Hawley pounds out Region 1-2A Division I semifinal win over Coleman
Two area heavyweights went at it Friday at Wylie's Sandifer Stadium, Hawley duking it out with Coleman.
It was a 14-play Bearcats' drive that resulted in a touchdown with 5:08 to play that knocked out the Bluecats 21-7 in the Meetin' of the Unbeaten in the Region I-2A Division I semifinals.
Hawley, ranked No. 5 at the end of the regular season and now 13-0, is ready to rumble against Cisco, a 34-14 winner over New Deal, for the regional championship next week.
"That's a good football team over there, and we played our tails off and came out on top," Hawley coach Mitch Ables said.
Coleman's banner season ended at 11-1 and the Bluecats, which were unranked to start the season but entered the playoffs at No. 9, missed a chance to battle Cisco again. Coleman punched out the Loboes 31-7 to win the district championship.
The 'Cats also missed a chance to advance the furthest in football program history.
The key to this game was denying Coleman points on its opening drive of the second half. Hawley led 14-7 at halftime.
The Bluecats ran 19 plays, including 14 runs in a row, to march from their 11 after a holding penalty on the kickoff to the Hawley 13.
There, Bearcats sophomore defensive end Diontay Ramon sacked Coleman quarterback Jadin Jackson, also a sophomore, for a 7-yard loss on second down. On third down, Jackson's pass fell incomplete, bringing on Christian Villeda for a 37-yard field goal. It was short into the wind.
Coleman held the ball for all but 51 seconds of the quarter but failed to put a dent in Hawley's lead.
"We always tell them bend but don't break," Ables said "If it takes them 12 plays, 14 plays, 16 plays and you keep them out of the end zone, then you did your job. Our kids really stepped up in that situation."
The Bearcats reversed the field and went 80 yards in 14 plays, scoring on a 14-yard pass from Rodey Hooper to Aeneas Segura in the corner of the end zone.
Coleman got the ball twice more but could not pick up a first down.
"To come out and drive all the way down the field and take the whole quarter and not come out with points, it takes a little wind out of your sails," Coleman coach John Elder said. "Hawley played great. They were ready to play. My kids played great. We had our opportunities and we didn't get to capitalize.
"The night didn't end the way we wanted it."
Hawley gained 231 total yards to 224 for Coleman. For two good offensive teams, there were only two big plays — a burst by Bluecats back Cort McFadden that gained 58 yards before a saving tackle by Hawley's Diontay Raman at the Hawley 11. McFadden ran in for his team's only touchdown on the next play with 3:36 left in the first half.
The other big play was a 52-yard pass from Hawley's Hooper to Kason O'Shields, who split defenders Braxton Smith and Denver Hunter for the downfield catch at the Coleman 18. Four rushes by Austin Cumpton, the last a 3-yard run, netted the touchdown at the 4:51 mark of the second quarter.
Cumpton also scored the game's first touchdown. Hawley took the opening kickoff and scored on Cumpton's somersaulting 10-yard run. The Bearcats didn't pass much in the game but two key completions by Hooper on third down kept the drive going.
The fast-moving game took just over two hours to play, compared to the almost four-hour game Thursday between Dallas and Las Vegas.
And speaking of Dallas, Hawley's No. 11, Ramon, played like Cowboys' defensive standout Micah Parsons, also No. 11.
Ramon stopped Coleman's first drive with a tackle behind the line and narrowly missed a sack on the Bearcats' second drive.
He did sack Jackson for an 8-yard loss that stalled a late first-half drive by Coleman.
His sack of Jackson for 7 yards forced the missed field goal, and his sack of Jackson following Hawley's second touchdown forced a fake punt that failed to gain a first down.
On offense, he caught three passes for 29 yards.
"We had to come in here and set the tone," he said of his team's defensive effort.
"Everybody's been talking about this game, how we were going to lose, how Coleman was going to run it down our throat and we just showed up, you know," Ramon said.
Ramon said defense was the focus the past week.
"The first practice was a bit confusing a little bit but the next day, we set our mind right," he said.
As for keeping Jackson in check, "We just had to do our assignments."
Jackson had a 20-yard gain on his first carry but finished with 32 yards rushing, thanks to negative plays created by the Hawley defense.
Cumpton bulled his way for 80 yards on 10 carries in the first half but was held to 29 yards on 13 carries in the second half.
