Your Shorter Hawks, transitioning from NAIA Division 1 to NCAA Division II after this season, scored nine points in 30 seconds to pull out a win against a feisty Pikeville University squad Saturday afternoon...
And while, yes, the HQ can add to its sunburned totals for the year, this win had Kardiac Kids written all over it... Heart-Stopping Hawks, maybe...???
Anyway, I digress...
It was the home opener for the nationally-ranked lot after their upset win over Webber International in Lake Wales, Florida last Saturday. Pikeville has had a lot of turnover in the last year. They hired a Kentucky high school football legend as their new coach. Dudley Hilton brings his 36 years, 3 state titles, and 345 wins over to the college side of things. His rep kept a lot of kids home for a change and 193 showed up for first practices...
I'm not kidding... 193 kids showed up...
And they had a relatively easy time of it so far with a 2-0 start in a win over Southern Virginia, 63-18, and a 24-17 win over NCAA Division II Kentucky Wesleyan.
They're not as outmanned as they seemed in the past and will be a headache for the Mid-South Conference in the years to come...
They were down 20-0 at Barron Stadium but, scored to make it 20-7 at the break, ran back the opening 2nd half kickoff for another score and recovered the ensuing onside kick to scare the daylights out of the blue-and-black clad home fans...
Pikeville, and their new uniforms, scored again with a little under 11 minutes to go to take a 21-20 lead and Shorter had to try and get something going for a score with a little under two minutes to go after swapping what seemed like a shopping spree on punting...
Troy Postell had missed a field goal with four minutes to go, but thanks to a drive that took a little over a minute, he hit a 44-yarder with 30 seconds to go for a 23-21 lead. The one he missed...? Two yards shorter...
But Pikeville threw two passes in the last 30 seconds that set up a 33-yard field goal attempt with 8 seconds on the clock.
That's where Daniel Hazard steps in to frame...
When you talk to Daniel, he's about as open and honest as a college senior can be- and he believes everything he says. You could be talking about religion, football, or traffic lights... and if he told you that the light turned an amazing shade of pink, he'd be convincing in his arguments if you didn't see it yourself.
He's the vocal and emotional leader on defense and some special teams situations and it came through again... he plowed through, found a hole, blocked the possible game-winner, scooped it up, and scored as the clock ran out... ((Thanks to Tracey Long for the amazing photo...))
Game, set, match... 29-21...
"When I saw the hole open up, I went right through it and was able to get my hands [on the kick]," he told Shorter SID Matt Green. "When I picked up the ball I just had my eyes focused on the goal line and once I got into the end zone, I just collapsed to my knees.
"I couldn't believe it -- God has blessed me."
He told me that he heard a little voice in his head that said for him to pick the ball up and not to worry about running with it. There were noises in his ears that were his teammates clearing the way down the field, and he just collapsed in the endzone after the score.
But there's another part to this...
His family is going through a lot right now...
His grandfather, at 85 years young and sporting a black Dartmouth cap in the stands in Rome, has to head back up to the northeast for surgery after a diagnosis of colon cancer. He came down for the game to see Daniel play.
The HQ doesn't want to hear anything negative about higher powers in play today... because, as you all know, Daniel Hazard will be more than happy to tell you otherwise...
The HQ's thoughts are with the Hazard family through all that they are set to face...
Oh, Shorter ((ranked #20)) heads to Georgetown ((KY)) next Saturday- just south of Satellite HQ...
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