09/16/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
ALBION – Hamilton County's offense struggled in its road game at Edwards County on Saturday afternoon.

But its defense didn't.

The defense and special teams stepped forward, which is how head coach Rhet Vaughan's Foxes grabbed a road victory on Saturday in the Black Diamond Conference.

Hamilton County senior defensive back Jagger Mitchell intercepted a pass and ran it back 37-yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and the Foxes' defensive linemen Brody Barker and Braxton Miller tackled Edwards County punter Justin Davis in the endzone for a safety in the third quarter.

Those two key plays resulted in all of the scoring that Hamilton County needed as the Foxes took home a 10-0 triumph to improve to 2-2 on the season.

“We have struggled on offense and we didn't get anything going but our defense stepped up,” said Coach Vaughan. “We have some things to address in house (offensively) but defensively we can't ask for more (shutout) than that.”

The special teams came up special in the second quarter also as they blocked an Edwards County field goal attempt.

An inadvertent whistle stopped the play which kept the Hamilton County from scoring on the return.

However it was a stop, which was all that mattered.

Subsequently the visitors kept the Lions' offense at bey for most of the contest, sending Coach Russ Gerlach's club to its fourth loss of the campaign.

The Lions defense also played well as the two teams were pretty even with offensive numbers.

The issue for Edwards County on Saturday were the mistakes.

The Lions were flagged for 12-penalties for 97-yards and committed a pair of turnovers (interceptions) in the game.

“That's been the story of the season. We're 0-4 but three of those were one-score games,” said Coach Gerlach. “We have just had too many penalties, and the offensive penalties just killed us today. We had some drives where we had some momentum going but there are a lot of mistakes that we have to clean up.”

Hamilton County came up with the game's first big play on defense and it turned out to be the only points the Foxes would need.

Edwards County got the ball on the opening kickoff and started with a first down on a pair of runs by Gerlach.

However on a third-and-11 from their own 37, quarterback Jax Duncan was pressured and his pass to the right side of the field was intercepted by senior defensive back Jagger Mitchell.

Mitchell then dodged a couple of Edwards County players and headed into the endzone for a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Senior running back Hunter Groves ran up the middle for the two-point conversion for an 8-0 advantage with just 8:42 remaining in the first quarter.

“I knew that coming into the season that our defense was going to be a strength,” said Coach Vaughan. “So far we've been pretty good defensively. We've got some seniors out there that have been playing for me for a few years. They have been so easy to coach.”

Statistically the rushing and passing totals were nearly the same.

Five different Foxes combined for 37-attempts and 110-yards total while Edwards County also had five ballcarriers gain 125-yards on 40-tries.

The Lions, despite their errors, had chances to score just before the half ended.

After having a field goal attempt by senior Preston Wright blocked, Edwards County got the ball right back as Hamilton County quarterback Andrew Webb was intercepted by the Lions' Jackson Hensley, setting up his team with a first down at the Foxes' 43-yard line with just :16 left before intermission.

An 11-yard run by Hensley reached the 32-yard line but the next two plays resulted in an incomplete pass and a quarterback sack that ended the half.

The Lions' rolled the dice to begin the second half as an onside kick by Wright that would have worked except that the kick by the senior didn't go the full 10-yards as he recovered it at the Edwards County 49.

The Foxes looked primed to take command of the game with a drive that took nine-plays and over five minutes off of the clock.

Runs by senior Eli Hanson and Graves got the ball inside the Lions' 10 for a first-and-goal.

Nevertheless the Edwards County defense stiffened.

Faced with a fourth-and-goal from the nine, Webb scrambled to his right looking for a receiver.

Forced to run, Webb was knocked out of bounds at the three-yard line as the ball was turned over on downs.

The next big play gave Hamilton County points.

After three plays netted just five-yards, the Lions were forced to punt from their own eight.

A high snap was grabbed by Davis but before he could get a punt off he was tackled in the endzone by Hamilton County linemen Miller and Brody Barker for a safety and a 10-0 Foxes' lead with 5:42 left in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter Edwards County had another scoring opportunity.

Davis intercepted a pass by Webb and got the ball to the Hamilton County 46 but the Lions' turned it over on downs.

Within a two minute span of play clock, each team exchanged fumbles and recoveries.

Hamilton County's final drive took over four minutes and got deep into Lions' territory.

After turning it over on downs, the Foxes ended the drama when Duncan had a pass intercepted by Hanson.

The senior returned the ball to the Edwards County 14 with 1:02 left.

A pair of kneel downs ended the contest as Coach Vaughan and his club picked up a key road win.

Graves rushed for 34-yards on 12-attempts to pace the Foxes while sophomore Blane Eck added 29-yards on six tries.

Hanson finished with four attempts for 23-yards while also catching a pass for a 26-yard gain.

Mitchell and sophomore tight end Jace Cross each caught passes as Webb ended up 3-of-6 in the air for 48-yards.

For the Lions Hensley led the rushing attack with 45-yards on 13-rushes while senior Max Gerlach added 33-yard on 10-carries.

Davis added four carries for 27-yards.

The Foxes will host Eldorado next Friday night in their Homecoming game while Edwards County will get a week off with a forfeit win coming from Vienna/Goreville.

“Our boys do play hard and we're undermanned. I hope eventually they can be rewarded for their efforts,” said Coach Gerlach.