"He worked hard tonight and those guys up front worked their tails off," Ables said. "To run the ball like we did on Coleman, that's huge for us.
Cort McFadden had 88 yards in the first half for Coleman, which turned to Ryland Gentry on the crushing third-quarter drive. He gained 45 yards on the drive.
Elder said the team has several runners, and "we just try to run them when they're fresh. And kind of whoever's hot, they get on a roll. Gentry had a good run and we stuck with it. Not necessarily built around one person."
The teams had met 10 times previously, but never in the playoffs and Coleman winning six times.
Hawley has seven shutouts this season but was this the team's best defensive game?
"I don't know," said senior defensive tackle Corley Williams. "This feels great. We've still got to play some more games. We'll see then."
A Twitter List by gofridaynight
More: Jim Ned, Brock square off in rematch of last year's playoff thriller
More: Abilene, Big Country high school football playoff pairings, results (through Nov. 19)
More: Strong first half fuels Hawley to easy win over Sundown
More: No. 9 Coleman runs past Anson in football playoff opener, remains unbeaten
More: Abilene Reporter-News high school, college, pro football staff picks: Week 14
Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News and general columnist. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
Game summary
► Turning point: Coleman not scoring on a masterful drive to open the second half. Down a touchdown, the Bluecats methodically marched from their 11 to the Hawley 13 behind the running of Ryland Gentry, who had one carry of a lost yard in the first half. But after a 2-yard gain by Gentry, a sack and incomplete pass forced a field goal try that was missed. Coleman took 11:09 off the clock but did not score.
► Player of the game: Diontay Ramon, defensive end, Hawley – While Austin Cumpton drove the offense, carrying the ball on 23 of 25 called running plays, it was Ramon who was everywhere on defense. His hustle saved a touchdown on Coleman's biggest play of the game, and he constantly was in the Bluecats' backfield, harassing quarterback Jadin Jackson. Jackson, a dual offensive threat, gained only 32 yards rushing and passed for 20.
► Key stat: Coleman punted once, though the Bearcats lined up to punt twice. The first turned into a fake that netted just two yards and turned the ball over to Hawley. The second punt came with 2:21 to play in hopes of pinning Hawley deep or getting a turnover. That meant the Bluecats were not giving up possession, yet scored only one touchdown.
► Impact: Coleman's season ends at 11-1 and in the third round of the playoffs. The Bluecats in 2020 had their season cut short by COVID. Hawley is back in the region final for the second time in three years.
► Up next: Hawley plays Cisco, which dealt out New Deal 34-14 earlier Friday, for the regional title and a berth in the state semifinals
REGION 2A DIVISION I SEMIFINAL
Hawley 21, Coleman 7
Hawley … 7 … 7 … 0 … 7 – 21
Coleman… 0 …7 …0 …0 – 7
FIRST QUARTER
HAW - Austin Cumpton 10 run (Kason O'Shields kick), 7:51
SECOND QUARTER
HAW - Cumpton 3 run (O'Shields kick), 4:51
COL - Cort McFadden 11 run (Christian Villeda kick), 3:36
FOURTH QUARTER
HAW - Aeneas Segura 14 pass from Rodey Hooper (O'Shields kick), 5:08
TEAM STATISTICS
……………… HAW … COL
First downs … 15 … 13
Rushes-Yards … 27-106… 44-204
Passing … 125… 20
Comp-Att-Int …… 11-19-0… 2-8-0
Punts …… 3-25.3 … 1-45
Fumbles-Lost … 1-0 … 1-0
Penalties-Yards … 5-50… 4-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Hawley, Austin Cumpton 23-109, Rodey Hooper 2-5. Team 3-minus 8. Coleman, Cort McFadden 12-92, Ryland Gentry 9-45, Jadin Jackson 16-32, Dayden Hunter 3-27, Denver Hunter 1-9, Brent Bouldin 1-2, Devinar Roberson 2-minus 3.
PASSING: Hawley, Hopper 11-18-0—125. Will Scott 0-1-0—0.. Coleman, Jackson 2-8-0—20.
RECEIVING: Hawley, Kason O'Shields 5-73, Diontay Ramon 3-29, Aeneas Seguar 2-18, Chadlin Myers 1-5 Coleman, Braxton Smith 1-11, McFadden 1-9.
RECORDS: Coleman 11-1, Hawley 13-0.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Hawley pounds out Region I-2A Division I semifinal win over Coleman
