Hix Makes Hennessey History
QB has school-record 7 rushing TDs as Eagles hold off pesky Goldbugs, 50-40
HENNESSEY’S TITAN Hix (9), shown in a game against Mount St. Mary earlier this season, set a school record last Friday with seven rushing touchdowns in a 50-40 Eagle victory over Alva. [Photo by HHS Yearbook Staff]
Hennessey all but locked up a spot in the Class 2A playoffs last week.
And the Eagles rode the powerful legs of a freshman to do it.
Quarterback Titan Hix set a school record with seven rushing touchdowns as the Eagles outlasted Alva 50-40 at home.
He broke the record held by Tabor Johns, who found the end zone six times during Hennessey’s 41-6 win over Luther in the first round of the 2014 playoffs.
In that game, Johns ran for 209 yards.
Though not a record, Hix topped that Friday night as well as he was called on to carry the ball 35 times for 232 yards, an average of 6.6 per carry.
He also threw for 190 yards, giving him 422 total yards for the game.
Hix accounted for eight total touchdowns (five passing, three rushing) in last week’s win over Blackwell, which gives him 15 scores in just two weeks.
Most all of them were needed against the Goldbugs, who needed a win to keep alive their playoff hopes.
With that as their motivation, the Goldbugs never went away, especially in the second half.
Hix scored on runs of 5, 1 and 1 yards to give the Eagles a 21-8 halftime lead. He added another 1-yard plunge at 7:44 of the third quarter to make it 27-8 in favor of the home team. That’s when the Goldbugs roared back.
A 54-yard pass from Dayton Malone to Phillip Randle just 10 seconds after the Hix TD kick-started an 18-0 Alva run to end the third quarter. All were big plays as Lance Mathers raced 44 yards for a TD and Malone found Drew Glass from 68 yards out with 51 seconds left in the third.
That pulled the Goldbugs within 27-26, but Hix took the momentum right back. He ran 45 yards for a touchdown just 15 seconds into the fourth quarter, then added another 1-yard run at the 6:47 mark. That pushed the Eagles back to a 43-26 lead. Alva had two more touchdowns in the fourth, but they were sandwiched around a 58yard Hix score. Hennessey ran 82 offensive snaps. Hix ran or passed it on all but 13 of them. Sebastian Gonzalez got eight carries on the night and turned them into 48 yards. Hix was 16 of 34 passing.
Seth Simunek and Weston Smith caught six passes apiece. Simunek’s covered 98 yards and Smith’s 42. Mauricio Valles paced the defense with 10 tackles.
Jessin Hardin added nine. The win was Hennessey’s fourth straight as the Eagles moved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in District 2A-1. The Eagles host Millwood this Friday. The Falcons can lock up the district championship with a win. A Hennessey victory keeps the Eagles in contention for the district crown. A loss likely means the Week 10 contest at Newkirk will decide third and fourth place in the district.