Crawford Colts 38, Mountain Empire 21
The Crawford Colts improve to 5-0 after defeating the Mountain Empire Red Hawks 38-21 Friday evening at Hoover High School.
The Colts, who have been dominating opponents all season long, found themselves trailing 14-3 early in the second quarter.
Mountain Empire quarterback Gabriel Hydorn connected with Ryan Sawyer twice, a 25 yard touchdown pass in the first and an 18 yard touchdown pass in the second, to put the Red Hawks up big.
Head Coach Mike Wright was unhappy with his team’s start but never lost confidence in them.
"I was disappointed with our start, our attitude," Wright said. "Then we relaxed a little bit and made some big plays. I never really reacted to the fact they were ahead. It was more lets play our game, lets just keep doing what we do."
That they did.
The Colts when on to score 35 straight points. Quarterback Shawn Balala lead the offense with three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown. He connected with Matthew Clark on a 35 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 14-10.
Ali Musa gave Crawford the lead for good when he returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown later on in the second quarter.
"I heard coach from the sideline say ‘Get it’ like a fair catch but I thought about getting it without a fair catch," Musa explained. "I just juked the first guy and turned around and spun to run it all the way to the house."
The Crawford Colts will have a bye week before taking on the University City Centurions in a game that Coach Wright is very much looking forward to.
"We got to work harder because University City is the real deal," Wright said. "They’re probably going to come in 5-0 just like us. They’re bigger. They’re a division four team. Number one in division four. It’s going to be a huge challenge but I’m excited about it because we’re going to see what kind of team we are."
Mountain Empire will visit the Hamilton Bobcats on October 7.
The Crawford Colts will take on University City on October 6.
For more information and highlights on these games and others around the county, make sure to check out KUSI.com. Follow @KUSIPPR on social media for future weekly updates.
PREVIEW: The Crawford Colts will look to remain undefeated on the season when they take on the Red Hawks of Mountain Empire at Hoover High School on Friday at 4 p.m.
The Colts are riding high as they approach the halfway mark of the season. They are 4-0 and are outscoring their opponents by an average by 29.5 points per game.
Head Coach Mike Wright, in his sixth season leading Crawford, has his team perfect on the year thanks to a rushing attack that averages 174.5 yards per game, according to maxpreps.com, and a defense that gets after the quarterback.
The Colts have 16 sacks on the season, including four from senior defensive tackle Devonti Brown. Brown has been a nightmare for opposing offenses. He has 32 tackles this season, including 12 tackles for a loss.
Crawford’s offense is lead by senior quarterback Shawn Balala, running back Niko Perry, and wide receiver Ali Musa.
Balala has lead his team thanks to his arm and legs. He is averaging 112.5 pass yards per game with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. He is also averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 41.5 yards per game.
Perry, a senior, has five rushing touchdowns this season, averaging 6.8 yards per carry and 67.5 per game.
Balala’s favorite target has been Musa. Musa, a senior, leads the team with five touchdown receptions. He has 10 receptions for 186 yards this season.
The Red Hawks from Mountain Empire, lead by Head Coach Bernard Vann III, enter this game with a 2-2 record. Like the Colts, they have a dual threat quarterback in Gabriel Hydorn. Hydorn, a junior, is averaging 163.8 pass yards per game and 41.8 rush yards per game.
Mountain Empire will rely on senior wide receiver Wyatt Mann to take pressure off Hydorn and the run game. Mann has five touchdown receptions to go along with 20 receptions for 319 yards this season.
Devonti Brown should be the focus for Mountain Empire. They must find a way to minimize his impact in this game in order for Hydorn to have success.
The Red Hawks defense will have their hands full Friday night. They are facing an offense that averages 40 points per game. They only have one sack and three interceptions this season. That will not be enough if they plan on stopping the Colts offense.
Tune in Friday night at 10:30 p,m. to catch all the highlights between Mountain Empire and Crawford on the Prep Pigskin Report.
