Hancock opens district play with chippy 42-26 win over West Harrison for 7-0 start
There was no love lost in Hancock and West Harrison’s district opener Friday night.
The Hawks (7-0) continued their perfect start to the season with a 42-26 road win over the Hurricanes (4-2) in a game during which play was stopped multiple times as the teams jawed at each other after whistles. Several minor skirmishes also broke out.
The teams elected to skip the traditional post-game handshake line.
“Both teams played hard-nosed football and that’s what happens when you lean on each other for 130 plays,” Hancock coach Neil Lollar said after the game.
Hancock quarterback Dylan Moran threw three touchdown passes, all coming in the first half. Two of his scoring tosses went to receiver Neil Acker.
The first one to Acker came on a 65-yard strike to open the game and was followed later by a 42-yard connection in the second quarter.
“We knew before the game we were going to attack the safeties and the corners and that’s what we did,” Acker said.
The win keeps HHS in a place it hasn’t been in more than two decades. The last Hawks team to reach this point of the season without a blemish was the 2000 squad.
That team started 8-0 under Walt Esslinger, but dropped two of its last three games before missing the postseason.
Playing in what is potentially the toughest district in the state, the Hawks are determined to continue their run with a one-game-at-a-time approach.
“I’m proud of our kids and our staff and our school and our community to be able to enjoy this,” Lollar said. “We preach to our kids each and every day, you got to go 1-0. Whether it be in practice and then 1-0 on Friday.”
Offense continues to shine
Hancock is now averaging 40.1 points per game after Friday’s win. That’s nearly double last season’s output and, if the season ended today, would be the highest-scoring Hawks team in program history by a wide margin.
It all starts with Moran and the bevy of offensive talent around him.
“We got a lot of weapons and our chemistry, especially,” Moran said. “All the work that we put in over the summer, the offseason, that really helps a lot. We all trust each other a lot.”
Moran is flanked in the backfield by a running back duo in Zach Gullung and Jeffery Hopgood who have done more than just keep defenses honest.
Hopgood, who doubles as the Coast’s leading tackler at linebacker, caught a short touchdown pass in the first quarter. Gullung’s thunderous 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth is what put the contest on ice. The latter rushed for 181 yards in the contest and found the end zone twice.
The Hawks also got a lift from Kaleb Schaefer, who opened the second half with a kickoff return touchdown.
“This is not the same old Hancock,” Moran said.
“We’re different,” Acker added.
Hancock is still the only unbeaten team on the Coast and will again put its record on the line next week when it hosts George County.
The Rebels are coming off a 48-7 win over Long Beach and were recently bolstered by the return of four star prospect and Notre Dame commit Deuce Knight at quarterback.
“Just keeping that 0-0 mentality every week,” Moran said. “You can never settle. We won’t settle for 7-0, we won’t settle for 8-0. We want a perfect record.”
