25 Teams in 25 Days: Hancock Hawks
Stop number 18 on News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days takes us to a brand new field house at Hancock High School.
A much needed fresh start for a Hawks team coming off back-to-back 4-7 seasons, but still not too far removed from one of the best runs in program history.
Running back/ outside linebacker Wyatt Ladner said, “Oh, it was like a breath of fresh air literally and physically. That old stink hole we had back there was not very good. And then this big facility, we’ve got a much better film room, much better weight room, much bigger locker room and it feels like we’ll get a lot more done more efficiently in this better space than we had in the last environment.”
10,000 square feet of Hancock football now on the south side of Brett Favre Field with a little something for everyone on this 2020 Hawks team. “Definitely the film room.”
Quarterback Sema’J Robertson said, “Man, when I saw it was this beauty right here, it just sets it up right here.”
Head Coach Neil Lollar said, “The weight room is probably where I start everybody’s little tour. Even though it is just the front door, it’s the main room for me.”
Whether or not the new digs can translate into wins on Friday night, following two straight losing seasons remains to be seen. But of course, every advantage matters in a game of not only yards, but inches. “Each of those games, we were like five plays away, three plays away from winning, losing the game and that’s like the games with Gulfport, Harrison Central, St. Martin, we were three or four plays away so we just want to build off that.”
Prior to 6A region 4 play, Hancock actually got off to a perfect 3-0 start, capped off by an epic comeback against Gautier after trailing the Gators 14-0 at halftime. In the end, the Hawks won that non-district game 28-14 but it felt like they won it all, following their emotional tribute to the late Emily Kathryn Goss, former Hancock cheer captain, on Teal Out Night. “Oh, we felt like we were the best team on the Coast, but things happen, a couple guys go down with injuries, plays don’t go our way.”
“We just felt like at that time, we were the best team on the Coast. And I do feel like that did really hurt us bad because we got way high, and then we just hit like rock bottom. We had a two-month losing streak so like on that, we’ll just have to stay even keel.”
What followed was a seven-game losing streak for the second year in a row before finally closing out the 2019 season with a much needed win at West Harrison. Perhaps the first step in changing the flight path back to the winning ways of the program’s first round playoff victory over Brandon as recently as 2017. “We’ve been a part of these last three years, that big playoff run that we had and the last two years were kind of down years and we want to get back to that playoff form in our last year, make the most of it. Maybe get some colleges looking at some of our seniors, too.”
“This senior bunch, they were fortunate. Some of them were moved up and were able to go on that playoff run with us back in ’17. They were freshmen that year, and so some of them know and have experienced what it’s like to kind of take that journey. And then the big thing I’ve told them, moving forward you’ve got to play every game as if it’s senior night. You may not get next week, and they’ve kind of taken that to heart.”
As it turns out, the program’s 26 seniors have been wearing their hearts on their sleeves this entire off season, literally, as a part of Hancock’s new motto ‘Commit to the H,’ the H not only standing for Hancock, but also heart.
“The ‘H’ on the back of our shirts on Friday’s on school days, it stands for heart. And so that ‘H’ represents a lot, not just Hancock, but the heart that it takes to play for Hancock.”
“Everybody is on the same team so we all share the same time, the same ‘H’ on our jerseys, so we’ve all got to put in the same effort.”
“Man, it’s our time and we’re coming. So they’re going to feel the ‘H’ this year, man. They’re going to feel the ‘H’.”
As a result of COVID-19, Hancock lost an August 21st road game at Pearl River Central as well as home games against Meridian on August 28th and Lanier on September 18th.
The Hawks open up the 2020 season on September 4th at Gautier.
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