Eight Rockwall-Heath football players sign to play at Division 1 colleges

On national signing day yesterday, eight Rockwall-Heath football players from the Hawks’ Class 4A Division 10 Championship team signed letters of intent to play football next year at Division 1 colleges.

Award-winning running back Kendial “Showtime” Lawrence committed two weeks ago to play at the University of Missouri, over offers from SMU, Louisville and Iowa State.

Linebacker Austin Moss, the son of coach Mickey Moss, committed last year and will play at Arkansas.

Linebacker Ryan Mosby will attend the University of Kentucky.

Quarterback Drew Hollingshead and linebacker George Bamfo agreed to play at the University of Houston.

Running back/wide receiver Everett Gilbert, defensive back Darius Jones and offensive tackle David Abercrombie committed to Montana State University.

Rockwall-Heath rallies from 21 points down, but loses to Sulphur Springs, 52-47

Rockwall-Heath rallied from 21 points down in the first half and 18 points down in the fourth quarter, Everitt Gilbert scored five touchdowns, but Heath was unable to recover from four lost fumbles and the Sulphur Springs Wildcats (12-2) defeated the previously undefeated Hawks, 52-47, in a wild Region 2 Final Playoff game tonight at Texas Stadium.

The loss ends the spectacular season for Rockwall-Heath, which has only existed for four short years (13-1).

The Hawks had two last chances during the last three minutes of play to score and win, but lost the first opportunity when Hawk Matt Bielski fumbled a Wildcat punt after a ten-yard return at about the Hawks’ 30-yard line with just over two minutes left to play.

Then, after the Hawks defense stopped Sulphur Springs on four straight downs with about :50 seconds remaining, Hawks quarterback Drew Hollingshead was unable to complete a pass on four straight tries and, with less than :30 seconds remaining, Sulphur Springs took control of the ball and ran out the clock.

The Hawks played the game without star running back Kendial Lawrence, who injured his right shoulder in last week’s victory over Ennis.  But the Hawks still amassed 550 yards in total offense, behind the running and receiving of Gilbert and passing of Hollingshead.

Gilbert rushed for 193 yards on 24 carries and caught nine passes for 98 yards, scoring his five TDs. He scored on runs of 4, 67 and 6 yards, plus caught two scoring passes from Hollingshead of 11 and 10 yards.

Hollingshead completed 16 of 27 passes for 254 yards, for three TDs and no interceptions. He also connected with Matt Bielski on a 36-yard scoring strike.

But in the end, the Hawks defense was not able to contain Sulphur Springs quarterback Tyrik Rollison, who completed 25 of 30 passes for 387 yards and 5 touchdowns.  He also ran four yards and one yard for scores.

Nor were the Hawks able to overcome four lost fumbles.

The first came just two plays into the game, when Gilbert was hit and lost the ball after catching a pass at about the Heath 30-yard line. From there, Rollison took his team into the end zone in about 5 plays and the Wildcats were up 7-0 during the first three minutes of the game.

Another Hawk fumble soon after led to another 16-yard TD by the Wildcats, and, before Heath even had a first down, Sulphur Springs drove 90 yards for a third score and was up 21-0 near the end of the first quarter.

Back came the Hawks, with three straight TDs by Gilbert, while limiting the Wildcats to just one field goal. It appeared that Heath would be just three points down at halftime and could take over momentum of the game, but Rollison managed to lead his team to one more quick TD with less than a minute in the first half and took a 38-28 lead into the locker room.

Rockwall-Heath did manage to score 19 points in the second half while holding the Wildcats to just 14 points. But their rallies from both deficits just fell short.

The Hawks defense was led by David Tanner, who had eight tackles, and Austin Moss, who had seven tackles.

Backup running backs Dorian Lawry and Jesse Irokwe each played well, rushing for 72 and 36 yards, respectively.

Bielski caught five passes for 96 yards, and Cameron Wilson caught one pass for 15 yards.

Sulphur Springs played nearly a flawless game, with no turnovers and only one penalty for five yards.

In the end, it was more mistakes which cost the Hawks and ended their season.

Rockwall-Heath’s Kendial Lawrence will not play against Sulphur Springs this Friday

Bad news.

Rockwall-Heath coach Mickey Moss said Monday that an injured right shoulder will keep Kendial Lawrence out of this Friday’s Class 4A Division II Region II final playoff game against Sulphur Springs.

That’s a big blow to the Hawks.

Lawrence, a senior running back who has rushed for 2,679 yards and 43 touchdowns this season – more than any other Class 5A or 4A running back – is a big reason why the Hawks have had an undefeated season, thus far.

Lawrence suffered the injury in the second quarter of Rockwall-Heath’s 17-14 victory over Ennis last Friday at Texas Stadium.

“He’s a difference-maker, and we’d love to have him out there,” Moss said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve just got to move on.”

Losing Lawrence is disappointing, Moss said, but it can also be an opportunity for other members of the team to show their skills.

In the win over Ennis, for example, junior Jesse Irokwe filled in for Lawrence and rushed eight times for 92 yards, including two long runs for 36 and 34 yards.

