The Hargrave Tigers took the field on Saturday for the final time of the 2019 season as they faced off against Catholic High School. The Tigers gave their best effort and ultimately fell 48-12, closing out the season with a 2-7 record.
Prior to kick-off, Hargrave had the opportunity to honor the five members of the 2020 senior class:
#11 Peyton Johnson (Clinton, North Carolina)
#31 Matthew Bajorek (Charlotte, North Carolina)
#51 James Ward (Angleton, Texas)
#55 Kip Barksdale (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
#88 Michael Lewis (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Catholic High School came into Saturday’s matchup a much stronger team than their record indicated and they returned the opening kick-off for a touchdown, grabbing a 6-0 lead 15 seconds into the ball game. However, the shorthanded Tigers were able to hang tough after that initial hiccup, as they went into the second quarter with the score still 6-0. The Tigers had a strong defensive effort from Frank Piccione, Rob Sovula, CJ Farmer, Nick Hammock, Andrew Ponton, David Hubbard, Jr. and Mason Rucker as they all racked up double digit tackles. The Hargrave defense accounted for eight tackles for loss, four quarterback sacks, one interception, and one fumble recovery.
Unfortunately, despite a strong defensive effort, the Crusaders of Catholic High School were able to wear down the Tigers and scored three touchdowns late in the second quarter to take a 27-0 lead into halftime.
The Tigers offense showed sparks in the first half but really had a great showing on the opening drive of the second half as a long pass play from Mason Anderson to Matthew Bajorek gave Hargrave the ball on the Catholic 1 yard line where Anderson was able to break the plane on a quarterback sneak to put the Tigers on the board. The Tiger offensive line (Rucker, Cameron Coburn, Ponton, James Ward, Farmer, and Piccione) had an outstanding performance and they were able to keep the Catholic defense at bay most of the evening. Trailing 41-6 in the fourth quarter, Nick Hammock burst through a massive hole made by an incredible block from CJ Farmer as he scampered the distance for the score, helping the Tigers finish the season on a positive note.
From Head Coach, Jeff Schaum, “I truly appreciate all the support we received as a program in my first year here at Hargrave. Col. Brown and the rest of the administration has worked wonders for us and we’ve got a great group to build around. We battled injuries most of the year but with the majority of our core being underclassmen, I think Hargrave Football has a bright future on the horizon!”
