DUE WEST,S.C. – The Shorter Hawks earned their first win of the 2021 spring football season on Saturday afternoon, as they defeated the Flying Fleet of Erskine College on their home turf 24-13.
The key moment in the game came with 2:04 left in regulation. The Hawks offense found themselves in a crucial 3rd-and-1 situation on the Erskine 45-yard line. On the ensuing play, Shorter running back Jaiden Dollard took the handoff, burst outside and sprinted down the right sideline untouched for a 45-yard touchdown to virtually ice the game.
Dollard had a big day on the offensive side of the ball, as he rushed for 128 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns. Dollard also added a receiving touchdown when true freshman quarterback Harold Cook hit Dollard in stride for a 17-yard touchdown early in the first quarter.
Cook started his first collegiate game on Saturday, as starting quarterback Aeneas Dennis was still out with an injury he suffered against Kennesaw State last week. While Cook did not light up the stat sheet per se, he did manage the Shorter offense well on the day and threw the aforementioned touchdown pass.
Shorter's defense gave up some yards but was extremely stingy when it counted, as the Flying Fleet struggled to put points on the board and managed a mere 13. The Hawks' defensive unit forced a big turnover-on-downs with 3:52 left in the game, which directly preceded the Dollard scoring scamper. Fresh off his stellar defensive performance against KSU last week, Xavier Robinson tied teammate Devonn Lane with ten total tackles on the afternoon.
Erskine started the game on the front foot, as they forced a three-and-out from the Shorter offense. However, momentum quickly shifted back in the Hawks' direction, as Erskine's Senika McKie muffed the ensuing punt, and Shorter took over on the Flying Fleet's 34-yard line.
Cook and the Shorter offense took advantage of the short field five plays later when Cook connected with Dollard for the aforementioned touchdown pass. After two field goals by Erskine, Shorter's Nick Pope, who was perfect on PATs on the day, nailed a 40-yard field goal with 20 seconds to go in the first quarter to put the Hawks up by the score line of 10-6, which ultimately stood going into halftime.
Shorter opened up the second-half scoring, with a 29-yard touchdown run by Dollard. The Flying Fleet (1-2) got a touchdown of their own on the board with 21 seconds left in the third period, as Erskine wide receiver Kevon Catoe took a handoff on a sweep, pulled up and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to teammate Rashad Luckey on a well-executed trick play. That made the score 17-13 before Dollard's burst ultimately put the nail in the coffin.
The Hawks (1-1) will be back in action next Saturday, as they will host Edward Waters in Shorter's first game at their new home – Chris Hunter Stadium in Rome. The game will begin at 4 p.m.
