Lawson vs. Hamilton

The Lawson Cardinals 2011 Season ended Tuesday night in the  Class 2 sectional game against the Hamilton Hornets.

Turnovers made the difference in the game as Hamilton rolled to a 27-0 win over Lawson. Twenty of their points came in the final period.

The scoring by quarters was:

Lawson    0  0  0  0 

Hamilton  0  7  0 20

In what can only be defined as an inexplicable end to the Lawson 2011 football season, the Cardinals football were blanked by Hamilton in a two-day contest on a rain-soaked field.

The 2011 Cardinal football team ends their  season will a  winning record, posting nine wins and three losses.

Turnovers made the difference in the final game against Hamilton as the Hornets forged a 27-0 win over Lawson. Twenty of their points came in the final period.

Lawson's offense and special teams had trouble getting a grip on the ball last Wednesday night, resulting in six turnovers, with five fumbles and one pass interception.

The two teams played a full quarter on Tuesday night, but neither team was able to score as the area was once again hammered by cold winds and rain storms.

The Hornets kicked off to  open the game and the Cards couldn't get anything going their way on the first possession and had to punt, putting Hamilton at the Hornet 35.

Hamilton pushed to the Lawson 15 but lost the ball on a fumble recovered by Kendall Saunders at the 25.

The Cards advanced into Hamilton territory on carries by Blake Edwards, Benton Maddux, Ty Cox and Johnny Sutphin.

When Lawson reached the 33, the Cards lost the ball with a fumble at the Hornet 29.

Hamilton had possession through three plays, then fumbled again.

Alex Shelton covered the ball for Lawson at the Hornet 30.

Lawson moved to the 28 as the first period ended.

The Cards reached the 23 during the series, but couldn't pick up the first down and Hamilton took over at the 23.

The Hornets reached the 31-yard line, but the game was postponed as lightning moved into the area.

When the game resumed in the cold rain the next evening, the Hornets started from where they stopped and fought their way to the 49-yard line.

Nick Bozarth kept them from picking up a first down by throwing Derrick Hughes for a loss and forcing the Hornets to punt.

Hamilton's punt went 12 yards and the Cards took over at their own 40.

Maddux moved Lawson to the 49 on the first down, but the possession ended when Kevin Overstreet scooped up a Lawson fumble two plays later and made his way to the end zone on a 54 yard TD run.

Andrew Bottorff kicked the extra point to give the Hornet a 7-0 lead midway through the second period.

Maddux returned the ensuing kickoff to the Cardinal 43.

The Cards fumbled on the very first play, giving the Hornets control of the ball at the Lawson 43-yard line. Hamilton was unable to do anything with the possession and they ended the series with a punt that put the Cards on their own 20.

Edwards completed a pass to Garrison Green on the first down, to move Lawson to the 27,

Maddux picked up the first down two plays later, putting the Cards at their own 32.

Lawson was unable to gain anymore ground and Edwards punted, giving the Hornets the ball at their 20.

The Hornets pushed to the 40 as the first half ended 0-7.

The Cards kicked off to open the second half, and got a break from the start as Hamilton was cited for a block-in-the-back on the kick-off, which moved them back to their own 15 yard line.

It was a quick three-and-out for the Hornets, with Lawson downing their punt at the Cardinal 31.

Lawson pushed to the 50-yard line on runs by Sutphin, Edwards, Maddux and Cox and were forced to punt.

The Hornets were pinned back at their own 13-yard line. They advanced to the 15 and punted, giving the Cards the ball at the 49.

Lawson ran two plays and fumbled the ball at their own 47 with 2:22 to play in the period.

Hamilton controlled the ball through the rest of the quarter, advancing to the Lawson 18-yard line as the period ended.

Four plays into the fourth quarter, the Hornets scored their first offensive TD with Derrick Hughes crossing the goal on an eight-yard run with 9:57 left in the game. Bottorff kicked the extra point to put the game at 0-14.

Hamilton kicked off and the ball ricocheted off a Cardinal receiver and back into the hands of Hamilton's Kolby Reeder.

A chop block call against the Cards advanced the Hornets to the Lawson 18-yard line.

A minute later, Hughes scored again on a three-yard run to take the game to 0-20 with 7:58 showing on the clock. The extra point kick failed.

Cox returned Hamilton's kickoff to the 16 and Sutphin picked up a yard on the first down.

Then, it was another turnover as Jake Angle intercepted Edwards at the 25-yard line.

From 25 yards out, it didn't take the Hornets long to put another score on the board. Drew Finch scored on an eight-yard run with 5:16 to play on the game.  Bottorff kicked the extra point for what would end up as the final 27-0 Hornet win.

Benton Maddux led Lawson's rushing game with 61 yards on 13 carries.

Johnny Sutphin had 19 yards on 8 carries. Ty Cox had 16 yards on 3 carries and Blake Edwards had 12 yards on 3 carries.