New Hampstead’s Kyle Hockman is known for his prowess in the passing game.
Quarterback Rashawn Truell and the Phoenix receiving corp made their veteran coach resemble a football version of Albert Einstein with their offensive execution Friday night against Ware County.
Truell, a 6-foot-1, 205pound senior, and his receivers had the seventh-ranked Gators’ defense off-balance from start to finish to register a 48-41 upset in their Region 1-AAAA game in Memorial Stadium.
Truell completed 33-of-44 passes for 488 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Phoenix (4-6 overall, 2-3 region) in the regular-season finale for both teams. He connected with eight receivers off a variety of patterns in the performance.
Truell also added 32 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. He was nailed for a loss of a yard on one designed run, but never sacked, always getting the ball away just ahead of the Gators’ rush, usually to an open receiver.
Classmate Kamari Maxwell (6-1, 185) was his favorite target with 16 catches for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Ben Hockman added eight receptions for 153 yards and two scores.
“A large part of the loss was about as poor a job of coaching football in my 28 years of doing this,” Ware head coach Jason Strickland said. “It was totally on the coaches. Credit (New Hampstead) for a fantastic game plan and execution, but we didn’t do a thing as coaches to help our kids.”
Despite the visitors’ passing onslaught, which led to 554 total yards and 29 first downs, the Gators (5-5, 3-2) still had a chance to win late. Ware recovered an onside kick with more than three minutes remaining after drawing within the final score, but the Phoenix ended the threat with an interception.
“We were going to have to have some miracles happen to overcome the horrific coaching for us to get in that situation (late chance to win),” said Strickland whose team meets Tucker at home Friday in the AAAA playoffs. “We were going to go for two (with a late touchdown).”
Ware County kept pace for the most part with a balanced offense. Quarterback Luke Hooks was 15for-22 passing for 232 yards and three touchdowns with the interception.
Ja’Londi O’Hara had two of the scoring catches while Cole Cox had the other. Tayshaun Franklin had 107 yards on 14 carries for the bulk of the Gators’ 148 ground total while Jamir Boyd scored on a pair of one-yard runs.
Ware County’s Walker Hudson (93) gets one of the few hits on New Hampstead quarterback Rashawn Truell. The senior signal-caller completed 33-of-44 passes for 488 yards and five touchdowns leading the Phoenix to a 48-41 upset Friday night of the then seventh-ranked Gators in the regular season finale.
Gator quarterback Luke Hooks gets upfield after scrambling to elude the New Hampstead pass rush. Photo By BO CARTER
Kicker William Bates finished the scoring with two field goals — one of 49 yards — and five conversion kicks.
Whether off sustained drives or in lightning fashion, the Phoenix were able to put the ball in the end zone to end all but three possessions. They displayed one of each for a pair of scores in the first quarter that handed them a lead they wouldn’t lose.
New Hampstead moved 81 yards in 15 plays for its first score, a 10-yard pass off a fade pattern to Jawara Green on a fourthand- seven play. Jamaal Brown added the first of his four extra points for a 7-0 lead with 6:12 left in the first period.
The fourth down conversion was one of two the visitors had on the opening possession off the kickoff. The other came on a five-yard run by Truell, who was 5-for-9 passing in the march.
The Gators responded to tie the game on a fiveyard pass from Hooks to Cox on a fourth-and-goal play to end a 59-yard, 10play drive. Bates tied the game with 54.7 seconds left in the period, but the Phoenix weren’t through for the quarter.
On the first play after recovering the Gators onside kick attempt, Truell hit Hockman in stride behind a pair of Ware County defenders on a post pattern, and the receiver sprinted the final 40 yards to complete the 65-yard play with 43.7 seconds left. Brown’s kick was smothered by Markell Conaway to make it 13-7.
After forcing a punt, the visitors increased the margin on a one-yard run by Kamren Blakemazes to cap a 63-yard, nine-play possession with 7:55 left in the half. Truell and Hockman teamed up on the two-point conversion pass for a 21-7 cushion.
The teams then traded a punt and a fumble with the Gators cashing in the turnover for a touchdown on a two-yard run by Boyd with 1:25 left in the half to make it 21-14 after Bates’ kick.
Neither team, however, was finished for the half. With no timeouts, Truell led the Phoenix 77 yards in five plays, the last one a four-yard pass to Hockman that Terron Birden tipped only to see it float into the hands of the receiver at the back of the end zone with 16.6 seconds left.
The Gators answered with Bates’ career-long field goal as the first-half clock expired. Taking over at the 35 after the Phoenix kickoff, Hooks hit Boyd for four yards along the sideline on the first play.
With the clock stopped, he found Cox alone in the middle of the Phoenix secondary for 29 yards with just 3.2 seconds left as the clock was stopped to move the down markers. Hooks then spiked the ball to kill the time with 1.5 seconds left.
The field goal unit hurried into position before Bates pounded the kick well over the crossbar to get the Gators to within 28-17 at intermission.
Ware County had one first down before punting after the second-half kickoff. The Phoenix converted the stop into a 34-17 lead with an 80yard, four-play drive that ended on a 16-yard pass to Maxwell with 8:22 left in the quarter after Brown was wide with the conversion kick.
Ware County responded on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Hooks to O’Hara with 6:37 left in the quarter. The fly pattern down the sideline was the last of a 59-yard, four-play posses-sion that drew the Gators within 34-24 after Bates’ extra point.
After forcing a punt, Bates got the Gators within a touchdown at 34-27 with a 32-yard field goal with 2:55 left. On the previous play, Hooks had a sure touchdown pass tumble off the hands of MiKhi Patterson in the back of the end zone ahead of a trailing defender.
The Phoenix padded the lead again on the second Truell-to-Maxwell touchdown, this one covering 35 yards against good coverage by the Gators with 10:31 left in the game extending the margin to 4127. The score capped a 79-yard, nine-play drive fueled by five completions between Truell and Maxwell.
The Gators got the points back in just 49 seconds, needing only three plays to go 56 yards for the touchdown on a one-yard run by Boyd with 9:42 left in the game to get back to 41-34. His tally came a play after Hooks connected with Ja’Mario Rice on a 43-yard post pattern that gave the Gators first-andgoal.
The Phoenix countered with a 76-yard, 11-play drive that ended when Truell ran seven yards on a designed draw for a touchdown with 3:56 left in the game to make it 48-34 after Brown’s extra point.
It took the Gators only 21 seconds to get the points back on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Hooks to O’Hara and the extra point from Bates drawing to within 48-41. Starting at the Phoenix 33, Hooks hit Cox with passes of 13 and 11 yards, respectively, on the drive’s other snaps.
Bates executed an onside kick to perfection, having the ball bounce along the ground until hopping head high just as it reached New Hampstead’s front line. The Gators came away with the ball at the New Hampstead 45 with 3:29 left in the game.
However, after misfiring on first down, Hooks’ pass from near the right hash mark to the far sideline for Boyd was intercepted to end the comeback hopes.
“That was just a mistake to try throw across his body,” Strickland said. “Luke knows better than that. He had a great night, but you have to live to play another play right there.”
New Hampstead was able to run out the clock by gaining two first downs. The first came on a thirdand- three play at the Phoenix 40 when Truell drew the Gators offside with his snap cadence.
