POOLER – New Hampstead doesn’t have to look at the game film to analyze where mistakes cost the Phoenix a chance to beat Perry in their Region 1-4A opener on Friday night at Pooler Stadium.
On the opening possession, an attempt to draw the Panthers offside on fourth-and-2 from the New Hampstead 28 instead was an ill-fated run that gave Perry a short field leading to a touchdown.
There were lost fumbles on back-to-back NHHS drives in the third quarter, the latter immediately following a 73-yard pass play to the Perry 12.
The Phoenix kickoff team yielded some big returns, and New Hampstead left points off the board following its four touchdowns with a blocked kick, a failed conversion run, a failed conversion pass and a missed kick.
Regrettable plays contributed to a 38-24 victory for Perry (3-3, 1-0 region), which never trailed after building an early 14-0 cushion. New Hampstead (1-5, 0-1), closed to 14-12 in the second quarter before losing its fifth straight game.
“We’re just a play away,” Phoenix head coach Kyle Hockman said. “I’m proud of them, how they played. Perry deserves credit, but we’re just a play away.”
It was a point he emphasized to his team after the game, asking each player to look at three plays that they could have improved upon, and also to believe that if they keep playing and fighting, success will come.
On a night when senior quarterback Erik Hockman, the coach’s nephew, completed 25 of 33 passes for 376 yards to nine different receivers, it seemed like a reasonable perspective. Erik Hockman passed for two touchdowns and scrambled 27 yards for another, and his lone interception came on the Phoenix’s final offensive play during desperation time in the final minutes.
Kyle Hockman praised the passing game, saying, “Pass protection starts off with that. Erik did a good job, and the receivers coming back for the ball and finding windows. It’ll get better.”
Hockman explained that New Hampstead wasn’t going for it on fourth down on the game’s first drive deep in its own territory.
“Early on, we tried to trick them a little, get out there and line up,” the coach said, but a mistake in executing the play forced them to snap the ball, resulting in a run for no gain.
The Panthers ran for six straight plays, the last Decorrion Daniels’ 1-yard run. John Levie, who was 5-for-5 on extra-point attempts and also booted a 30-yard field goal, made it 7-0 with 7:41 left in the first quarter.
The Phoenix undermined their next drive when they fumbled the ensuing kickoff and returned it to their 4-yard line. They went three-and-out, and after a short, high punt took a favorable roll, Perry started at the NHHS 49.
Four plays later, the Panthers’ Jhamard Cobb (listed at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds) rumbled in from the 16 and the advantage was 14-0 with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter.
New Hampstead still had time and something special in a dynamic passing game. Erik Hockman, the son of assistant coach Ryan Hockman, plays with his fraternal twin, wide receiver Ben Hockman.
Erik Hockman fired a dart to Ben Hockman, who caught the pass in stride as he beat the defense for a 59-yard touchdown with 1:12 left in the opening period. Perry blocked the kick and led 14-6.
After the Panthers bobbled the ensuing kickoff and had to start at their 7, they later had to punt from their end zone.
New Hampstead started at the 50 and put together a scoring drive keyed by a fourth-and-3 when running back Christian Kinlaw caught a dump-off pass and ran over a defender en route to an 11-yard gain.
On the next play, the Hockman-to-Hockman connection produced a 19-yard scoring strike and a 14-12 deficit with 7:41 left in the second quarter.
Ben Hockman caught three passes for 81 yards and two scores, all in the first half, in what he called “basically my first game back” this season. He tore his hamstring during track season last spring, recovered over the summer, and tore it again, he said, during fall football camp.
He played a little in the team’s three-point loss to Effingham County on Aug. 29 and was in for a limited number of plays on Friday night.
“These past two weeks, we’ve been having great practices,” Ben Hockman said. “Obviously, with me coming back from injury, that opens up a lot of stuff, even if I didn’t play as many plays as I usually do. I think our receivers were really precise in their routes. They caught every ball. We didn’t have any drops, I don’t think. I just liked how Erik played. He played smart. He played physical.”
Down two points, the Phoenix lost momentum when the Panthers returned the ensuing kickoff to their 47, where Ari Theriot made a touchdown-saving tackle. Perry scored eventually on a 5-yard touchdown run for a 21-12 lead.
Panthers quarterback Reid Ginn was only 3-of-5 passing for 18 yards in the first half as the team, between the short fields and a bruising running game, grinded to first downs.
“Our kickoff team has been really good all year and (Perry) got one on the kickoff return, but that’s part of life,” Kyle Hockman said. “So we bounced back and fought hard.”
The Phoenix drove from their 20 to the Perry 19 but took a sack as time ran out in the first half.
New Hampstead tried a squib kick to start the second half, but Perry snagged it on a good bounce and returned it to the Phoenix 30. Ginn ran in from the 1 for a 28-12 lead.
The Phoenix fumbled on the next possession, but the defense responded by forcing a punt.
JaMauri Williams was hit as he caught a pass from Erik Hockman but held on, shed a defender, and ran to the Panthers’12. New Hampstead fumbled on the next play, and Perry drove 79 yards to produce Levie’s 30-yard field goal for 31-12, completing the third-quarter scoring.
The Phoenix posted fourth-quarter touchdowns on Khamari Smart’s 4-yard run and Erik Hockman’s 27-yard scramble.
“We’re going to watch (game film) critically,” said Ben Hockman, who has verbally committed to Cornell. “We’re going to come in Monday. We’re going to forget about it. We’re going to execute next Thursday against Ware (County). We can’t keep those mistakes in our head. That’s just going to set us back. Obviously, mistakes happen and we want to fix those mistakes. But we will fix those mistakes as time goes on.”
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total | ||
| PHS | 14 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 38 | |
| NHHS | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 24 | |
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First Quarter |
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PHS—Decorrion Daniels 1 run (John Levie kick) |
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PHS—Jhamard Cobb 16 run (Levie kick) |
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NHHS—Ben Hockman 59 pass from Erik Hockman (kick blocked) |
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Second Quarter |
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NHHS—B. Hockman 19 pass from E. Hockman (run failed) |
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PHS—Cobb 5 run (Levie kick) |
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Third Quarter |
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PHS—Reid Ginn 1 run (Levie kick) |
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PHS—Levie 30 FG |
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Fourth Quarter |
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NHHS—Khamari Smart 1 run (pass failed) |
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PHS—Dakarai Felder 35 pass from Ginn (Levie kick) |
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NHHS—E. Hockman 27 run (kick failed) |
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Records—Perry 3-3, 1-0 Region 1-4A; New Hampstead 1-5, 0-1 region. |
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FINAL SCORES – Week #7
Sept. 26
Richmond Hill 35, Tift County 10
Bradwell Institute 51, at Greenbrier (2–3)
Effingham County 48, Lakeside-Evans 10
South Effingham 14, Evans (10
Benedictine 30, Ware County27
Perry 38, New Hampstead 24
Liberty County 10, Southeast 7
Blessed 35, Savannah Christian 32
Bryan County 42, Claxton 7
Portal 21, Savannah High 14
Robert Toombs 41, St. Andrew’s 8
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Photos courtesy of Gilbert Miller
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