Eagles run down 1st victory of season

Hennessey had double- digit leads in each of its first two games this season.

And lost. So when the Eagles staked a 27-7 advantage over Crescent in the fourth quarter last Friday only to watch the Tigers score three straight touchdowns with plenty of time still remaining, there was room for doubt.

“Absolutely,” said head coach Mark Cox. “There was major cause for concern. In both of our games this year and a few last year, we had some leads and let them get away.”

But not this time. Hennessey managed to pick up multiple first downs by running the ball and was eventually able to kneel out the clock on its first win of the season, 27-21, in Crescent.

“It was pretty celebratory. The guys were fired up,” said head coach Mark Cox about the Eagle locker room after the fact. “They were excited to close one out the right way.”

All of last season and for the better part of the first two games, Hennessey’s run game has been far from a strength.

But the Eagles churned out 188 yards against Crescent.

“Our offensive line had the best game so far and by a lot,” Cox said. “They were the biggest reason we had as much success as we did.”

Doing the blue collar work up front were left tackle Titan Root, left guard Tyson Root, center Tryson Sturgill, right guard Kaleb Peach and right tackle Ricardo Perez.

“It was good for us to have balance and not have to throw the ball to move it,” Cox said. “Their blocking allowed us to sustain drives and keep the ball.”

It was Crescent that took the early lead as the Tigers got a 1-yard TD run from Colby Watson.

But then the Eagles rattled off 27 straight points with a touchdown in each quarter.

The first score was a 19-yard pass from Gunnar Holder to tight end Hunter Weber, who Cox credited for both his blocking and receiving.

The Eagles took their lead in the second quarter when Mario Lopez scored on a 2-yard run.

Lopez, not counted on heavily in the first two games, ended up carrying it 13 times for 76 yards.

“He stepped up for us and gave us some good carries,” Cox said.

Doing the most damage was Holder, who also hasn’t been asked to do a lot with his legs.

But the senior had his number called 18 times and delivered 115 yards.

His 1-yard score gave the Eagles a 21-7 lead in the third quarter.

Of course, Holder was also solid through the air.

He was 13 of 23 for 148 yards and gave the Eagles a three-score advantage when he delivered a 42yard touchdown pass to Beau Vinson in the fourth quarter.

Then it became the Tigers’ turn to make a run.

Watson threw touchdown passes of 20 yards to Travis Wolfe and 25 yards to Isaiah Lovett.

Suddenly, Hennessey’s seemingly comfortable lead was down to six points.

But the Eagles didn’t wilt. Instead?

“We enforced our will on them,” Cox said. “It was great to see.”

Crescent didn’t get the ball back and Hennessey got its much-needed victory.

Weber was Holder’s top target as he caught six passes for 72 yards.

Sophomore Noe Diaz led the defense with six tackles, including two big sacks.

Now the Eagles enter into their off week with momentum before taking on Newkirk in their district opener in two weeks.

“This was a big win for our guys to mentally get over that hurdle and know they could do it,” Cox said. “We were due. We needed that badly.”