It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact the Hawkinsville Red Devils can now relate to. They ended up on the wrong side of a rough 42-20 walloping at the hands of Early County on Friday. The matchup was a 14-14 toss-up at halftime, but Hawkinsville was blown out by Early County in the second.
Hawkinsville's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Zenard Smith, who rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown. The team also got some help courtesy of Nieem Blair, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown.
It was another big night for Tycavion Stovall, who rushed for 239 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.6 yards per carry. Stovall has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last three times he's played. Kendarrious Boyd and his 80 yards on the ground were also a key factor in Early County's victory.
Hawkinsville are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-5. The slump could be explained by some tough opposition over that stretch, namely Early County, Dooly County, and Wilcox County. As for Early County, their victory bumped their record up to 7-4.
Hawkinsville does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Early County will be playing at home against Emanuel County Institute at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Georgia (Emanuel County Institute is ranked 240th, while Early County is ranked 233rd).
