Hixson's Brian Wagoner reaches for an overthrown pass.
photo by M.A. Locke
It was not clinical football by any means, but Hixson’s quarterback and a stout-hearted defense had the last word Friday in a 7-0 non-region high school football victory over East Ridge at Antonio S. Martino Field.
Senior signal caller LaDaquis Word scored a 1-yard second-quarter touchdown run and the Wildcats’ defense made the game’s only score stand up.
Hixson (2-3) forced three East Ridge turnovers – interceptions by Tre Warthon in the end zone and Mista McCrary near midfield and a Britt Rominger fumble recovery -- and thwarted the Pioneers at every turn.
“Our defense was pretty good,” said Hixson’s sophomore Jumane Johnson, who came up with six tackles behind the line of scrimmage, four in the first half. “I was reading the guards. If one of them pulled, I went to the backfield. If one didn’t pull, I dropped back because I knew it was going to be a pass.”
At halftime, East Ridge (3-3) had 55 yards of offense, no first downs and punted on each of its five possessions. The Pioneers punted twice more in the second half and then had two interceptions on the following two.
“Defensively, it was pretty to watch,” Hixson coach Dan Duff said. “The defense played lights and out and we’ve struggled there at times. Coach Caleb Collier, our defensive coordinator, has done a fine job.
“The kids believe in what they’re doing, they listen and they’re coachable. The combination of good coaches and coachable players can win you some ballgames.”
East Ridge’s most serious threat was put in motion when sophomore Jaxon Knight intercepted a Word pass at the Pioneers’ 35. On second-and-14, Eric Bennett threw a 20-yard pass to Kashawn Cosey Jr. to the Wildcats’ 42 – the first time the visitors snipped Hixson territory.
After an incompletion, tailback Lorenzo Stewart bolted 20 yards to the 22. On second-and-goal from the 8, Bennett threw to the back right corner of the end zone, but a leaping Warthon stepped in front of the receiver to make the crucial interception.
“That was huge, certainly one of the biggest plays in the game,” Duff said.
Hixson’s Mista McCrary got the other interception at the East Ridge 48 with 6:23 left in the game.
“Our defense played well enough to win the game,” East Ridge coach Tim James said. “Offensively, we were a non-factor tonight and that was very frustrating. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we have some kids that need to get healthy.”
James said Moore, who did not dress for Friday’s game, should be back in the lineup next week when the Pioneers host Notre Dame in a Region 3-3A contest.
Hixson drove to the East Ridge 12 and had a first down with 2:26 remaining. The Wildcats ran three plays before Word twice took a knee as time expired.
“Our offensive line has been a good strength for us and there at the end they just said, ‘We’re taking it.’ And they took over the game. We were in a four-minute offense and were taking 25 seconds off the clock before every snap.”
Amazingly, Hixson fumbled six times and lost only one. While the fumbles didn’t make a serious impact on the game, it cost the Wildcats’ offense some rhythm.
“In the past we’ve dealt with fumbling,” said offensive lineman Brett Gardin, who recovered two of Words’ fumbles after East Ridge defenders stripped him of the ball. “Whenever I’m blocking down field and I hear somebody yell, ‘Ball,’ I start looking for the ball, find it and jump on it. It makes you feel good when you can recover the ball, keep the drive going and prevent a turnover.”
Duff said some starters were not able play against the Pioneers and that meant new faces were handling fill-in roles.
That, Duff added, could have had something to do with the fumbles in the backfield.
“Any time you have new guys out there, you can have some discombobulation,” he said. “We do a lot of option stuff and that happens sometimes, but there’s no question we shot ourselves in the foot offensively.
“East Ridge was trying to hammer the ball out of our hands. We told our kids to put the ball in front of your chest and wrap both hands around it. I don’t think we were carrying the ball wrong, but if you’ve got one hand on it, and they’re going after it, it’s going to come out sometimes when they hit it.”
After losing its first three games by a combined score of 120-20 to start the season, Hixson has won two in a row. The Wildcats knocked off East Hamilton, 21-18, last week.
It was the Wildcats fourth win in the last five meetings with East Ridge, which won last year’s contest 26-14 en route to a perfect 10-0 regular season.
On Hixson’s first possession, a drive stalled at the Pioneers’ 34 and Austin Slifko came up short on a 51-yard field goal attempt.
Following a 30-yard East Ridge punt, Hixson methodically drove 60 yards in 12 plays with Word scoring from 1 yard out. Slifko kicked the extra point and that would be all the scoring.
SCORING
East Ridge 0 0 0 0 – 0
Hixson 0 7 0 0 – 7
Second Quarter
HX – LaDaquis Word 1 run (Austin Slifko kick), 11:57
YARDSTICK
ER HX
First Downs 4 9
Rushes-Yds 21-63 40-126
Passing Yds 55 10
Comp-Att-Int 7-14-2 1-5-1
Plays-Total Yds 39-118 45-131
Fumbles-lost 4-1 6-1
Punts-Avg 7-29.8 5-42.4
Penalties-Yds 6-34 8-45
INDIVIDUALS
RUSHING – East Ridge: Lorenzo Stewart 5-43, Eric Bennett 7-17, Kashawn Cosey 9-3, ; Hixson: LaDaquis Word 25-67, Tay McDaniel 4-25, D’Angelo McReynolds 6-21, Jumane Johnson 2-9, Tre Warthon 1-7, Team 2-minus 2.
PASSING – East Ridge: Bennett 7-14-2-55; Hixson 1-5-1-10.
RECEIVING – East Ridge: Marquis Hinton 4-30, Cosey 1-10, Stewart 1-5; Hixson: Johnson 1-10.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)