingsley and company made quick work of the Wilby defense, only needing 2 plays to score. Kingsley found Eric Alfiere on an 11-yard pass completion for his second touchdown of the evening. The score pushed Woodland over the 30-point plateau for the fifth time in as many games, and Fowler's extra point made it 35-12.

But Johnson was just beginning to find his groove for the visitors. He needed only 2 plays to score on Wilby's next possession, finding Dwyane Bennett for a 13-yard TD pass. Again the conversion failed, which left the score at 35-18.

Woodland couldn't score again on its next chance with the ball, as Murren coughed it up for the second time on the night. It was the Hawks' fourth turnover of the game. The turnover set up Wilby's third scoring drive of the half, which came on another Johnson pass, this one finding Kyle Staten for a 15-yard score. The missed conversion kept it 35-24.

The Hawks, though, responded. Volage punched the ball in the end zone for his third touchdown of the night, this one on a 3-yard scamper, to widen Woodland's lead back up. Fowler converted his last, and 32nd-straight, kick to make it 42-24.

The Wildcats scored one last time to get them to the 30-point mark. Johnson tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the fourth quarter, going again to Bennett from 29 yards out. With the missed conversion, the score remained 42-30.

The Wilby onside kick failed, and the Hawks kneeled down the last play of the game to secure a sloppy, 12-point win.

Despite the sloppiness of the win, the offense still was overpowering, gaining 28 first downs and 590 total yards. Woodland rushed for a total of 468 yards. Volage led the team with 178 yards on 17 carries with those 3 scores. Murren ran for 157 yards and a score, and Sumler broke out for 133 additional yards on 17 rushes.

Kingsley was 8-for-12 passing with the touchdown passes to Alfiere and Carlson. He also threw one interception.

Alfiere led Woodland with 8 tackles, while Kile Coty, Steve Gillette, and Nate Hilton had 7 tackles apiece. The Hawks were penalized 7 times for 83 yards.

Next up for the Hawks is a much tougher opponent in Holy Cross. Woodland will travel to Municipal Stadium next Friday evening to take on the defending Class SS Champs. The Crusaders pounded the Hawks, 48-7, last season. They come off a 32-7 loss to Ansonia.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Wilby	0	6	0	24	30
Woodland	0	14	14	14	42

1st Quarter-
WOOD- (10:22) Murren fumble recovery
WIL- (8:54) Sumler fumble
WOOD- (2:00) Sumler interception
2nd Quarter-
WOOD- (11:51) Murren 30 yard run (Fowler kick)
WIL- (8:08) Kingsley interception to Collins
WIL- (6:37) Murren fumble
WIL- (4:35) Collins 3 yard run (kick failed)
WOOD- (0:19) Kingsley 10 yard pass to Carlson (Fowler kick)
3rd Quarter-
WOOD- (8:57) Volage 6 yard run (Fowler kick)
WOOD- (5:00) Volage 1 yard run (Fowler kick)
4th Quarter-
WIL- (11:19) Johnson 10 yard pass to Collins (conversion failed)
WOOD- (10:52) Kingsley 11 pass to Alfiere (Fowler kick)
WIL- (10:00) Johnson 13 yard pass to Bennett (conversion failed)
WIL- (9:30) Murren fumble
WIL- (7:27) Johnson 15 yard pass to Staten (conversion failed)
WOOD- (1:38) Volage 3 yard run (Fowler kick)
WIL- (0:16) Johnson 29 yard pass to Bennett (conversion failed)