No Hope in New Hope

There will be a new champion in Section 5AAAAA Football this season as Nascier Borden scored three touchdowns to lead the Cooper Hawks to a 35-7 win over the defending section champion St. Louis Park Orioles Saturday in New Hope.

The Hawks flew into the end zone twice in the first quarter.  Trashawn McMillan set up the first score as he threw an 18 yard pass to Adrian Adams and Borden ran left for a 14 yard touchdown.  The McMillan to Adams combination would also be a factor in Cooper's second touchdown.  McMillan sent a deep 57 yard pass that was caught by Adams and the senior quarterback scored on a one yard keeper to give the Hawks a 14-0 lead.

McMillan would throw a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter.  First, Borden's 40 yard run would set the stage for McMillan as he threw a 33 yard right side pass to Adams for his second touchdown of the game.  The Cooper defense put quite a bit of pressure on St. Louis Park quarterback Aaron Ellingson as Justin Madison came close to a sack but Ellingson was called for intentional grounding.  The Hawks would get the ball back and Borden would haul in a 26 yard pass from McMillan and Cooper led at halftime 28-0.
Cooper would get possession to start the second half and it was Borden who made his destination the end zone for the third time on the first play from scrimmage, scoring on a 58 yard run.  Tobias Davenport would give the Orioles outstanding field position as he returned the kickoff to the Hawks 21 yard line but when Ellingson aimed for the end zone, his pass was intercepted by Rashsawn Ketin.  He got the ball into St. Louis Park territory but it was called back due to a penalty.  The Oriole defense would be a bright sport in the third quarter as Armando Morelli sacked McMillan and Adam Bauer came up with an interception.  But Cooper would get the ball back on a pick from Pedro Amoussou.  Things were starting to get testy on the Hawks sideline as a fight broke out but it looked like nobody was ejected.

There would be some good news for St. Louis Park in the fourth quarter but it would come late in the game as Sajid Nathim scampered down the left side and scored on a 37 yard run with :03 left to avoid the shutout.

The Hawks improved their record to 8-1 and will host the Spring Lake Park Panthers in the section final on Friday, November 2 at 7 PM.  The Panthers clinched their championship berth with a 26-17 win over the Irondale Knights.  The Orioles concluded their season with a 5-5 record.