Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008

Hammond reaches third final in a row

Skyhawks show off their defense in a semifinal win against Pinewood Prep

Hammond will play for a third consecutive SCISA Class 3A championship after beating Pinewood Prep 13-10 at Edens Stadium on Saturday.

“It was a different style of game for us,” said Skyhawks coach Erik Kimrey. “How many 13-10 Hammond games have you seen? I have to give the defense all the credit tonight. We held a very potent team to 10 points. Other than one big play and one drive, they were flawless.”

They will need a similar effort in the final against Wilson Hall. The game will be played at South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium on Friday.

On Saturday, the Skyhawks limited the Panthers to four first downs and 205 yards.

The offense did its part behind senior Brad Meredith, who rushed for 211 yards and a touchdown.

“(Ours) is a line that you can depend on,” said Meredith, who carried the ball on nine consecutive plays as the Skyhawks ran out the final 5:25.

In the end, Hammond finished with 390 yards, including 260 on the ground. Quarterback Cliff Ayers had a rare off game — completing just 7 of 23 passes for 130 yards — but his 66-yard scoring pass to Kyle George with 3:50 left in the third quarter put the Skyhawks in front for good.

Hammond enjoyed a big edge in yardage in the first half but trailed 7-6 because Pinewood Prep scored on an 80-yard run by quarterback Bruce Haynes at 6:31 of the second quarter. That run produced almost all of the Panthers’ 104 yards of offense in the half.

In contrast, the Skyhawks had 193 first-half yards. Meredith’s 5-yard scoring run on the fourth play of the second quarter capped a nine-play, 72-yard scoring march, but Hammond missed the extra point.

H – Brad Meredith 5 run (kick failed), 11:00

PP – Bruce Haynes 80 run (Tony Artman kick), 6:31

Third quarter

PP - FG Artman 34, 7:20

H – Kyle George 66 pass from Cliff Ayers (Joseph Zemp kick), 3:50

RUSHING: PP — Lesure 7-64, Richardson 4-6, Haynes 9-97. H— Meredith 21-137, George 5-32, Ayers 3-14.

PASSING: PP —Haynes 4-16-0-38. L— Ayers 7-23-1-130.

RECEIVING: PP — Lesure 1-10, Gilliard, 2-25. Le 1-3. H— George 3-93, Walters 1-7, Smith 2-28, Meredith 1-2.