PETAL – After a tough road loss last week, Petal was looking to get back on track at home against Hancock.
Instead, it was another demoralizing night for the Panthers, this one worse than the last one, as they went down to a 46-7 defeat Friday night at Panther Stadium that was every bit as bad as it looked.
Petal (2-2) is searching for answers with their second straight defeat after a 2-0 start. Undefeated Hancock (4-0), on the other hand, has put itself in the conversation as one of the teams to beat in Region 4-6A.
“It was not a good brand of football for us tonight,” said Petal coach Allen Glenn. “I told a number of people that I thought we had one of the better weeks of practice that we’ve had since I’ve been here. And for it not to translate on Friday night is very disappointing.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. It was a very disappointing night overall.”
Hancock racked up 506 yards of offense, including 291 on the ground, most of that from junior Zach Gullung, a compact back at 5-foot-9, 195 pounds. Gullung ran 24 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns, and he caught two balls for 25 yards and another score.
“We’re putting people on notice,” said Gullung. “Nobody really thought we could come in here and do this, no one at all. So I think if we keep working like this, who knows how far we can go.”
Senior quarterback Dylan Moran ran the Hancock offense like a maestro, completing 17 of 22 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, and his only run of the night was a 12-yard scramble to convert a key third down late in the first half.
“Everything we saw on film, we abused tonight,” said Moran. “The run game was there, our line play was excellent – they were not missing anything tonight – then once you hit them with the run, it sucks up the defense, then passes start opening up.”
In all, Hancock rang up 26 first downs, were good on 4 of 5 third downs, and the Hawks scored a touchdown the only time they went for it on fourth down.
“This was a big one,” said Hancock coach Neil Lollar. “To come in here, in a big environment, big stadium at a 7A program. We were fortunate tonight to get some stuff done. Our kids played hard, they prepared well.
“I’m interested to see if we can do more. We’re going to ask more from them. They know that, so that’s what we’re going to require.”
The fun started for Hancock almost from the beginning. The Hawks got a stop after one harmless first down, and wasted no time getting their offense cranked up.
On his second carry of the night, Gullung burst over left guard and bowled over numerous defenders on his way to a 53-yard gain to the Petal 6-yard line.
The Panthers knocked Gullung back for losses of 2 and 3 yards on successive carries, but on third down, Moran hooked up with senior Neil Acker for an 11-yard scoring pass. The snap for the conversion was bobbled, but the Hawks were on the board with a 6-0 lead.
Petal answered with its best drive of the day, moving from the Panther 40 to the Hancock 21 on pass plays of 9, 12 and 9 yards from sophomore quarterback Eli Causey to senior Cayden Burger.
Burger was a bright spot for Petal, finishing with seven receptions for 75 yards. As a team, however, the Panthers mustered up just 208 yards of offense.
“I just tried to keep my head high, no matter what the score was,” said Burger. “I knew I needed to go up and catch everything I could, or go down and get it, catch the hard balls and catch the good balls. Just make the best of the opportunities I got.”
But on third-and-2, then fourth-and-1, the Panthers were stopped on running plays, and the Hawks took over the game for good at that point.
Hancock showed off its offensive repertoire on a 10-play, 80-yard march, overcoming a holding call inside the Panther 10-yard-line, with Gullung getting the call from 2 yards out on fourth down.
The game was still in balance until late in the second quarter, when Hancock dropped the hammer. Taking over at their own 9-yard line, the Hawks drove relentlessly down the field on a 10-play scoring march.
Gullung had chunk plays on the ground of 10 and 13 yards, senior Jeffrey Hopgood had a 19-yard pickup on a reverse, and it was Gullung who got the score on a swing pass from Moran from 22 yards out.
The killer for Petal came after the kickoff, as junior Dante Taylor ran down an errant throw from Causey to set the Hawks up at their own 31.
“He’s a sophomore and there are times where he’s made a few sophomore mistakes,” said Glenn. “But we’ve got to put him in better positions to succeed. As coaches, we’ve got to make it a little more simple for him.”
Gullung picked up 11 yards on a running play, the Hawks got 15 more on a pass interference penalty, then ran the hook-and-lateral to perfection. Moran threw a 7-yard out patter to Acker, who flipped the ball to Gullung trailing the play and dashed 36 yards for the score.
“We tried to run it earlier, but it didn’t work, and I ended up just catching it and running it in,” said Gullung.
“We had that drawn up all week. They only had one corner on the outside on Neil, so we knew it was going to be open. It was a great throw, great catch. Nothing but grass in front of me. I think that broke their spirit, getting to 26 right before halftime was huge.”
Any thoughts of a Panther comeback in the second half were over pretty quickly after Hancock took the first possession of the third quarter and drove 55 yards on seven plays , with Moran passing to Acker for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
For the game, Acker had eight receptions for 94 yards and two scores.
After another defensive stop, the Hawks rolled down the field again, this time moving 88 yards on seven plays with Gullung scoring from 8 yards out on a toss sweep around the left side.
Petal got a consolation score on a nine-play, 61-yard drive, with Causey passing to senior Trey Ratcliff, but Hancock’s backups mounted a touchdown drive to cap the night, with junior Aidan Taylor scoring on a 3-yard run.
Hancock will head back on the road next week to battle Vancleave, while Petal is also at home, facing Long Beach.
“There were a lot of different areas tonight that are cause for concern,” said Glenn. “But we’re going to come back Sunday, get to work and start figuring out how to beat Long Beach.”
