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We Will Hawk You: Allen uses early scores to roll past Hebron, 42-17
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
The last two meetings between Allen (4-0) and Hebron (2-2) were tight with each team winning one.
The Eagles (4-0) ensured no such nail-biting finish was in the works Friday by scoring on their first three possessions to build up a 21-0 lead en route to a 42-17 victory.
"We know what has happened in the past against Hebron, with the games being back-and-forth," said Tom Westerberg, Allen head coach, "so we wanted to get out to a good start tonight.
Allen's first three possessions all ended with touchdowns while Hebron's first three lasted a combined nine plays and ended in two punts and a fumble recovered by Eagles senior Michael Jacob.
"I thought we played great tonight," said Christian Sam, Allen junior linebacker, who had two sacks and forced a fumble. "We were ready for this so we had plenty of fight, gave a lot of effort and were able to wear them down."
Allen got the ball once at its own 47-yard line and twice inside Hebron territory on its first three possessions.
Each drive finished the same way.
The Eagles' first series was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Oliver Pierce, who had 39 yards rushing to go along with 3-of-5 passing for 39 yards. Allen's next drive, which was set up by Jacobs' fumble recovery, ended with a 7-yard touchdown scamper from senior Marcus Ward to make it 14-0 with 5:58 remaining in the first frame. Ward, who also scored the Eagles' final touchdown, had 73 yards rushing on nine carries.
Showing some variation, Allen then switched to sophomore quarterback Kyler Murray and went to the air.
Murray, who also ran for 69 yards, completed 2-of-4 passes for 52 yards with his second connection a 23-yard touchdown toss to junior Cole Carter. The touchdown came after Hebron accepted a personal foul call to give Allen another shot at 3rd-and-goal.
The score by Carter, who had two catches, made it 21-0 with 11:36 left in the half.
Hebron didn't roll over though as the Hawks turned to Dezmond Wortham.
The senior running back led a scoring drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown to pull Hebron within 21-7 before the break. Wortham, who had 25 carries for 131 yards, would score again in the fourth to set the final 42-17.
But while Wortham's second score came when the game was out of reach, his first touchdown made things interesting heading into the locker room.
"Hebron is a good team," Sam said, "so we talked about not letting them get back into the game in the second half."
The solution, open the second half with another scoring drive.
"The first five minutes of the third quarter are so important," Westerberg said. "Our guys know that and it showed again tonight."
Allen senior running back Jeff Harris broke off touchdowns runs of 52 and 57 yards in the third quarter with both featuring an ample amount of juking and backward steps.
"I think I did pretty well tonight," said Harris, who got quick agreement from Murray, "Yeah, Jeff did a great job tonight."
Harris, who had 163 yards on 12 carries, was the leading gainer in an Allen rushing attack that amassed 343 yards.
But it wasn't the runners that did all the work.
"The wide receivers did a ridiculous job blocking tonight," Harris said.
Allen's wideouts frequently threw blocks 20 and 30 yards downfield Friday.
"Our wide receivers have done a really good job blocking on the edge," Westerberg said. "They take pride in it; they like coming in and watching the video on Saturday and saying they helped block a guy for a touchdown."
While Harris' first touchdown was impressive, it didn't put the game out of reach.
Hebron responded with a 24-yard field goal from junior Joel Carlos to make it 28-10 with 5:22 left in the third and then forced its first three-and-out following senior Paul Hammer's second sack.
But the Hawks fumbled the punt and it was recovered by Allen senior Kaleb Ziegler.
"Turnover like that are big," Westerberg said. "And we wanted to make sure we capitalized on them."
Hebron's second turnover resulted in a second Allen touchdown as Harris ran it in from 57 yards out three plays later to make it 35-10.
The Hawks tried to fire back on the ensuing drive but Hebron junior quarterback Carson Proffitt was sacked by Sam and Eagles junior Lance Williams, forcing a punt. Proffitt, who completed 10-of-12 passes for 87 yards and ran for another 15, was consistently harassed by the front of Williams, seniors Stone Drulman, Byron Bonds and junior Marcus Davis.
"Our guys continue to play physical up front," Westerberg said. "That's the way they like to play and obviously it makes a difference in the game."
Ward and Wortham scored in the fourth to set the final at 42-17.
The Hawks got two catches each from Wortham, seniors Vandy Parkes and Austin Morgenstern in the loss. Parkes also ran for 51 yards on seven carries.
"We knew we needed a big game tonight," Harris said. "Hebron is a tough team, but we came out, executed well and got the job done."
Both teams are on the road Friday with Hebron heading to Clark Stadium at 7:30 p.m. to face Plano Senior while Allen travels to Coppell at the same time.
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