Senior Everitt Gilbert has also had several hundred-yard rushing games, and over 200 yards in a recent playoff game against Frisco Centennial.

“We can’t have all our hope and faith in one person,” Moss said. “It’s a good lesson not only for football, but also in life.”

The Rockwall-Heath Hawks (13-0) will play Sulphur Springs (11-2) this Friday night, Dec. 5, at 7:30 pm at Texas Stadium. It will likely be televised, and we’ll let you know when and on what channel.

For more sports news, including basketball scores, visit the Sports page at www.rockwallrocks.com.

Rockwall-Heath advances in playoffs, stops Ennis, 17-14

In what was expected to be a high scoring shootout between two teams that have averaged over 40 points a game, Rockwall-Heath’s defense forced eight Ennis turnovers, defensive back Darius Jones intercepted two passes plus recovered a fumble, and the undefeated Hawks squeaked by the Lions, 17-14, in a  Class 4A Division II Region II semi-final game played today at Texas Stadium.

Hawks senior running back Kendial Lawrence injured his right shoulder during the first half and saw limited playing time in the second half, but still rushed for 114 yards on 19 carries, scoring one touchdown on a five-yard run up the middle in the second quarter.

He returned during the fourth quarter and rushed several times, although he did appear to favor his shoulder.

But backup junior running back Jesse Irokwe broke loose for two long runs of 36 and 34 yards in the third quarter, to set up Everitt Gilbert’s game-winning TD on a 5-yard run around left end.

Irokwe rushed for 92 yards on just eight carries and made a huge difference, substituting for Lawrence. Gilbert rushed for 49 yards on 15 carries.

Reliable Hawks kicker Brad Howes kicked two PATs, plus a 29-yard field goal in the first quarter, which turned out to be the difference in points.

The Hawks led at halftime 10-7, but couldn’t quite get its offense into high gear, but the story of the day was the Hawks defense.

Time and time again the defense stopped the high-powered Ennis offense by causing five and recovering four fumbles, intercepting four passes and batting down several more passes.

The first four times that Ennis had the ball, they marched down the field only to lose the ball to fumbles which Heath recovered.

On their fifth drive, the Hawks’ Jones intercepted in the end zone.

Heath’s mighty defense also put up a terrific goal line stand in the third quarter, stopping Ennis four times at the one-yard line.

In the fourth quarter, Ennis had two sustained drives going, but neither resulted in points because Hawk defenders intercepted Lion’s star quarterback B.J. Betik each time.

Although Betik injured his shoulder briefly in the second quarter, he returned to complete 20 of 36 passes for 266 yards, including nine to the Area’s leading receiver, Kyle Guinyard, for 92 yards.

But on fourth and four near the Hawk’s 40-yard line, with 20-seconds left in the game, Betig launched his last pass of the game, which Jones intercepted, stepping in front of Guinyard.

Heath then ran one play, running out the clock, when quarterback Drew Hollingshead took a knee.

Next week, in its first year in the playoffs, Rockwall-Heath will play in the  Class 4A Division II Region II final against the winner of the Dennison (12-0) -Sulphur Springs (10-2) game, being played tonight.

We’ll post the score of that game tomorrow.

12-0 Rockwall-Heath to play 11-1 Ennis in semifinal playoff game Nov. 28

Undefeated and number-one ranked Rockwall-Heath (12-0) will finally get a real test when they play perennial powerhouse and fifth-ranked Ennis (11-1) this Friday, Nov. 28, at Noon, at Texas Stadium, in a Class 4A Division 2 Region 2 semi-final match-up.

The location and time were just announced. 

The game should be a real shoot-out, since it will feature two offensive powerhouses, which have averaged nearly the same number of yards this season, over 400 yards per game.

However, whereas Rockwall-Heath is primarily a rushing team, Ennis prefers to pass.

Ennis coach is Sam Harrell, the father of former Ennis quarterback and now star Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell, who is currently a leading Heisman Trophy candidate after leading Tech to victories over Texas and Oklahoma State. 

Last Friday, the Hawks demolished 19th-ranked Dallas Hillcrest for the second time this season, 58-21, as running back Kendial Lawrence scored five touchdowns, while rushing for over 200 yards in just little more than two quarters of action. 

At least some sports writers now believe that Lawrence is arguably the best running back in Texas. The 5’9,” 177-lb. tailback has scored 50 touchdowns this season and rushed for over 2,500 yards, in ten regular season plus two playoff games.

He has scored five TDs and rushed for over 200 yards in each playoff game.

Wide receiver and running back Everitt Gilbert also rushed for over 200 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Hillcrest victory.

Ennis overpowered Kilgore, 48-21, as quarterback D. J. Betik completed 30 of 37 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns.

Lions wide receiver Kyle Guinyard caught 19 passes for 210 yards and touchdowns of 38 and 8 yards. Deonte McDade caught 10 passes for 96 yards and touchdowns of 39 and 9 yards.

Whoever wins will play another tough team in early December in the finals.

The other semi-final game this Friday will match undefeated Dennison (12-0) vs. Sulphur Springs (9-3), Nov. 28 at 8 pm, at Texas Stadium.

Dennison beat Royse City last weekend, 41-24, behind running back D.J. