Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010

Hawks hold on in Riggs' debut

A late blocked extra point saves the win

It was a wild debut for David Riggs' first game for Holly Springs. But it was also a winning one.

The Holly Springs Golden Hawks blocked a would-be tying extra point by Southeast Raleigh with 3:21 to go then held off a final Bulldogs drive to hold on for a 28-27 win. Four different Holly Springs running backs found the end zone in the win.

"It's great for these kids and the coaching staff. They picked up right where they left off last year and I think they lost a lot of [seniors] and didn't return a whole lot," Riggs said. "It was a great first ballgame."

The first four drives of the second half all lasted 10 plays or more and they each went for scores. Holly Springs went up 20-14 after a blocked extra point followed a Markez Davis four-yard touchdown run.

Southeast answered with a 10-play drive that ended with five-yard run by Darrius Forrest to take a 21-20 lead.

The Hawks' next drive went 82 yards in 13 plays, capped off by a K.J. Herndon three-yard run. Quarterback Mike Roach completed the two-point conversion to Marc Jones to give the Hawks a 28-21 lead.

The Bulldogs' next drive ended when quarterback David Washington found C.J. Moore for a five-yard touchdown on fourth down. But Southeast's extra point was blocked.

"It keeps getting better and better," Jones said. "It was crazy. I couldn't believe it."

The Bulldogs recovered the onside kick to give themselves another chance, but came up short.

"We got outplayed and out-coached," Southeast Coach Daniel Finn said. "They played harder and they coached harder."

Holly Springs' Von Williams intercepted two passes, his first coming on the second play of the game to give his team a first-and-goal on the 10-yard-line.

On the next play, John Leslie took a sweep right in for a 6-0 lead just 30 seconds into the game.

The Hawks took a 14-0 lead near the first quarter's close as Jones finished off a three-play, 57-yard drive with a nine-yard run.

The Bulldogs rallied in the second quarter, getting an 18-yard touchdown run by C.J. Okwara and a two-yard quarterback sneak from Washington to tie the game at 14 apiece heading into halftime.

Southeast struggled with penalties most of the game, committing four on a 21-play drive that ended on Williams' second interception. In all, the Bulldogs racked up 11 penalties in the game and had three turnovers.

The Hawks had zero turnovers and were especially efficient, if not methodical, on offense. Holly Springs scored on two of its three second-half drives, with the final one only needed to run out the clock.