Football Game Preview: Hancock Hawks vs. West Harrison Hurricanes

By Team Reports Oct 7, 2024, 11:59pm

Football Preview: Hancock Hawks vs. West Harrison Hurricanes

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Hancock is 5-0 against West Harrison since August of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Hancock Hawks will be playing at home against the West Harrison Hurricanes at 7:00 p.m. Hancock has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with four straight defeats, while West Harrison will come in with four straight victories.

Hancock fought the good fight in their overtime match against Florence on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 35-34 to the Eagles.

Hancock might have lost, but man, Kaison Koenenn was a machine: he rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.8 yards per carry, and also threw for 101 yards and two touchdowns while completing 78.6% of his passes. The dominant performance gave Koenenn a new career-high in rushing yards.

Meanwhile, West Harrison was fully in charge last Friday, breezing past Moss Point 48-13 on the road. The Hurricanes' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.

Jordan Stapleton continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 129 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries, while also picking up 104 receiving yards and a touchdown. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 129 rushing yards dating back to last season. Trey Harris was another key player, rushing for 121 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.

West Harrison didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Austin Mcinnis. Another thorn in Moss Point's side was Jazear Carter, who picked up a sack and made eight total tackles (2.0 for loss).

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, West Harrison was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 337 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 337 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.

Hancock's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for West Harrison, their win bumped their record up to 4-1.

Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Hancock has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 191.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like West Harrison struggles in that department as they've been averaging 329.8. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.

Hancock strolled past West Harrison when the teams last played back in October of 2023 by a score of 42-26. Will Hancock repeat their success, or does West Harrison have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps