Field position key for Honaker
Honaker (40) vs. Eastside (27)
Written: Sep 14, 2013
BY ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
COEBURN, Va. — It was a workmanlike effort by the Tigers Friday night. Honaker controlled the line of scrimmage and with it the ballgame in a 40-27 win over Eastside at Carroll McConnell Stadium.
Honaker (2-0) won their second game and handed the Spartans (2-1) their first loss of the season.
“My kids played well, especially in the second half,” Honaker coach Doug Hubbard said. “The offensive line controlled the game, it was just a good overall effort.”
A huge difference in the contest was field position. Honaker placekicker Mackenzie Phillips kept kicking the ball in the end zone. The Spartans started nine possessions on their own 20. Their best starting field position the entire game was their 24. Meanwhile Honaker started five possessions inside Eastside territory.
“When you play a team like Honaker with a coach like Doug Hubbard, you can’t make mistakes,” said Eastside coach Matt Hamilton. “I hadn’t seen a high school kicker kick it in the end zone the entire night but he did. When you start on the 20 and you make a mistake and the next thing you know its third-and-long and that is hard to overcome. It changes the whole game and we couldn’t recover from it.”
The Tigers first possession moved the ball 50 yards in seven plays. Tailback Austin Smith scored behind right tackle on a six-yard rush. With Phillips extra point, Honaker led 7-0.
Honaker scored their next two possessions.
Then Dye escaped with the play of the game. He should have been tackled a couple of times for loss but was able to scramble and break free on a 34-yard TD scamper as Honaker went up 20-7.
“I saw the Eastside end out of the corner of my eye and knew I had to get out of there before he got me,” stated Dye. “I just never gave up on it and was able to get loose.”
Riner scored on a 4-yard run to pull within 20-14 at halftime. Riner was 19-of-38 passing for 331 yards with the two rushing touchdowns and also a couple of TD passes.
Honaker put the game away with 17 points in the third quarter.
Dye tossed a 28-yard scoring pass to Randy Horton. Smith scored on a six-yard run and Phillips booted a 45-yard field goal.
Smith finished with 116 yards on the ground for Honaker and Dye added 115 yards. Dye was 6-of-9 passing for 98 yards.
At Carroll McConnell Stadium
Honaker.........7 13 17 3 — 40
Eastside........7 7 0 13 — 27
Scoring Summary
HON — Smith 6 run (Phillips kick)
EAST — Riner 5 run (Hill kick)
HON — Bunn 1 run (Phillips kick)
HON — Dye 34 run (kick failed)
EAST — Riner 4 run (Hill kick)
HON — Horton 28 pass from Dye (Phillips kick)
HON — Smith 6 run (Phillips kick)
HON — FG Phillips 45
HON — FG Phillips 30
EAST — Yates 7 pass from Riner (Hill kick)
EAST — Slone 38 pass from Riner (run failed)
Team Stats
First Downs: HON 11, EAST 14; Rushes-Yards: HON 41-253, EAST 25-55; Passing Yards: HON 98, EAST 331; Comp-Att-Int: HON 6-9-0, EAST 19-39-0; Fumbles-Lost: HON 1-0, EAST 1-0; Penalties-Yards: HON 8-85, EAST 9-72; Punts-Average: HON 3-25.3, EAST 5-26.8
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