The Hawkins Hawks climbed back into the playoff picture with a solid 35-12 win over the Como-Pickton Eagles last Friday night.

The win gives the Hawks a 5-2 overall record and a 2-1 mark in district play. The Eagles fell to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in district with two games remaining against Alba-Golden and Kerens.

The Hawks piled up 432 yards of offense, with 292 through the air and 140 on the ground. Senior quarterback Eli Smith was phenomenal, completing 16 of 19 passes for two touchdowns with no interceptions. He added 67 rushing yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns. His presence was also felt on defense, where he recorded 10 tackles, including three for loss. 

For Hawkins, Springer Crouch added 63 yards on 13 carries and caught two passes for 63 yards. Trevin Tanner had three receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. Riggin Smith caught seven passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. He also recorded 10 tackles on defense. Eli Snider added 11 tackles, while free safety Anthony Howard led the team with 12.5 tackles.

The Eagles did not go away easily.

“Como-Pickton has a good football team. It took us until the middle of the third quarter to get our offense going. Eli Smith and Riggin Smith both came through for us in the game. And our defense did a good job holding them in the second half. We finally put it all together by the fourth quarter,” head coach Bill Cowley said.

Hawkins held a slim 7-6 lead at halftime and increased its advantage to 20-12 heading into the fourth quarter. The Hawks added 15 unanswered points in the final period to secure the 35-12 victory.

“I thought our kids played really hard and we never let bad things take over. The kids stayed positive and kept grinding away. We took over the game like we felt we were capable of doing and the kids deserve all the credit for their effort. They were very physical and good at what they do. We just had to ride out the storm and get after it and it paid off with the win,” Cowley said.

The Hawks are now in a good position to earn a playoff berth.

“We can clinch a playoff spot by beating Alba Friday night. They might not have a great record, but they are very well-coached by Coach Webster. They come out with a bunch of different sets and plays so we must be ready for them. Defensively they run quite a few fronts. We will have to take advantage of whatever they give us in the game. We don’t need to get ourselves out of position and try to do too much,” Cowley said.

Cowley continued, “We will have to get after them on defense. We must not over-think formations and just take our reads and our keys to stop them on defense.”

Alba-Golden enters Friday’s game with a 1-7 overall record and a 0-4 district mark, with Hawkins and Como-Pickton remaining on the schedule. The Hawks will have to contend with Panthers quarterback Brett Sutton, who has been the heart of Alba-Golden’s offensive effort.

The senior quarterback also does a great job in the defensive backfield. Senior Simon Ortega is a four-year starter who anchors the Panthers’ offensive line. He is a solid lineman on both sides of the football and an inspirational leader of the team.

Running back Samuel Leddy is one of the team’s leading rushers behind Sutton and also plays tough on defense. Sutton likes to spread the ball around to several receivers, with Cason Boyd among his top targets.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Panther Stadium.