Hawks lose to Class AAAA Sratford, start region play this week

The Hanahan High School football team absorbed another loss to a Class AAAA team last weekend, falling 10-7 to the Stratford Knights.
Just the week before, Hanahan dropped another tough one to Class AAAA foe Cane Bay.
Now comes a reality check for the Hawks, who went 3-2 in the non-conference part of their schedule. The Hawks open Region 8-AAA play Friday against Hilton Head, a team that has done little wrong in posting a 5-0 record, outscoring foes 231-65 in the process.
“This is the most important game of the year so far,” Hawks coach Charlie Patterson said. “This is the first region game of the season, and it’s a big one. Hilton Head has some great athletes. They have a good quarterback and three or four wide receivers who can catch the ball. The thing is their quarterback is elusive. When his protection breaks down, he can scramble and get the yardage. You think you have the play stopped and they make something out of nothing. That’s tough.”
The Hawks dropped a 10-7 home decision against the Knights. The Hawks struggled mightily on offense, collecting only five first downs and coming up on two potential scoring drives late in the game.
The Hawks collected only 150 yards in total offense against the Knights. Quarterback Victor Colbert passed for 142 yards with Samuel Denmark coming up with 80 receiving yards.
Hanahan ran just 15 plays in the opening half as Stratford took a 10-0 lead. The Hawks finally scored late in the third quarter when Colbert hooked up with Jamie Watson for a 14-yard TD pass.
Patterson, whose team finished second in the region last year behind Berkeley, has been affected psychologically by the back-to-back losses.
“Our confidence is still there,” Patterson said. “It’s not like we got destroyed. The games came down to making plays and execution. We didn’t execute. We just didn’t make the plays.”
The Hawks were at a disadvantage the last couple of weeks, playing against Class AAAA schools. That meant the Hawks were crunched in the numbers game.
“They had more players on the roster and were able to rotate players into the game. That kept them fresh. That really makes a difference late in the game.”
Hilton Head has been perfect so far this season, and Patterson admits his team faces an offensive juggernaut that is averaging 46.2 points per game.
“They are 5-0 and seem to score at will,” Patterson said. “But if you look at their opposition and the teams we have played, it doesn’t measure up.”
Hilton Head is coming off a 29-8 victory over Bluffton.
Tyler Hamilton and Aidan Hegarty led the Seahawks past the Bobcats. Hamilton rushed for three TDS and Hegarty threw a TD pass.
Hegarty was 11-of-13 passing in the first half for 185 yards and the score.
Hamilton finished with 20 carries for 70 yards and five receptions for 100 yards.