Hawkins leads Glenn to win

By: By Craig T. Greenlee | SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL
Published: October 17, 2009

KERNERSVILLE

With two minutes to go in regulation play, it looked as if Glenn and Southwest Guilford were headed for overtime.

The Bobcats had just regained the lead on Josh Hawkins' second touchdown run. The Cowboys, however, regrouped and put together a drive that covered 67 yards. If they scored and made the conversion, the game would have tied for the third time.

That scenario never materialized. Hawkins came to the rescue.

Hawkins' 93-yard interception return for a touchdown settled the matter for good as Glenn got a 27-14 victory last night to stay unbeaten in the Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference.

Southwest had a first down at the Bobcats' 11-yard line. Quarterback Davis Inman tried to connect with Justin Spurgeon in the end zone. But Inman's pass was underthrown and Hawkins made a leaping interception and sped down the left sideline for the decisive score with 1:28 remaining.

"This team is a gritty and resilient bunch," said Coach Dickie Cline of Glenn (7-1, 3-0). "When things look bleak, they seem to reach down for a little bit more and they find it.

"We do what we have to do to give ourselves a chance to win."

The versatility of Hawkins was put on full display. Aside from his interception return, he ran for two other scores and finished with a game-high 118 yards on 27 carries. "As I backed up in pass coverage, I just wanted to be ready for the pass, be ready to make a play," Hawkins said. "I'm just doing what I can to help my team."

Visiting Southwest Guilford (3-5, 0-3) eventually regained enough of a competitive edge to push the Bobcats to the limit.

With the game tied at 14 in the fourth quarter, Southwest had Glenn's offense on the ropes with a third-and-long situation. Quarterback Tajvio Walker looked for a receiver and was about to be sacked, but he managed to sidestep the rush and scrambled for 14 yards, which helped keep Glenn's drive going. Seven plays later, Hawkins scored from a yard out for the go-ahead score.

With Hawkins attracting so much attention as a runner, the Bobcats were able to have some success with their passing game. Walker completed 5 of 7 passes for 58 yards, but the play-action worked well, particularly in the second quarter. Walker executed a fake handoff to freeze the defenders, then fired a 32-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Dallas Steelman in the left corner of the end zone.

On the Cowboys' potential tying drive , things looked promising after Inman hit Princeton Brown on a post route for 49 yards on a fourth and long with 2:14 left.

Inman followed up with a completion to Airyn Willis, but any possibility for a comeback vanished on the next play with Hawkins' interception.

SW Guilford 0 14 0 0 -- 14

Glenn 7 7 0 13 -- 27

G: Hawkins 1 run (Thomlinson kick)

SWG: Willis 5 pass from Inman (Butler kick)

G: Steelman 32 pass from Walker (Thomlinson kick)

SWG: Willis 4 run (Butler kick)

G: Hawkins 1 run (Thomlinson kick)

G: Hawkins 93 interception return (kick failed)

Records: Southwest Guilford (3-5; 0-3); Glenn (7-1, 3-0)