News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days: Hancock Hawks
Getting excited for high school football season comes easy at Brett Favre’s alma mater where the Hancock Hawks are eager to make last year a thing of the past at stop number 12 on News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days.
Quarterback Dylan Moran said, “I think really everybody just got sick of being that 3-7 Hancock, so we really just flipped the switch and we’re on go now.”
Running back/ Outside linebacker Jasper Talley said, “We’re just that team that’s tired of being mocked, this and this, by the other teams, by the fans, this and this, so we’re trying to be better this year and come back strong and show them what real Hancock is going to do this year.”
Will the real Hancock please stand up is one way to put it, following a tale of two seasons in 2021 in which the Hawks started with a perfect non-district record of 3-0, not including games canceled due to COVID. Running back/ Inside linebacker Jeffrey Hopgood said, “Yeah, we were feeling pretty good. We won those first three and then those last couple district games, we didn’t really finish like we were supposed to, like we wanted to.”
‘Finish,’ now serving as the newly adopted motto for the Hawks this year and for good reason after losing all seven district games to close out a disappointing campaign with an overall record of 3-7.
In one of those losses, Hancock jumped out to a 14-point first quarter lead on the road at Gulfport, only to give up 49 unanswered points in the second and third quarters en route to a double-digit defeat. “We would keep up with a team until halftime and then come out the second half kind of flat.”
“Halftime came. We were just too fired up, over our heads, this and this, so it was really difficult for us to keep that drive to keep going, and we kind of just got a little arrogant.”
Head Coach Neil Lollar said, “When we had a lull or we had a turnover or whatever it may be that kind of drug us a little bit, you can’t do that in 6A football. 6A football will eat you in that aspect, and I think the kids kind of understand that. That’s kind of been our focus.”
But enough about last year, that’s old news at Brett Favre Field. This year, the Hawks bring back 21 seniors and a whopping 17 returning starters.
Hancock figures to be run heavy behind Jeffrey Hopgood and Jasper Talley, who also have a chance to lead the team in tackles on defense, but it all starts under center with junior Quarterback Dylan Moran. “I think everybody is just ready to unleash. Like I said, it’s been the hardest working summer we’ve had, so we want to see the product of that.”
“Dylan got some prime exposure last year coming into some games. If I’m not mistaken, he played in eight of our 10 games that we were able to play, and he did a good job of coming in controlling our offense and was successful in drives and the team seemed to feed a little bit off of that, too.”
Head Coach Neil Lollar describing his offense as multiple, but primarily power run with a base 3-4 on defense and at this particular practice, special teams taking priority.
Mastering all three phases of the game is something the 2017 Hawks were able to do en route to winning the program’s first home playoff game in 27 years which is much too long of a wait for the Hawks in the here and now. “That’s a big deal.”
“We are playoff bound and we can be ready for that this season, and I think that we’re ready.”
“Really, we just like at like, okay, 2017 was the last time, so it’s been a while. We really need to get back to being a playoff team.”
“This is the first year that we haven’t had anybody on the team that didn’t experience the ’17 team, and these guys are trying to make their own mark. And it’s about their time and it’s about us as a group. So how can we show somebody on a Friday night in a three-hour window what you’ve done for hours upon hours upon hours, and I’m looking forward to seeing that reflect on a Friday night.”
The Hawks open up their season on the road with an August 26th away game at Pearl River Central.
Now time for some coaches picks from Neil Lollar, go-to meal in the Kiln, he says the Lazy Magnolia Brewery has outstanding pizza and he says he’s not being a total homer on this next one, but Hancock alum Brett Favre is his favorite NFL player. Championship moment is Ole Miss winning the College World Series.
