SEFFNER — Coming into its district matchup with Jefferson on Friday night, Armwood had given up just six points in its past three games.
Against the Dragons it was much of the same defensive dominance for the Hawks, and Jefferson had trouble moving the ball from the very first whistle. Except this time, Armwood didn’t just stop its opponent from getting points.
It stopped Jefferson from moving forward all together.
The Dragons finished with minus-4 yards of offense and two first downs for the entire game Friday as Armwood blanked them 42-0.
Coach Sean Callahan admits he didn’t expect his Hawks to hold the Dragons to negative yardage. Keeping his opponents off the scoreboard, though, wasn’t as much of a surprise to the veteran coach.
“We’re capable of it, yeah,” he said. “And the thing is, we still haven’t played our best game. We’re still having problems lining up in the secondary, and we’ve got to get those things worked out. But up front, we’re pretty tough.”
The trouble started early for Jefferson. The Dragons were penalized three times as they tried to get off their first punt of the game, giving Armwood a short field on the ensuing drive. It took just two plays before quarterback Noah Johnson was in the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown run.
Later in the half, the Hawks tackled Jefferson three straight times, including two sacks, for a loss of 14 yards.
For most defenses, a drive like that would be a feat. For the Hawks, Byron Cowart said, it was nothing new.
“We know that’s what’s expected of us,” he said. “ We make a big stop, the offense gets hype …it’s big for the whole team.”
On the other side, Armwood had similar success. Minutes after Johnson’s first touchdown, Caylan Holloway, who finished with 109 yards on nine carries, rushed 67 yards for a touchdown to put Armwood up by two scores. He’d have the next one, too, on a 5-yard touchdown after a 46-yard interception return from Aaron Covington.
Randy Bradford replaced Jefferson quarterback Cade Weldon, who went down with an injury, for the entire second half. The backup, though, didn’t fare much better against the Armwood defense.
Jefferson picked up just one first down in the second half -— on an Armwood roughing the passer penalty -— and it had a punt blocked in the third quarter by Byron Cowart, who ran it in for a touchdown.
“When they’re backed up like that, he’s thinking too much,” said Cowart, who said he’s in a competition with linebacker Kyheem Campbell for the most blocked punts this season. “I just tried to get back there real fast.”
With a 5-0 record in 6A-8 and usual front runners Hillsborough and Jefferson out of the way, Callahan admitted that his team will likely take home the district title once again. And though Johnson said he works hard to lead his team on offense, he knows exactly what made Friday’s feat possible.
“Defense wins championships,” he said.