Ball hog Hennessey wins 2nd straight
Eagles run three times as many plays to defeat Alva on the road
Earlier this season, Hennessey got its first win in almost two years.
Now the Eagles have their first official win streak since 2017.
With the exception of two plays, Hennessey dominated Alva in every aspect of the game last Friday and left town with a 17-14 victory.
Hennessey is now 3-3 on the season and 2-1 in District 3A-1 games.
The Eagles have won two in a row and three of their last four games after starting the season 0-2.
It’s the first time Hennessey has won consecutive games since claiming five straight in 2017 from Oct. 6-Nov. 10.
The Eagles were in full command over the Goldbugs as they controlled the line of scrimmage for a 15-0 halftime lead.
That included a 2-yard touchdown run by Sebastian Gonzalez and a 20-yard TD pass from Keigen Crites to Jay Jech, both in the second quarter.
But Alva closed the gap to a single point in just two plays to start the second half.
On the Goldbugs’ first play from scrimmage, Zayin Tiger hauled in a 71-yard touchdown pass from Daylon Malone.
On Hennessey’s first play on the following possession, Gavin Perez picked off a Gonzalez pass and returned it for a touchdown.
The Goldbugs got a twopoint conversion pass after their first TD, but the Eagles denied a run after the second one, preserving a slim 15-14 lead.
And it stayed that way much of the rest of the game, although the stats show it was a one-sided affair.
Hennessey dominated the time of possession as the Eagles took 72 snaps in the game to Alva’s 25.
The Eagles had 22 first down to Alva’s five and gained 242 yards on 59 rushing attempts. Alva had just 81 yards on 17 carries and nearly half of its total yardage came on one play.
Hennessey’s defense forced six punts as Alva was a combined 1 of 9 on third and fourth downs.
But Hennessey kept moving the chains largely on the legs of Crites and Gonzalez.
Crites got 30 carries and managed 151 yards.
Gonzalez netted 91 yards on his 28 attempts.
The Eagles were 5 of 15 on third downs, but also 3 of 6 on fourth downs to maintain their possession.
However, it was still a one-point game until its closing moments.
The Goldbugs were pinned deep in their own territory with one last chance.
However, Kason Copeland’s pressure forced Malone into an intentional grounding penalty while in the end zone.
The play gave the Eagles their final two points to essentially end it.
Ethan Buller led the team with eight tackles.
Fernando Ortega, Crites and Aden Valdez had five apiece.
Crites also caught two passes for 25 yards. Jech had two receptions for 34 as Gonzalez went 5 of 11 for 50 yards.
The Eagles travel to Edmond Friday to take on unbeaten Oklahoma Christian School before closing the season Nov. 6 at home against Luther.
Those teams are a combined 9-1 in district play as OCS topped Luther 23-15 in Week 6.