Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
Throughout the years, there have been certain teams that are synonymous with winning football, and Blackville-Hilda and Silver Bluff are two of those traditional football powerhouses. Friday, September 13, the Silver Bluff Bulldogs came to Blackville to face the Blackville-Hilda Hawks in what was sure to be a very physical, hard-fought football game. It was all that was expected as the two teams battled back and forth, with Blackville-Hilda coming out on top 20-14.
The first quarter was a heavyweight battle with neither offense able to score. Both defenses came ready to play and the only points scored in the opening period were on a safety, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The defenses held strong throughout most of the second quarter, with Blackville-Hilda adding six points to the scoreboard to take a 6-2 lead. Neither defense allowed another point and the 6-2 lead at halftime sounded like more of a baseball score instead of a football score, due to the defensive efforts from both teams.
Blackville scored again in the third quarter and added the two-point conversion to take a 14-2 lead. Both defenses kept the other team from scoring outside of the single Blackville-Hilda touchdown. It seemed as if the Hawks had this game in the bag. Silver Bluff was not convinced.
The fourth quarter saw the Bulldogs score 12 points, but that would not be enough, as the Hawks added another six points to claim the 20-14 win. Both teams had good defensive performances. Both teams had injuries and illnesses to overcome. In the end it was a tough football game that the Blackville-Hilda Hawks won 20-14.
Blackville-Hilda head coach Kevin Jones was asked about his team’s gutsy performance and said, “I am really proud of our kids and their effort in the Silver Bluff game. It was a very physical match up and after a tough, physical match up the week before against Ninety Six it would have been easy for the kids to let off the gas, but they gave us everything they had until the clock read 00:00.”
The Hawks had some “real concerns” going into the game due to injuries and an illness that several players were dealing with throughout the week. “We had three young men that had not played many snaps on the offensive line that stepped in and did the best they could in giving us a chance to win. Andrew Brown, Noah Williams and Terrion Johnson battled against a very big and physical Bulldog defensive line. Due to our situation, we were limited on some of the things we could do, but we did enough to win. Jaquel Holman only carried it 10 times but still went for over 100 yards and a touchdown. Samari Williams continues to get it done at quarterback with another touchdown and over sixty yards rushing. Namair Anderson ran the two back positions out of our wishbone formation and picked up a touchdown,” said Jones.
“Defensively, the kids were on the field most of the game and played great. It was the first time we really unleashed Jaquel on defense and he had a great night leading the team in tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack. Jayden Dash had a strong night from his defensive end position. Our inside linebackers continue to play an extremely physical form of football. When we hear a loud tackle on the field we know it is probably Jabarius Johnson or Ricky Richberg leading the way. Our secondary was good in pass coverage all night,” said Jones.
Coach Jones went on to talk about this upcoming matchup with Denmark-Olar saying, “We move on to yet another Thursday night game with Denmark-Olar this week. This will be our first game against a 1A school and puts us on a little more level footing with the competition. Denmark is a very athletic and physical team and we know the Vikings will be fired up for a rivalry game. So, we expect a tough contest over there.”
The game at Denmark-Olar is set for a 7:30 kickoff this Thursday, September 19. Come out and support the Hawks as they look to improve to 4-1 on the season. This is a very good Blackville-Hilda Hawks football team, but they really need your support, so head on over to Denmark this Thursday night. Go Hawks!
