HAWKS​ ​ARE​ ​NOW​ ​APPROACHING​ ​LAST​ ​WEEK​ ​OF​ ​REGULAR​ ​SEASON​ ​WITH​ ​A STELLAR​ ​RECORD​ ​OF​ ​6-2!!!

HAWKS%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BARE%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BNOW%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BAPPROACHING%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BLAST%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BWEEK%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BOF%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BREGULAR%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BSEASON%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BWITH%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BA+STELLAR%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BRECORD%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8BOF%E2%80%8B+%E2%80%8B6-2%21%21%21

Derrion Boyce, Staff Writer

The Hillcrest Hawks Football Team is coming off a stellar 7-2 season last year and plowing through a 2017-2018 season with experienced seniors, a high caliber of athletic, skilled juniors, and a new head coach Morgan Weaver, an alum of Hillcrest.

According to Coach Weacher: “Coming​ ​into​ ​this​ ​season,​ ​we​ ​are confident​ ​they​ ​we​ ​can​ ​add​ ​more​ ​success​ ​than​ ​we​ ​did​ ​last​ ​year,​ ​with​ ​the​ ​coaching​ ​staff and​ ​the​ ​players​ ​we​ ​have.​ ​These​ ​guys​ ​have​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​potential​ ​to​ ​make​ ​things​ ​happen.”​

T​he Hawks won by a great margin in their opener against Morgan Park 52-0. With a great performance by senior quarterback Rocky Griffin, throwing 7 touchdowns and earning a 100% QB throwing rating.

Rocky stated, “I​ ​have​ ​to​ ​lead​ ​by​ ​example,​ ​and​ ​pave​ ​the​ ​way​ ​for​ ​my teammates,​ ​we​ ​all​ ​we​ ​got,​ ​just​ ​have​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​going​ ​and​ ​silence​ ​the​ ​doubters.” T​he upcoming week the hawks did a even unforgettable performance against Rich South with a 72-0 win!!!

The Hawks were on a roll every week.

Words from Assistant Coach Berket:​ ​“Everybody contributes​ ​to​ ​the​ ​team,​ ​they​ ​all​ ​have​ ​each​ ​other,​ ​We​ ​all​ ​a​ ​family,​ ​that’s​ ​the​ ​key​ ​to​ ​our success.”

The Hawks are a family: they have family dinners and yoga every Thursday before Game Day. They also go out to breakfast every Sunday after a win, The Hawks is the definition of a family, and unity.

The offense and the defense are both just phenomenal when dominating on the field. Star receivers Corey Crooms and Nick Lindley both combine for 18 touchdowns this season, added by All conference junior defensive end Cam Maddox “Best​ ​D-end​ ​in​ ​the​ ​south​ ​suburbs”- Micheal​ ​O’Brien.​They​ ​have seniors Raymond Jones, Rocky Griffin, and Dekari Smith who mold the team as captains. There are more important players, but those are a few who really stand out.

All of the coaches remained humble and united with each other which sets an example for the players. Former Head Coach Marquis Cole stated that “As​ ​a​ ​whole​ ​we​ ​have​ ​to​ ​remain​ ​solid and​ ​strong​ ​showing​ ​no​ ​weakness,​ ​because​ ​that​ ​can​ ​wear​ ​off​ ​on​ ​the​ ​players”.​ T​he coaching have been doing a great job as a whole since the summer time. They took the players to Winona State University in Minnesota, giving them the college experience.

The Hawks was coming off a 2-0 record before going against their highly anticipated rival Lemont High School. This was the Hawks first loss of the season for the past 3 seasons. They wanted to prove the doubters wrong. The game was so competitive that no one scored until the second half. The first touchdown was scored on a pass from Rocky Griffin to Corey Crooms to
put them up 7-0. Then Lemont unfortunately scored on a kick return and a pick 6 to put them up 14-7. Our Hawks tried so hard to score but couldn’t pull it off suffering a hard fought loss to Lemont.

The Hawks had just come off an easy win over Bremen, TF South, and Tinley Park, pushing them to 5-1. It was cold, and rainy Friday night with low attendance. The Hawks was up against Shepard a team who only had one loss just like the Hawks. The game was close but the Astros was executing time after time, leaving the hawks down a 14-7 lead. But the Hawks came back relentless. Bringing it down to the wire. Star Receiver Corey Crooms went and grabbed the ball out of the defenders hands for a touchdown to tie the game up. After that the astros kicked a field goal giving the lead back 14-17. But that didn’t stop Corey Crooms, another deep pass was thrown and Corey jumped up and grabbed it again with 1:36 left on the clock, and the hawks were up 21-17. But not too fast the well coached Astros scored on a 4 play drive giving them the win 24-21. Coach Weaver stated: “Those​ ​guys​ ​fought​ ​hard​ ​they​ ​have​ ​no​ ​reason​ ​to​ ​put​ ​their heads​ ​down”.

The Hawks are having a lot of fun this last week into the regular season. Having dance battles in practices, and listening to their favorite music. The Hawks have a bright future ahead of them they just have to remain humble and they will Be Great.

“HAWK​ ​PRIDE​ ​FOREVER”.