Box Score By Jim O'Hara

LAGRANGE, Ga. – In a season filled with adversity and frustration, the Shorter Hawks ended it with a win that put all those heartbreaks behind them.

In their final game of the season Thursday night at Callaway Stadium, the Hawks turned in a near flawless performance to hand the Point University Skyhawks a 24-10 defeat, the second win in Shorter's last three games that gives them a 2-9 overall record heading into the off-season.

Shorter finished the game rolling up 320 yards – 280 on the ground – with senior Bradley Moon leading the Hawks rushing for 99 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, while senior Roderick Jones added an 86-yard touchdown run that opened the game.

Sophomore Zack Payne, making his first career start at quarterback, also made a good account completing four of six passes for 40 yards.

Defensively, however, the Hawks rose to the occasion as they turned in a pair of goal-line stands, one that kept Point out of the end zone at the end of the first half and the other early in the final quarter when the Skyhawks were threatening to make a game of it.

The big play, however, the Shorter defense had been looking for all year finally came when sophomore safety Jordan Shaw picked off a pass in the second quarter and raced 70 yards for the pick-6, the Hawks' first of the season.

In what has been a familiar start for Shorter, the Hawks needed just one play on their first possession of the game to take the lead when Jones took a quick pitchout to the left side from Payne, found the blocks on the edge and raced 86 yards for the touchdown with just under three minutes into the game. Kenny Langford added the first of three extra points.

Jones' spring into the end zone was the longest of the year for Shorter, surpassing an 83-yard non-scoring gain against Mars Hill in the second game of the season.

Point managed to put together a time-consuming drive when they took over, marching from their own 16 to the Shorter 13, where the Hawks held their ground and the Skyhawks had to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Alex Frear.

After the team teams exchanged possessions on the next four series, Point appeared to be back in sync when they went from their own 14 to the Shorter 31, but that when the Hawks' defense stepped up again – this time with Shaw giving the team something they haven't had all season.

On a third and nine situation, Point quarterback Jeremy Uzee dropped back looking for an open receiver in the flats but instead saw Shaw step in front of the pass and race 70 yards for the touchdown, Shorter's first defensive touchdown of the year to give the Hawks a 14-3 lead with 4:21 left in the half.

Point threatened to in the final minutes moving the ball from its own 20 to the Shorter 3 only to see the Hawks slam the door on the Skyhawks keeping them out of the end zone as the half ended.

The Skyhawks, however, finally found the end zone on their first series of the second half to cut into Shorter's lead when Mason found a hole on the left side and raced 72 yards to paydirt and Frear's extra point pull the home team to within four, 14-10.

That's when the Hawks put together their best drive of the night.

When Shorter took over on its second series of the second half, the Hawks turned in a workmanlike 13-play, 77-yard march – they used up more than seven minutes of the clock – that ended when Moon broke into the end zone from 10 yards out and give the Hawks a 21-10 advantage with 2:49 to go in the third quarter.

In the opening minutes of the fourth period, Point recovered a fumble at the Hawks' 20, only to see Shorter's defense stand firm again when on a third and goal play the Skyhawks fumbled the snap and Wesley Clay fell on it at the Point 4 with 10:22 to go in the game.

From there, the Hawks ate up the yards and the clock, taking the ball down to the Point 19 where Guy Hunt split the uprights from 36 yards out to add to Shorter's lead, 24-10, with 2:46 left to play and seal the win.