The Hamilton football team continues to show signs of fight, but tough luck strikes again.
WAYLAND - The Hamilton football players were downcast as they left the locker room after the game. There wasn’t anything to celebrate.
“It was rough,” said Hudsen Hulst, Hamilton’s senior quarterback. “We didn’t start well. I didn’t start well. I’ve got to fix that. Next game is a new game. We have to bounce back.”
Hamilton turned the ball over on its first three possessions and lost 28-12 to Wayland on Friday, Sept. 26, in front of the Wildcats’ homecoming crowd.
“The kids played really, really hard,” first-year coach Zach Harbison said. “I told them it wasn’t an effort issue. I need to do a better job of getting them ready to play when we get off the bus.”
Hulst threw an interception on Hamilton’s first possession of the game and it only got worse from there.
On its next two possessions, the Hawkeyes threw a second interception for a pick-6 and then coughed up a fumble.
“We played the first 12 minutes about as bad as you can play a football game,” Harbison said. “Giving up three possessions in the first quarter is tough.”
Wayland capitalized on the first interception, scoring on its next possession when Caleb Ellis scored on an 11-yard run. Easton Williams’ pick-6 made it 14-0.
Hawkins scored on a 5-yard run with 7:37 to go in the second quarter, but a botched snap cost the Hawkeyes the extra point.
In the final minute of the half, Hamilton made a strong drive that ended at the 1-yard line as time expired.
Wayland led 14-6 at halftime.
“(Wayland) made a great play at the end of the second quarter with a second left,” Harbison said. “They held us out (of the end zone) and that was kind of the ballgame with the way they choke the life out of the game.”
Wayland’s Henry Maass scored on a 5-yard run to make it 21-6.
Hawkins got his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run with 10:35 to go in the fourth quarter. But Hamilton failed to score on a 2-point conversion making it Wayland 21, Hamilton 12. Ellis capped the scoring with a 1-yard run with 2:27 left in the game.
Hawkins carried the ball 22 times for 143 yards. Hulst was 9-of-15 passing for 70 yards.
“He put us on his back and pretty much carried our team,” Hulst said of the senior running back. “He’s hard to take down. He’s fast.”
Wayland had the ball for 29:45 minutes on offense compared to 18:15 minutes for the Hawkeyes.
“They value possessions,” Harbison said. “You turn it over three times against a team that will choke the life out of the game. It’s a struggle.”
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hamilton football loses to Wayland after turnovers
Category: General Sports
