Hawks fend off Rams in rivalry crossover

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 11/8/16

The Bishop Hendricken football team didn't play its most complete game of the year against rival La Salle on Friday night, and missed defensive star Kwity Paye for the entire second half. Still, though, as they

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Hawks fend off Rams in rivalry crossover

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The Bishop Hendricken football team didn’t play its most complete game of the year against rival La Salle on Friday night, and missed defensive star Kwity Paye for the entire second half.

Still, though, as they have for the past six years and counting, the Hawks found a way to win. They played a field-position battle for the final quarter, fending off La Salle’s comeback efforts for a 27-14 victory to remain undefeated.

“Tough, hard-fought win, like I said to [La Salle] Coach [Geoff] Marcone after the game, the guys were dropping all over the place for both teams,” Hendricken head coach Keith Croft said. “It’s a physical game. Like I said to the guys before the game, ‘You can’t prepare for this physicality.’”

Punter Andrew Flint boomed two kicks of 48 yards each in the last eight minutes and 15 seconds of the fourth quarter, pinning La Salle within its own 30 on both occasions. The defense was able to stand tall on both drives, forcing the Rams to give the ball back to the Hawks for clock-killing marches of their own.

“I was just trying to focus,” Flint said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much, not trying to over-kick it. Just go with it, I guess, put it up there.”

The Hawks started the game on an ominous note. Quarterback Chris Hindle looked to find Flint downfield, but instead was intercepted at the Rams’ 30. The defense allowed minimal progression, leading to a quick 3-and-out and a deep breath for the green-and-gold side.

Hendricken’s next drive stalled in the La Salle red zone, while the Rams were forced to punt again despite moving into Hawks’ territory for the first time on the night.

The road side got into an offensive rhythm late in the first quarter. Hindle began the drive with a 16-yard run on the read option before finding Tim Picard for a 12-yard gain on the maroon side of the field.

Hendricken began the second quarter with a third-and-6 at the La Salle 42, where Hindle found Flint on an out route for 13 yards. Four plays later, he located his favorite target, Andrew Hopgood, across the middle for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

“I thought he had a really good game,” Croft said of Hindle. “The thing that was deceiving was that he ran the ball really well tonight, which obviously you don’t game plan for, but he did really well on the fakes, the option reads and stuff.”

The Rams, backed by an enormous, sellout crowd at Cimini Stadium, would answer with their own methodical drive. Quarterback Andrew Wright managed a 12-play, 65-yard drive down the field that culminated with a fourth-and-goal at the Hawks’ 7.

Wright was flushed out of the pocket and rolled to his right, heaving a prayer into the back corner of the end zone that found the arms of leaping Craig Kelleher for the tying score. La Salle had the score knotted at 7 with 5:44 to go, and it needed a stop to keep the momentum.

Hendricken’s special teams unit, one of the night’s unsung heroes, would ensure that didn’t happen. Junior Devin Rivet took the ensuing kickoff and darted down 70 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.

“The good thing for Rivet is that I think with a lot of teams, he’d be getting a lot of touches, and with us he’s working on special teams, he’s getting better,” Croft said. “We’d like to get him more involved but there’s only so many touches that can go around. He’s a heck of a player, and he’ll be a big part of special teams for us this season hopefully.”

Things then went from bad to worse for the Rams. Wright was stripped at his own 25-yard line by Nick Martino, who recovered the ball to give Hendricken prime field position.

Paye was used as a running back during the drive, picking up five yards on a first-and-15 to set up second down at the Rams’ 20. He was never able to break into the open field like he did last year, but Paye was at least an effective decoy. La Salle was too worried about his 6-4, 230-pound frame, as Hindle faked the handoff and went untouched on his own to give Hendricken the 21-7 lead.

The Hawks would take that cushion into the half, but they were given a minor scare prior to the break. Paye took a hit to his head making a tackle late in the quarter, but he walked off the field with some assistance. He didn't play the second half, but Croft said that “he is going to be fine.”

“We didn’t really do anything differently without him, we just told the other guys they had to step up,” Croft said of the adjustments the defense made without Paye. “Sometimes there’s a silver lining in that, and it could be good for those guys. They got playing time, build a little depth and that's what you need down the stretch.”

In Paye’s absence, senior linebacker Sam Hill filled the void. Hill was all over the field, pressuring the quarterback on most snaps while dropping into coverage on some. Hindle added another insurance touchdown on a 23-yarder to Flint, then the defense went to work preserving the lead.

Wright would cut the deficit to two scores with one minute to go in the third quarter. On another fourth-and-goal chance at the Hendricken 18, he split the defenders and found Owen Smith to make it a 27-14 game.

“You saw the crowd here tonight, it was phenomenal,” Croft said. “The kids feed off that energy and obviously we’ve played a couple times a year these past few years, so you circle it on the calendar and everybody gets excited.”

The Rams looked to further slash away at the Hendricken lead after setting up with a first-and-10 at the Hawks’ 18. The Rams would move backwards thanks to a holding penalty and two incompletions, setting up another fourth-down scenario.

Wright connected with Jake Ribeiro for a touchdown pass near the back of the end zone, but it was called back because of a false start. Hendricken had its turn to falsely celebrate on the next play after Anthony Witherstone intercepted Wright at the 1. The Hawks were called for roughing the passer, giving the Rams a fresh set of downs.

A short run on first down was followed by a Dylan Gardner sack to set up third-and-10. Hill made a key tackle to stuff Wright up the middle before an incompletion turned the ball over on downs at the Hendricken 15.

The Hawks went to work draining the clock. The ground game, led by senior Matt DiTondo, wasted minutes while the Hendricken defense proved stout when it needed to be. A Hindle keeper in the final seconds sealed the win, sending Hendricken to 7-0.

Hendricken opens up postseason play this Friday at home against the No. 4 seed from Division II-B, Barrington. The Eagles (3-4) started the year 0-3 before winning three of their last four.

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