Hooker churns out grand game to outlast Cashion

Cashion has taken some steps this season to get back among the contenders in Class A football.

Hooker proved last Friday night that its still a couple steps ahead.

The fourth-ranked Bulldogs made a statement on the ground and to the rest of the class on their home field as they beat No. 2 Cashion 49-28.

“They were just way more physical than us,” said Cashion coach Lynn Shackelford, whose team dropped to 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in District A-I-1.

Hooker ran for 507 yards and scored all its touchdowns on the ground while averaging 9.4 yards per carry.

Still, Cashion was within striking distance in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats’ defense got a stop late in the third and Cashion’s offense was driving early in the fourth with the Wildcats down 35-27.

The drive stalled and Cashion punted, setting up Hooker at its own 18 with 9:41 to play.

The Bulldogs commenced on an 82-yard scoring drive that chewed nearly four minutes off the clock.

The drive was kept alive by a big third-down pass from Keilan Robinson to Gannon Hill, then capped off with a 28-yard scoring run by Justin Palacios.

That gave the Bulldogs a 42-28 advantage with just 5:57 left.

Cashion’s last-ditch effort ended when Kellen Smith was picked off deep in Hooker territory.

On the very next play, Robinson broke free for an 87-yard touchdown run.

That put the exclamation point on a huge night for the senior QB.

He ran it 24 times for 207 yards and the final touchdown was his sixth of the night.

Palacios was even better with 28 carries for 259 yards. His fourth quarter TD was his lone score of the night.

It was Cashion that struck first as King Underwood hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Smith in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs answered with two scoring drives, both of which ended with Robinson runs.

Grayson Davis scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter to tie the game 14-14.

Again, Hooker’s response was two straight TDs.

Robinson scored on runs of 30 and 1 yards as the Bulldogs built a 28-14 advantage.

Cashion didn’t fade.

The Wildcats got a 3-yard TD run from Smith to pull within a score before Hooker pushed it back to 35-21 with a Robinson 6-yard TD in the third.

The wild third quarter saw Cashion answer with a 14-yard pass from Smith to Davis to once again make it a one-score game.

Cashion’s defense then got a pivotal stop, but the fourth quarter eventually played out in Hooker’s favor.

On top of his rushing, Robinson was opportunistic through the air as he was 5 of 7 for 58 yards.

Cashion was unproductive on offense as the Wildcats churned out 364 total yards.

Smith was 13 of 25 for 181 yards. He threw the two TDs and was picked off twice.

Cashion added another 183 yards on 23 rushing attempts.

Smith was the bulk of that production as well.

The QB ran it 13 times for 142 yards.

Davis added eight carries for 33 yards.

Davis also caught five total passes for 66 yards while Slade Williams had three receptions for 35 yards.

Hooker improved to 5-1 and 3-0 and sits atop the district standings with Fairview, which it visits this week.

Either Cashion, Hooker or Fairview have appeared in the last six Class A state championship games (including Hooker and Fairview both in 2023).

Cashion returns home this Thursday to take on Crescent, which is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the district.

The Tigers were dealt a 49-22 loss to Fairview last week.