HARRISON HAWK FOOTBALL MISSION STATEMENT
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The Oakland Press (theoaklandpress.com), Serving Oakland County
PREP: Hawks getting it back together
Sunday, September 13, 2009
By KEITH DUNLAP
Of The Oakland Press
SOUTHFIELD Following an uncharacteristic 4-5 season last year, the battle cry was simple and obvious for Farmington Hills Harrison at the start of this year. We had the motto of “Get it back this year,” Harrison junior running back Steve Slobin said. Last year, we went 4-5 and this was our statement game. We needed to win this game if we really wanted to get it back. The statement game Slobin referred to was Friday’s Oakland Activities Association White division clash at Southfield, which took the field with a 2-0 record and might have left wondering what had just hit it.
Harrison did indeed make a statement that last year is over and forgotten, jumping out to an early 14-0 lead and taking control in the second half to record a 34-12 thumping of Southfield in an early-season battle of unbeatens. Asked after the game if he thought his team was back, longtime Harrison head coach John Herrington gave a wry smile and responded this way.
We’ re 3-0, Herrington said. I think we’ re going to give people some trouble this year.
It was hard to argue that prediction on Friday watching the Hawks, who were rock-solid in every phase of the game. Offensively, Harrison (3-0, 2-0) brilliantly mixed in the run and pass for a balanced attack that Southfield (2-1, 2-1) couldn’t contain. Slobin led an effective running game by rushing for 62 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 15 carries for the Hawks. Slobin scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, one from 3 yards with 7:21 left in the first and another from 5 yards out with 3:56 to go in the first to give the Hawks a 14-0 lead.
The passing game also did some damage, as senior quarterback Vince Salatino hit sophomore Aaron Burbridge for a 38-yard touchdown pass that gave Harrison a 20-12 lead with 7:41 left in the third quarter. Salatino then threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Slobin with 5:39 to go in the third to put Harrison up, 27-12. Defensively, Harrison for the most part contained Southfield’s potent ground game and limited the big plays. The only exceptions were a 56-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback Brandon Watkins that pulled Southfield to within eight at 14-6 with 2:33 left in the first and a 29-yard in the second quarter by senior running back Dae’ Von Robinson.
Take away those two runs, and Harrison limited Southfield to just 55 yards on the ground and forced three turnovers. Southfield’s only other score of the game came when senior running back Alonzo Graham scored from 7 yards out to pull Southfield to within two at 14-12 with 6:56 left in the second.
There were a couple of lapses there when it was 14-0, Herrington said of his defense. We had some injuries today and we had some guys playing in the secondary who hadn’t practiced much there. I’m very pleased they went out there and did the job. Harrison’s final score came with 2:59 remaining when Salatino ran the ball in from 7 yards right up the middle of the Southfield defense. Robinson, who had close to 400 yards of rushing in the first two weeks of the season, led Southfield with 64 yards on 14 carries.
They did a great job, Southfield head coach Tim Conley said. We definitely have to improve. We’re not passing that much right now. The cat’s out of the bag. We’d love to give the ball to Dae’ Von, but if we get down, we have to do other things. We’ll get better.
Contact Keith Dunlap at |keith.dunlap@oakpress.com.
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