Friday, Sept. 6, the Terrace Hawks football team kicked off their long-awaited season on a hot day. Pre-game warmups for Terrace displayed the defensive formations and offensive plays the Hawks needed to stick down fully. Coach Archie Malloy was impressed with his team as they warmed up as he yelled out.
“That’s Terrace Football!” Malloy yelled as his Hawks offense ran a pre-game offensive play perfectly. As the game drew closer, the Hawks huddled up and got hyped as Malloy got them in a huddle.
The captains meet in the middle and confer on heads or tails and the Hawks win the toss and defer to the Cascade High School Bruins. Kickoff ensues when the Bruins start with the ball. The Bruins hand off the ball to start the game and sophomore Nate Brown immediately has a tackle for loss. The Bruins bounce back right after with a huge 14-yard rush. Malloy immediately looked towards the defense to straighten themselves out. The Hawks responded with sophomore Owen Boswell having an impressive pass breakup to stop a huge pass play. The Bruins immediately struck back with a 20-yard first down. The Bruins then had it on Terrace’s 4-yard line and Mason Wilson gets a massive sack to stop the Bruins on a 4th and Goal.
The Hawks’ first drive starts strong with quarterback and sophomore Mason Wilson gaining a ten-yard run. A couple of plays after Wilson ends up getting strip-sacked and the Hawks turn the ball over. The Hawks stop the Bruins causing a quick offensive trip with Elyjah Meegan getting a big 3rd down tackle resulting in a punt from the Bruins. The first quarter comes to an end after back-and-forth punts between the two teams.
The second quarter started with a deep 20-yard touchdown pass by the Bruins to go up 6 to 0 with 9:23 left in the half. The Hawks receive the ball back and march down the field rush by rush but are taken back by rusher and sophomore Jacob Meyer from the Bruins to set up a harsh 4th and 3. Terrace had a delay of the game pushing them even further back to 4th and 8. The Hawks pass it on fourth and 8, resulting in a drop. The Bruins start their drive off with 2 short run plays that lose yards to senior Elijah Swett and junior Liam Moore, pushing the Bruins back to a hard start to the drive. The Bruins launch it deep and it’s a Touchdown. A deep 30-yard pass was completed for the Bruins to go up 12 to 0. The Bruins think it’s not enough though as they go for a 2-point conversion. The Bruins hit on the gamble and went up 14-0 halfway through the second. The Hawks were very mad after these two plays as the players on the sideline saw a hold on a Terrace offensive lineman and the 2-point conversion many players said the receiver had two knees down during the catch.
After all the anger Nate Brown shook it off with a massive 12-yard kick return to spark passion back into the Terrace players. Right after Wilson charges to the right with a hard rush as Nate Brown bodies another man from the Bruins with a heart-stopping block. Terrace comes up short on another 4th down conversion. The Bruins came back immediately splitting the Hawk’s secondary with a 40-yard touchdown going up 20 to 0 ending the first half. Leading to the Bruins becoming increasingly cocky as their coach yells at them to calm down.
The second half starts with the Hawks receiving the kick. Wilson commands a fierce rush attack throughout the drive to get the Hawks into the Redzone. After a couple of missed opportunities at the goal line, Wilson plows through the Bruins’ defense for a touchdown getting the Hawks’ first points on the board. The score is now 20-7 at the start of the third. The Bruins receive the ball back and get stopped short by a hard Moore sack on the Bruins. The Bruins punt giving the Hawks the ball back. The Hawks charge down the field with an animosity. Two 15-yard plays lead the Hawks straight toward the red zone. Wilson charges toward the end zone and comes up short on the 2-yard line. Wilson tosses it up to Brown for a touchdown. The game is now 20 to 13 with about 8 minutes left in the game.
The Bruins are not taken aback by this touchdown, as they immediately return the kick for 30 yards. The special teams are showing out but the offense comes up short. The Bruins march down to the red zone and are stopped evidently at the 15-yard line. The Hawks get the ball back. Wilson tosses out a deep ball, pass interference on the Bruins pushing the Hawks 15 yards down the field. Wilson picks up on the momentum of the penalty throwing a ten-yard pass to Nate Brown. With momentum comes a heart-stopping throw, Wilson tosses it up and an interception ensues.
The Bruins received the ball back with less than 5 minutes left in the game now. The terrace is still down a whole score. The Bruins run the ball into a brick wall. D’andre Daigre slams down the rusher. The Bruins run the ball again straight into that brick wall with Daigre having a strip fumble to turn the ball over. The Hawks have one last chance. 3 minutes left on the clock. The Hawks rush forward and again the Bruins commit a penalty with a face mask. The Hawks strike again with a 7-yard throw to Aaron Hatefield, as he flexes towards his teammates. The Hawks have it at the 50 with momentum swaying towards them. Bang, interception, deep ball thrown out and second interception of the game for Mason. The game is over the Hawks lose 20 to 13 in a hard-fought loss to the Bruins.
