WILMINGTON– Hoggard relied on its experienced backfield to carry the offense in a 28-0 win over crosstown rival Ashley in week 10 of Mideastern Conference football.
The Eagles controlled the clock throughout the game, but a several key plays early in the first half by a trio of seniors led the Vikings to victory.
Sheldon Cooper finished with a team-high 156 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns, which included a 61-yard run to put Hoggard out in front 21-0 late in the first half.
Seth Thomas put the Vikings on the board on the second drive of the game when he slipped past the Eagles secondary and caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Christian Poveromo.
The Vikings defense was on the field for most of the contest as Ashley coach Tom Eanes used Quincy Rhodes to carry the workload. Rhodes finished the night with 37 carries for 144 yards—a bright spot for the Eagles on a night when penalties and turnovers played to Hoggard’s advantage.
Early in the second quarter, Daquan Williams returned an interception off a Chris Kane pass to give Hoggard the ball inside the Ashley 20-yard line. Cooper scored two plays later on a 5-yard run. The Vikings closed the half up three touchdowns in just 15 offensive plays.
To open the second half, Ashley continued to pound the ball with Rhodes as the Vikings were limited to just three snaps during the entire third quarter. Following a 15-yard penalty on the Eagles for unsportsmanlike conduct, Eanes again used Rhodes to push the ball inside the red zone for the first time all game.
The Eagles turned the ball over on downs on its opening possession after the Vikings defense stuffed a run between the tackles on a fourth-and-goal from inside the 5-yard line.
Braswell’s offense put the game away with an eight minute, 14-play, 85-yard drive in the fourth quarter as Sonny Cooper scored on a 4-yard touchdown run.
“We expected them to try and control the ball, run the clock, and shorten the game, and they did that effectively,” Hoggard Coach Scott Braswell said.
“With very few possessions, the good thing was we were pretty efficient when we had the ball and made just enough plays to hold on for the win. We weren’t as sharp as we’d like to be, but I’m very proud of our defense and at the end of the day, we maintained the shutout,” Braswell said.
The celebration will be short-lived as Braswell and his staff will head back into the film room this weekend to prepare for the season finale next Friday against the New Hanover Wildcats. Both teams have one loss on the season and the winner will get a more favorable seeding ahead of the state playoffs. New Hanover defeated Rose on Friday 49-14.
“We’ll try to get some rest over the next few days and a have great week of practice as we move towards New Hanover,” said Braswell. “It should be exciting, two 8-1 teams, a great atmosphere at Hoggard Stadium. It’s going to be a huge challenge.”
Scoring Summary
Hoggard 7-14-0-7 =28
Ashley 0-0-0-0=0
First quarter-
Hoggard– Seth Thomas 53-pass from Christian Poveromo (PAT); 4:31
Second quarter-
Hoggard– Sheldon Cooper 5-yard run (PAT); 11:18
Hoggard– Sheldon Cooper 61-yard run (PAT); 4:55
Fourth quarter-
Hoggard– Sonny Cooper 4-yard run (PAT); 2:06
Team statistics- Hoggard Ashley
First downs- 10 16
Total yards- 252 156 (six penalties-30-yards)
Turnovers- 0 3
Fumbles (lost)- 2(0) 2(0)
Individual leaders- Passing (Hoggard) Christian Poveromo 3-7-71, TD; (Ashley) Chris Kane 3-8-29, 2 INT; Rushing (Hoggard) Sheldon Cooper 15-156, 2 TD; Sonny Cooper 1-4, TD; Christian Poveromo 5-30; (Ashley) Quincy Rhodes 37-144; Receiving (Hoggard) Seth Thomas 2-63, TD; Randall Emerson 1-6; Defense- (Hoggard) Daquan Williams INT; Apisa Tailepeaua INT.
