Iron Horses edge Hanahan Hawks 28-26 in season rivalry opener

You could tell the Philip Simmons High School football team was in a battle by simply looking at the stat sheets or by glancing up at the scoreboard.

 

Or you could just listen to coach Eric Bendig’s words after the Iron Horses’ season-opener against Hanahan.

 

“It’s all you would expect in a high school game that featured two successful teams,” Bendig said. “We had our ups-and-downs and had to fight through the adversity. We had to weather the storm. I told the players we had to keep punching, and that good things would happen.”

 

His players listened and the Iron Horses headed home from Wiley Knight Stadium with a 28-26 victory in a game that wasn’t decided until Iron Horse ironman Brody Tonon recovered an onside kick with just over a minute left in the contest.

 

“That’s something we practice, but you don’t expect to use it right off the bat,” Bendig said. “We work on things like onside kicks, the two-minute drill, things you might use when you are in a unique situation. I felt good about our hands team on that kick. Brody Tonon just outfought everybody for the ball. It’s a testament to how tough he is.”

 

The Iron Horses were able to celebrate in this revenge game. Last year, Hanahan upset the Iron Horses, 37-34 to snatch the region championship from Bendig’s squad.

 

“We had some really good moments last year on both offense and defense,” Bendig said. “But we just didn’t get it done. We used that as motivation this summer.”

 

The Hawks churned for more than 400 yards in total offense with running back Javatre Shepard accounting for almost half while scoring two TDs.

 

The Iron Horses bent but didn’t break. They caused three turnovers and benefitted from numerous Hawk penalties and two missed extra-point attempts.

 

Kolten Kellermann accounted for one of the turnovers with a 35-yard interception return to snuff out a drive. He also excelled at receiver with four receptions for 61 yards and a pair of scores, including a 29-yard strike from Tavien Orellana. Kellermann’s TD reception near the end of the first half gave the Iron Horses a 14-13 advantage. Orellana completed 9 of 14 passes for 115 yards.

 

Roman Hood forced two fumbles and recovered one. He also tallied a sack. Mason Michaud recovered the other fumble for the Iron Horses.

 

TJ Walker and Tonon each scored on runs for the Iron Horses, who tallied 147 yards on the ground. Walker accounted for 83 yards on 19 carries.

 

Tonon scored a TD midway through the final period to give Philip Simmons a 28-19 lead and settled the issue six minutes later when he recovered the onside kick.

 

Philip Simmons has a second straight formidable challenge this weekend when the Iron Horses play Lucy Beckham High School, which is in its first season of Class AAAAA competition.

 

The Bengals, who dropped a 10-7 decision to West Ashley in their season opener, were 9-2 last fall and finished second in Region 7-AAAA.