Hanover Area has been struggling with that so far this year. With a 0-7 record heading into Saturday afternoon’s game at Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech, the Hawkeyes had scored a total of just 53 points in their first seven games of the season.
But for the first time this season, the Hawkeyes appeared to put everything together on Saturday, or at least enough to gain an edge over their opponent. Hanover more than doubled its previous output of offense for the entire season with a 56-point outburst, including outscoring CMVT 28-6 in the second half, as the Hawkeyes picked up with first win with a 56-44 victory over the Rams.
“We’re starting seven to eight freshmen every game, so we’re starting freshmen and sophomores. We have one senior that plays on both sides of the ball,” said Hanover Area coach Jason Majiros. “I think it took us some growing pains to get there and just knowing how to work during the week and get their bodies right and mature a little bit. They’re good enough to play but that maturity level and their bodies and their mind and work ethic just needs to grow. When we put it all together, we can be dangerous.”
Not only did they put it together, but they did things the hard way, rallying back after trailing by 10 points at halftime with a dominating second half. Trailing 38-28 at the half, Hanover scored four straight touchdowns in the second half after coming up empty on their first second half drive to take a three-score lead midway through the fourth quarter.
After Braxtyn Brown of CMVT ran for 253 yards in the first half alone, his 40-yard touchdown with 2:54 left in the game, his third of the afternoon, gave him exactly 300 rushing yards for the game. But that play was about the extent of CMVT’s offense in the second half. Hanover ran 37 plays in the second half to just 20 for CMVT and had 13 first downs to just four for the Rams. Aside from Brown’s fourth quarter touchdown run, CMVT managed just 27 additional yards in the second half.
“They came out after halftime and were just a bit more aggressive, especially on their defensive line, which got through our gaps and made some tackles in the backfield. They just played better in the second half and outlasted us,” said CMVT coach Mark Varner. “They found some of our weaknesses where we had some new kids playing in certain positions and they overpowered them. Their defensive tackles did a great job slanting and making some tackles in the backfield and you just have to give them credit.”
Overall, Hanover outgained CMVT by just 30 yards, 491-461, while the Rams had more first downs 27-21.
In addition to having its offense bottled up in the second half, Brown’s counterpart on the Hawkeyes did his biggest damage in the second half. Freshman running back Malique Campbell finished with 308 yards on 29 carries and four touchdowns, with 228 of those yards coming in the second half.
“We were able to shore up some things defensively at halftime. We knew what they were doing, and we knew we needed to stop Brown,” said Majiros. “Our guys just took up the challenge of getting off blocks and running to the football. Once we got that first stop and then we scored and got another stop really quick, I think the mindset changed, they felt the momentum shifting, but schematically we just stuck with the game plan and the kids bought in.”
After receiving the second half kickoff and recovering an onside kick, the Hawkeyes put together a 15-play drive that advanced the ball down to the CMVT 13, but missed a 30-yard field goal attempt, giving the ball back to the Rams.
After a single first down, the only one of the second half for the Rams until their lone scoring drive later in the fourth quarter, CMVT punted and Hanover Area took over at its own 35. Four plays later, Logan Richardson hit Deacon Eisenbach for a 43-yard touchdown reception, cutting the CMVT lead to 38-35 at the 1:46 mark of the third quarter.
The Rams were forced into a three-and-out on their subsequent drive, and another good punt put the Hawkeyes back at their own 36 to start. But Campbell ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage to give the Hawkeyes their first lead since early in the second quarter, 42-38.
The lone turnover of the game for either team was committed by CMVT on its ensuing drive, as Jayden Cruz picked off a Myles Koser pass and returned it 21 yards. The Hawkeyes took over at the CMVT 45 and proceeded to take advantage, going 45 yards in five plays, with Campbell running for a 27-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 49-38 early in the fourth.
CMVT turned it over on downs at their own 35 on its subsequent drive, and Hanover was poised to attempt another field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 9 until the Rams committed an offside penalty, putting the ball at the 4. Majiros sent his offense back out on the field and was rewarded as Richardson found Jonathan Otway-Kellom in the end zone to essentially put the game away with a three-score lead with 5:06 remaining.
“Campbell is a good runner and they were able to exploit some things off tackle and we didn’t play it well at times,” said Varner. “A couple of times, we thought we had Campbell tackled and then he made a cut and he was gone and we couldn’t contain him. Their kids just beat our kids off the ball in the second half and once you get leverage, you’re going to win and that’s what happened.
