Miner positive about Hawks after loss to Karns 35-17
“We got ourselves in a hole, and it’s hard to fight out of that,” HVA first-year head coach Jeff Miner said about a 35-17 loss to the Beavers.
But the Hawks fought back from that brutal start, going on a 68-yard drive to begin the second quarter — senior running back Tayvon Morelan led the way with runs of 20, 9 and 7 yards (181 for the game on 22 carries) — before senior quarterback Caleb Smith’s 1-yard sneak cut Karns’ lead to 14-7 with 7:15 left in the first half.
“(Morelan) ran the ball well, we blocked well,” Miner said.
A 50-yard Beavers pass play on third down led to Karns going back ahead by 14, as KHS standout running back DeSean Bishop’s third TD of the game made it 21-7.
Finishing with 205 yards rushing, this Costal Carolina commit would add a 70-yard scoring burst in the third quarter.
About Bishop, Karns head coach Brad Taylor said, “He’s good, he’s talented.”
“Minus one really big play, I thought we played Bishop pretty well,” Miner said.
However, “We had a couple of breakdowns in coverage and let guys get behind us,” he added. “... There were just real small things that led to a couple of real big plays.”
An apparent Hawks TD pass inside the Karns 10 late in the first half was nullified due to Smith crossing the line of scrimmage before throwing, but HVA kicker Ethan Tucker booted a 38-yard field goal making it 21-10 at halftime.
But the Beavers eventually pulled ahead 35-10 before Morelan’s 8-yard run with 9:58 to play, and Tucker’s second conversion of the game, ended the scoring.
With Miner emphasizing his team’s improvement since its first August scrimmage, “Our kids fought and played hard, and we moved the ball and got first downs,” he said.
Moreover, the coach added about his Hawks, “With these guys, when they figure out how good they can be, we’ll be dangerous.”
