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Hawks take second By CLAUDE VINSON
Sports Editor  | Photos by Claude Vinson
Trophy time
Coach Naylond Hayes and his Hawks show off their second-place trophy from the tournament. |
The
Holly High Hawks and Lady Hawks opened their seasons on the road with a
three-day participation in the Cougar Classic at Coldwater. The Lady Hawks have a new head coach this season in Xavier Johnson. He came on board in August to take the reins.  | Coach
Xavier Johnson is the new head coach of the Lady Hawks. |
The
new coach and his charges were pitted against the Lady Cougars of
Coldwater. It was probably unfortunate that the Lady Hawks should begin
by doing battle with such a storied program. The team has won state
titles in both the 2A and 1A classes. The Lady Cougars led in all four
quarters and posted a final score of 53-35. Shakeria
Dawkins caught fire in the final frame and blasted a trio of treys and
ended up as the lone Lady Hawk in double figures at 18. Hawks win opener The
game between coach Naylond Hayes’ Hawks and Coldwater was torrid from
the beginning. The hunt for rebounds or any loose ball seemed to be the
primary focus. The Hawks were being more
successful and were getting the most from turnovers. They had the early
lead at 6-0 and 20-13 at the end of the first period. The
score stayed close in the second and the big men of the Cougars were
matching up pretty well withy the Hawks’ big men. Holly High tried but
couldn’t put any great distance between themselves and the Cougars but
they still had a four-point lead at intermission with the score of
27-23. The third quarter was a replica of the
second. Holly High was still being countered at every turn but managed
to hold on to the slim lead of six points in the third. They started to
pull away in the fourth, moving out to 13 points ahead at one point
before the Cougars began hitting threes. Jonathan Bownes came back
into the game and gave the Hawks the push they needed to go on and win
59-43. The only Hawk in double figures, Bownes went on to record 23. Lady Hawks vs. ’Cats The
road didn’t get any easier for the Lady Hawks the second day of the
tournament (November 11). They faced off against the Lady Wildcats of
Independence. The Lady ’Cats indicated early that they were not taking
any prisoners or wooden nickels. They had a 15-0 lead in the first
three minutes. Holly High had a productive spurt which netted eight
points before the period expired on a 23-8 score. The
Lady Hawks were not getting many second chance shots while the Lady
’Cats were creating scoring opportunities. They were out rebounding
Holly High about 4-1. They were near perfect at the charity stripe,
making nine of 11 in the first half. The score was 44-17 at
intermission and 57-31 after three. The Lady Hawks were just outgunned
in this one, losing on a 65-37 final. Jerricka Cole and Camia O’neal led the Lady ’Cats with 15 and 11, respectively. Megan Crittle had nine to lead Holly High. Hawks win again The
Hawks looked very impressive in the first stanza versus Independence.
They were moving the ball extremely well, taking calculated shots with
good results. They had an 11-4 lead at one point but let the Wildcats
come back and tie it up at 11 at the end of the frame. The
play was just a little bit wild in the second with Holly High coming
out one better at 21-20. The third saw the Hawks really trapping the
ball, which allowed them to put a little distance between themselves
and their opponents. David Bridges gave them their biggest lead of the
game when he popped a trey at the buzzer to make it 38-30. The
Hawks swooped down on the Wildcats in the fourth, increasing the lead
to 11. Independence had to resort to fouling since time was running out
and Javian Agnew finished it off at the line to give the Hawks the
49-34 win. Bridges and Bownes paced the Hawks, the former had 19 and the latter 16. Jeral Avant led the Wildcats with 18. Lady Hawks fall Although both Hawks teams played well in the closing round of the Cougar Classic, they both failed to pull out wins. The
Lady Hawks came out in an aggressive mode. They were employing a zone
defense which was really tracking the ball. The Lady Lions of Rosa Fort
scored the first five points but the Lady Hawks got back to back treys
from Rachel Selman and Abreanna Spight which put them one point ahead.
Rosa Fort threw in six more before the quarter ended to take the lead
back 13-7. In the second frame, Holly High was
still out-rebounding the Lady Lions at the defensive end. And they were
staying within a reasonable distance. They cut into the Rosa Fort lead
a couple of times but allowed the Lady Lions to pull away by 13 points
at intermission, 30-17. The Lady Hawks were still
running a credible defense in the third but the Rosa Fort offense had
picked up steam and outran Holly High 46-29. Holly
High picked up its offensive attack again in the fourth and started to
contest the Lady Lions in earnest. Its point total would have been a
lot better if it hadn’t missed so many lay-ups and close-ins. The Lady
Lions won 54-40. Selman led the Lady Hawks with 10. Marynica Smith led Rosa Fort with 20 and her team mate, Sharonda Vaughn added another 11. Hawks take second The
game between Rosa Fort and Holly High was touted as the premier
match-up in this tournament – a 3A school (Holly High) versus a 4A
school (Rosa Fort). Before it was over they would be playing to a
standing-room-only crowd. The scoring was pretty even in the opening
frame with the Hawks being one digit better at 15-14. There
was a fierce war going on in each circle for rebounds. So far, Rosa
Fort was exhibiting some pretty formidable weapons. The Lions were
winning most of the close-in skirmishes. And this time it was the Lions
turn to leave the floor with the one digit lead at 29-28. The lead
“swung like a pendulum do” in the third quarter, going from one team to
the other. Rosa Fort was leading 44-38 at the end of three. The
fourth frame was the do-or-die quarter. Neither team had lost a game in
the tournament and the Lions had a 50-44 lead with about four minutes
left. Holly High cut the margin to one with a minute and a half left.
Javian Agnew broke away and sank a deuce after Rosa Fort had claimed
two on a turnover. Both teams had plenty of fouls to give because
neither was in the penalty. Holly High ended up committing the bonus
foul with 41 seconds left. The Lions went on to win it at 54-51. LaBarron Collins (12), Jonathan Ankston (10) and Bernadrick McKinney (10) led the Lions. Agnew (15) and Jonathan Bownes (14) led Holly High. Holly High will play next at H.W. Byers this Friday. |
