For the Daily Reporter
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Eastern Hancock had the chance to open their season at home in front of their crowd, playing the Northwestern Tigers for the first time in at least a decade.
They made the most of it.
Freshman quarterback Houston Swan and head coach Doug Armstrong both made their debut for the Royals in a game that was everything a football fan could want. The first half was a defensive battle on a muddy and wet playing field, and the Royals pulled away and won 28-14.
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“It was a gutty effort by our young players, led by our special seniors. That combination got us through. We had adversity throughout the game, but we answered” Armstrong said. The Royals rode their running backs to victory, choosing a running back by committee approach on the sloppy playing field.
Victor Olivo rushed for 90 yards and added a touchdown on the day. Jacob Johnson added 84 yards rushing for the Royals, and Garrett Friesen added two rushing touchdowns.
“I thought we ran the ball really well with several of our guys. The offensive line did an awesome job blocking for them. You could tell our line was very well conditioned out there” Armstrong said.
The first half had the makings of a defensive battle that didn’t have an end in sight. The first quarter ended with neither team being able to score.
Eastern Hancock fumbled in the red zone on the 17-yard line with 10:32 left in the first. They then fumbled the ball again with 2:31 left going into the second quarter. The Royals defense, however, stepped up as well, stopping the Tigers on a 4th and 1 deep in their red zone.
In the second quarter the Tigers saw themselves facing another early 4th and 1 play, and the Royals came through again, stopping them short. Olivo scored on a 3-yard run to get the scoring going for the Royals, as they took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter.
The Tigers kept this one close, scoring with 1:40 before half, taking the lead 7-6.
Eastern Hancock fumbled for the 3rd time in the half, and Northwestern recovered with 1:27 seconds to go in the half. Mitchell Hahn scored a touchdown for the Tigers, giving them a 14-6 lead going into halftime.
The Royals came out of the half and took control from there.
Friesen scored on a 7-yard run, and Swan soon after connected with Cole Rainbolt for the 2-point conversion, tying the game up. Rainbolt’s name would soon be called again, as he would pick off a pass that was floated over the middle. Friesen scored for the second time on a 1-yard run, giving the Royals a 20-14 lead with 1:32 left in the 3rd quarter.
The Royals stopped the Tigers again on a 4th and 1 attempt, and they continued their impressive defensive performance.
With time running down, the Royals tried to convert a 4th and 8 but fail to do so. The Tigers got the ball with 1:32 left and down six points. The Tigers went from the 13-yard line to the 43-yard line in two plays. Rainbolt soon become the momentum killer he was all night and sealed the game with a pick-six with 58.9 seconds left, giving the Royals a 28-14 win.
While coach Armstrong is happy with his team’s performance, he thinks there are still things to improve on.
“We turned the ball over a lot in the first half, and that can’t happen. We also have to be able to get our PATs,” he said.
There’s still a long way to go for the Royals and their season. Armstrong says he is focused on one thing right now.
“Try to get better on Monday,” he said.
