Michael “KoKo” Kendricks took the handoff and darted through a hole created by Landon Moore and the rest of his incredible offensive line. East Ridge may have been playing a “bear” front, but the tailback may as well have been playing against a five-man box because of how well his blockers were running interference.
KoKo ripped into the secondary and spun off a would-be tackler around the five yard line.
From there, he fell into the endzone for his fourth touchdown, a 29-yard fourth quarter dash that was the longest of his 257 yard outing against the host Pioneers. It was a little bit of revenge for the sophomore.
Hixson defeated East Ridge, 34-14.
“Koko was on this field last year when we got put out of the playoffs, and he took it hard,” Hixson coach Josh Owensby said. “He deserves praise tonight, because he’s worked his tail off.”
Pioneer everythingback Jalen Ellis started the game with East Ridge’s best play of the season. Flanking freshman quarterback Hasani Jackson as a wingback on the left, he motioned over and took the handoff on second and 23.
The playmaker got solid blocking on the perimeter and burst into the secondary. It turned then into a 77-yard foot race that the junior speedster wouldn’t lose, and the Pioneers thrilled their first home crowd of the season by taking an early 7-0 lead.
Kendricks and the Hixson offensive line took over the game from that point on though. Passing was an afterthought in the first quarter, as the Wildcats handed off to number-one nine times, gave two other players carries, and threw zero passes in that frame.
Linemen like Braden Jenkins, Felix Lopez, and Landon Moore just mauled the East Ridge defense, the orange front-line simply washed away by a sea of black and gold. Kendricks did not have a run longer than 12 yards in his 21 carry, 110 yard first half, but used the great blocking to ram ahead for a steady stream of four-to-eight yard gains.
“We knew if we could get all five of them on the field at the same time we had a chance to be good in the run game,” coach Owensby said. “Tonight’s the first time we’ve had all five of them after dealing with injury or COVID or whatever it might be.”
Kendricks closed out two possessions with short yardage touchdowns, both which showcased his ability to read his zone blocks and make the decisive cutback. He even scored the two-point conversion on the second, veering left before sticking his foot in the ground and cutting up into paydirt.
While Hixson’s offense was ruthless on the ground, its defense shut down the Pioneers run-heavy scheme on the other side. Linebacker Brandon Burke was everywhere, covering from one boundary to the other whenever the Pioneers would try outside runs while blowing up interior tries.
“He’s one of the better ones I’ve coached. He moved in from Atlanta and he’s one of our biggest surprises,” Owensby said. “He finds the football and he’s aggressive.”
Hixson looked as if it was going to extend its lead to 21-7 as it marched downfield midway through the second quarter and had the ball a few yards from the endzone. Hixson decided to throw though, and East Ridge’s TJ Holmes picked off the slant and ran it back 35 yards to get the Pioneers out of danger. The score stood at 14-7 going into halftime.
Compared to the first half, the third quarter looked like something out of the now-defunct Arena Football League. Hixson’s Smith connected with Eugene Callahan on a 21 yard fade down the left sideline to give the Wildcats a 22-7 lead. Of Smith's six completions, all but one went to the sure-handed stud on the outside.
“Eugene is a hell of a player,” coach Owensby said. “It’s like having a chip in your back pocket. We’re going to try to pound and pound it, but you still have to honor the pass because he’s a playmaker.”
After rushing for that long touchdown in the first half, Ellis started the second half at quarterback. He dashed downfield to get the Pioneers in scoring position, and then showed off his seldom-used arm in the red zone.
Last week, coach Tim James had called Cadion Harris the best playmaker on the team, and the wide receiver showed why on a 21 yard hook route on the right sideline. He caught the ball and then lunged for the last few yards to put the score at 22-14. It was the only completed pass for East Ridge the entire night.
Kendricks 14 yard run gave the Wildcats another two-possession lead to start the fourth quarter. Enjoying more quality blocking, the talented sophomore runner outraced defenders to the sideline and slashed into the endzone from the left side. Kendricks added one more touchdown late in the fourth to put a Wildcat bow on Hixson’s great night.
“We told them at halftime that East Ridge would come out to stop the run, and that was going to be when we figured out how good we really are,” Owensby said. “If we could run the ball when they’re trying to stop it, we knew we had a chance (to close out the game).”
GAME SUMMARY/STATISTICS
Hixson Wildcats: 06 08 08 12 - 34
East Ridge Pioneers: 07 07 00 00 - 14
SCORING SUMMARY:
First Quarter:
ER 7:25 JALEN ELLIS 77yd Run (PAT Good)
HX 4:04 KOKO KENDRICKS 3yd Run (PAT No Good)
Second Quarter:
HX 10:38 KOKO KENDRICKS 4yd Run (2pt Conv. Good)
Third Quarter:
HX 9:52 CHRISTIAN HARRIS 21yd Pass to EUGENE CALLAHAN (2pt Conv. Good)
ER 5:45 JALEN ELLIS 21yd Pass to CADION HARRIS (PAT Good)
Fourth Quarter:
HX 11:53 KOKO KENDRICKS 14yd Run (PAT No Good)
HX 1:35 KOKO KENDRICKS 29yd Run (PAT No Good)
STATISTICS:
Hixson East Ridge
RUSHING YARDS: 306 156
PASSING YARDS: 98 21
PASSING: 5-9-1int 1-4-1int
TOTAL YARDS: 404 177
INDIVIDUAL STATS:
RUSHING:
HIXSON RUSHING: Kendrick 37-257-4tds, Barret Seldon 6-37, Christian Smith 6-12
EAST RIDGE RUSHING: Jalen Ellis 16-129-1td, Hasani Jackson 5-8, TJ Holmes 1-(-4), Jermaine Blackstock 2-10, Kejahan Middlebrooks 1-1, Javonte Pullom 2-12
PASSING:
HIXSON PASSING: Christian Smith 6-9-98yds-1td-1int
EAST RIDGE PASSING: Jalen Ellis 1-2-21yds-1td-1int, Hasani Jackson 0-2-0yds-0td-0int
RECEIVING:
HIXSON RECEIVING: Eugene Callahan 5-84-1td, Barrett Seldon 1-14
EAST RIDGE RECEIVING: Cadion Harris 1-21-1td
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