Coach Morrison has been preaching effort and attitude throughout the season and the Hawks showed that on Saturday. During this weekend's game the Shorter Hawks showed heart and effort as they continued to battle against Mississippi College until the end of the buzzer. Coach Morrison said of the game, "Mississippi College came out ready today and they were able to move the ball on us, but we had plenty of chances to get back in the game. We have to execute better on both sides of the ball and focus on the details of game; Offense, defense and all phases of special teams must be worked."
Morrison stated, "Aeneas made some good decisions throughout the game and was able to break the single season passing touchdown record with 5 games remaining. I am proud of Aeneas and his leadership. He knows that we will rely on him throughout the season." In the first quarter Mississippi College drove 81-yards down the field in ten plays and John Henry White ran the ball in for a one-yard touchdown. The Hawks went 70-yards down the field in just five plays. Shorter's senior quarterback, Aeneas Dennis, sealed that drive with a 43-yard passing touchdown to Dorian Anderson. Nicholas Pope successfully sent the ball through the goal post to bring the score to 7-7. With two minutes left in the first, Mississippi's Ron Craten scored on a long touchdown run. Early in the game there was some good energy as both teams were working to push the ball down the field.
At the start of the second quarter, Mississippi made it 76-yards down the field in six plays and then ran in a short touchdown run with a successful extra point kick to make the score 21-7. Later in the second quarter, Mississippi College nearly created the same drive as before by going 76-yards in eight plays and then running three yards for a touchdown. The score now is 28-7. Just when it seems as the Hawks have nothing left in them, they then soar 70-yards in only four plays. Kyle Morlock then goes on to receive a 19-yard passing touchdown from Aeneas Dennis. Once again Nicholas Pope's kick was good. Morrison stated, "Going into halftime we knew we were going to have to get some stops on defense in the second half."
Both team's defenses were stopping the offense until very late in the third quarter. Mississippi College kept playing the game the way they have all along and drove the ball down the field and scored a short rushing touchdown. In 7 plays Shorter went 74 yards and with twenty seconds left in the third, Aeneas Dennis connected with Dorian Anderson again for a 26-yard passing touchdown.
Aeneas Dennis finished the game with 14 completions out of 23 attempts and 258 total passing yards. Dorian Anderson was the leader for receiving yards with just three receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Anderson has now tied the single season receiving touchdown record for the Shorter Hawks. "DD has shown that he is a force in the Gulf South Conference and we will continue to look to him throughout the season. I am looking forward to seeing his leadership on the offense and the team for the rest of the season. I am proud of him for achieving this goal," stated Morrison. Freshman, John Dickerson, didn't fall too far behind. He finished the game with 3 receptions for 76 yards, and his longest catch was 39 yards. Devin Brown added 43 yards on two receptions. Kolbey Reynolds led in tackles with 14 solo and two assists. Cedric Lynch contributed with nine solo tackles. Devonn Lane had seven tackles with anassist. Trey Thomas had four solo tackles and two assist. Bryan Rice finished the game with five solo tackles.
The Hawks will continue to improve and will play at home in Barron Stadium on October 15, 2022 when they take on #11 ranked West Florida @ 12:00pm.
