Hawthorne wins 27th straight game in nail-biter against Newberry

The Hawthorne Hornets clawed their way past the Newberry Panthers 28-27 in overtime.

The victory extends Hawthorne’s win streak to 27 games. The Hornets haven’t lost a game since the state championship against Madison County on December 11, 2021. Their last home loss was November 1, 2019.

This game garnered heavy media attention as it was the Friday Night Rivals game of the week. There was a multitude of cameras on the sideline for the matchup between teams from opposite sides of the county. Hawthorne fans were relieved they won but in awe of how entertaining the game was. 

Chippy First Half

  The first half stalled. Due to the game being broadcast on TV, each timeout was longer than usual. The prolonged breaks between action must’ve made the players a bit antsy. Flags flew with regularity for an extra shove here and another push there. It was evident that these teams didn’t particularly like each other.

The play on the field spilled over into the crowd, and complaints about the officiating began to rise. At times, players flopped with no success. The fans didn’t care. All they knew was that somebody wearing their colors had fallen, and they didn’t hesitate to let the referees know about it.

At halftime, Hawthorne led 7-3.



Offenses Get Going

  After a defensive first half, both offenses woke up in the third quarter. Newberry took the lead on their opening possession with a 40-yard pass from quarterback Collin Dunmore to wideout Hayden Moore. Hawthorne responded immediately as the Hornets drove down the field in less than three minutes. A costly Newberry offsides on fourth down kept the Hornets' drive alive. On the next play, quarterback Adrian Curtis connected with receiver Dekari Debose on a 25-yard pass to give Hawthorne a 14-10 lead.

An Eventful Fourth

                  The Hornets extended their lead to 21-10 after Curtis found the endzone on a one-yard run. With just under six minutes left, Newberry kicker Zane Spires nailed a 35-yard field goal to make it a one-possession game. Down 21-13, the Panthers shocked everyone with an onside kick, which they recovered. While a road game, the Panther fans rallied their team from the sidelines. They knew that a comeback was possible. The Hawthorne crowd was quiet.

                  While driving down the field to tie the game, a big hit near the Newberry sideline caused play to stop. Moore lay face down on the ground, unmoving. Medical personnel rushed to the scene. A stretcher was brought out onto the field, and Moore was rushed to the hospital for testing. However, he was responsive and talking before he left. His last words to the team were:

“Let’s get this W.”

If the Panthers needed any more motivation to play their hearts out, they received it in Moore. Newberry’s Dunmore would score on a one-yard rush and then tie the game on the two-point conversion running the same play. The game was tied at 21 with 2 minutes and 42 seconds remaining. 

Newberry had all the momentum. The defense held strong and was able to get their offense back on the field with 58 seconds remaining. Needing to pick up a big chunk of yard in limited time, Dunmore dropped back to pass. Unfortunately, no one was open. It didn’t matter. The six-foot-four-inch, 215-pound quarterback took off. He scrambled down the field for a pickup of over 30 yards. He singlehandedly put his team in field goal position. The Panthers would have a chance to pull off the upset of the year.

With 16 seconds on the clock, Spires jogged out onto the field. It would be a 43-yard field goal. As he prepared to kick the ball, Hawthorne called a timeout. The Hornets would attempt to ice the kicker. Their plan worked as Spires missed the kick wide left. We would go to overtime.

Who Wants It More?

                  In overtime, each team gets a chance to score with the ball starting at the 10-yard line. First and goal. Four to score. The teams alternate possessions until someone wins.

                  Newberry won the toss and elected to play defense first. The Panthers held tough, but Hawthorne would take the lead as Curtis ran for a 1-yard touchdown. The Hornets decided to kick a field goal for the extra point. Kicker Josue Knapp drilled it. Hornets lead 28-21.

                  Now, it was Newberry’s turn. Dunmore dropped back again on first and goal and couldn’t find anyone open. He didn’t panic. He scrambled toward the endzone, dragging a couple of defenders with him before his teammates pushed him across the goal line. With the score 28-27, Newberry Head Coach Edward Johnson decided to go for two. He decided to go for the win. Who could blame him? They had already converted one. No one could seem to stop Dunmore when he decided to use his legs.

 Dunmore stepped to the line. Everyone knew what was coming. A QB sneak right up the middle. This was Newberry’s chance to finally take down the mighty Hornets. Hawthorne beat Newberry twice last year, once in the regular season and again in the playoffs. Those games were not close - nothing like this one.

Dunmore took the snap and moved his legs forward. His running backs came up and pushed with all their might. This play, used to much success earlier in the game, seemed to resemble the “tush push” that the Philadelphia Eagles run with Jalen Hurts. Unfortunately, the Hornets' defense stood tall. Dunmore was stopped a yard short.

Final Thoughts

                 Hawthorne assistant coach Greg Bowie addressed the team postgame. He acknowledged how talented Newberry was, but he told his team to not let emotions rule the game.

                  “Yeah, it was chippy early on,” he said. “They wanted to play that way, and we played right along. But when we made it just about football, they couldn’t play with us.”

                  If you’re going to come for the champ, and in this case, the back-to-back state champ, you better not miss. Newberry missed twice.