Hawks run over Clippers

The Bishop Hendricken football team got its in-state schedule underway last week and won with the usual formula: win up front and run through the opposition.

The Hawks rolled to a 35-12 decision over fellow DI power Cumberland, but it took until the second half for the Hawks to close the door. The Clippers would haul in an interception in the first quarter to end an early Hendricken drive and also recover a fumbled punt to trail the Hawks 14-12 at halftime.

Hendricken would get back to basics in the final two quarters and run to three unanswered touchdowns and dominate on defense to grab the win.

“The biggest thing for us was just assignments. We had to clean some stuff up in the second half. We had to deal with their front, they were doing some weird stuff up front that we weren’t ready for but we adapted and overcame as we usually do,” said Hendricken offensive lineman Ethan Charnley.

Jeremy Dennis and Jeremy Seidi each rushed for over 100 yards while the former scored twice and the latter three times to account for all Hendricken touchdowns.

Although the running back tandem stole the show, the Hendricken offensive front set the tone and pushed around the Clippers for the final 24 minutes.

“Having four seniors up front, three returners and two other guys who were in the mix last year, that’s big for us. Our size, too, I’d say we are one of the biggest lines in the state if not the biggest. Our backfield is another key point too. Our line and our backfield really mesh together to get the job done,” said Charnley, who tipped his cap to the running backs as they fill the void left by last year’s stars Oscar Weah and Ronjai Francis. “It hurt at first, but Jeremy and Jeremy know what they’re doing and can really run the ball. It took a little while, but they’ve got it down and now we’re ready to roll.”

Despite the rocky first half, the Hawks remained confident in their experience in turning things around in the second.

“We just had to know that we are an older group and situations happen. It’s a long game and it happened early. When that happens, you just need to brush it off and move to the next play, next drive,” said Charnley, who also felt the benefits of playing such a tough out of state slate as well. “The out of state games have helped us. They will help us in games like these where it is close in the end. Those are some really good teams and playing them will help us adapt (late in games).”

The Hawks will hit the road again to take on Greenwich, CT this weekend. Hendricken will return the following week to host the rival La Salle Rams.