“This is one of the few games where it seemed like we wore down more than the other team. We just didn’t make the plays in the second half that we were making in the first. Braxtyn couldn’t even get to the line of scrimmage. Our backside blocking was creating some bubbles and failing us so that’s something we’ll work on for next week and we’ll keep moving forward.”
The Rams had looked better earlier in the game. After giving up a 61-yard touchdown pass on Hanover’s first possession, CMVT answered it with a nine-play, 67-yard drive capped by Tyson Brown’s 1-yard touchdown run, and Brown also hauled in the pass for a two-point conversion to put the Rams up 8-7 with 3:49 to play in the first.
It was then an action-filled second quarter as both teams combined for 52 points. CMVT scored on four of its five possessions in the quarter, with only the clock running out on the half preventing them from potentially scoring again.
Braxtyn Brown’s 53-yard touchdown run at the 8:09 mark of the second tied the game after Hanover had retaken the lead on a 22-yard run by Campbell.
CMVT then stopped the Hawkeyes on downs at their own 41, then proceeded to take a 22-14 lead as Tyson Brown ripped off a 24-yard touchdown run and the Rams also made the two-point conversion.
Hanover followed that up with a 28-yard run by Campbell after the Hawkeyes recovered CMVT’s attempted onside kick at midfield.
That was answered by CMVT almost immediately, as Brown finished a short, :36 drive with a seven-yard touchdown that followed a 58-yard pickup by Logan Bracey, who hauled in a long pass from Koser on a flea flicker to go up 30-20.
The Hawkeyes answered that with a 72-yard kickoff return for touchdown by Otway-Kellom with 1:01 remaining in the half, only to see the Rams answer right back with a 68-yard drive that took just :44 and was capped by Koser’s 1-yard touchdown run. The Rams then covered an onside kick with :17 left but the clock ran out before they were able to score again.
Hanover Area 56, Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech 44
Hanover Area (1-7) 7 21 14 14 – 56
CMVT (4-4) 8 30 0 6 – 44
First quarter
7:35 – (H) Jonathan Otway-Kellom 61-yard pass from Logan Richardson (Hall kick), 2-51, 1:17
3:49 – (VT) Tyson Brown 1-yard run (T. Brown pass from M. Koser), 9-67, 3:46
Second quarter
9:59 – (H) Malique Campbell 22-yard run (Hall kick), 8-77, 2:36
8:09 – (VT) Braxtyn Brown 53-yard run (pass failed), 5-74, 1:50
2:47 – (VT) Tyson Brown 24-yard run (A. Koser pass from M. Koser), 6-59, 3:10
1:54 – (H) Malique Campbell 28-yard run (kick blocked), 2-50, :53
1:18 – (VT) Braxtyn Brown 7-yard run (T. Brown run), 2-65, :36
1:01 – (H) Jonathan Otway-Kellom 72-yard kickoff return (Campbell run)
:17 – (VT) Myles Koser 1-yard run (Bracey pass from M. Koser), 6-68, :44
Third quarter
1:46 – (H) Deacon Eisenbach 43-yard pass from Logan Richardson (Hall kick), 4-65, 1:53
:21 – (H) Malique Campbell 64-yard run (Hall kick), 1-64, :12
Fourth quarter
10:16 – (H) Malique Campbell 27-yard run (Hall kick), 5-45, 1:44
5:06 – (H) Jonathan Otway-Kellom 4-yard pass from Logan Richardson (Hall kick), 8-35, 3:28
2:54 – (VT) Braxtyn Brown 40-yard run (pass failed), 6-67, 2:12
Statistics
H VT
First downs 21 27
Rushes-net yards 36-337 45-365
Passing yardage 154 96
Passing 8-18-3-0 5-17-0-1
Fumbles-lost 3-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 20-162 6-45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Hanover Area: Malique Campbell (29-308-4), Logan Richardson (3-(-5)), Jonathan Otway-Kellom (2-10), Deacon Eisenbach (1-26), Team (1-(-2)); CMVT: Braxtyn Brown (33-300-3), Tyson Brown (8-60-2), Myles Koser (4-5-1)
PASSING: Hanover Area: Logan Richardson (8-18-154-3-0); CMVT: Myles Koser (5-17-96-0-1)
RECEIVING: Hanover Area: Jonathan Otway-Kellom (4-76-2), Deacon Eisenbach (3-69), Aiden Safriwe (1-9); CMVT: Logan Bracey (2-62), Axton Koser (1-22), Landon Hipps (1-8), Braxtyn Brown (1-4)
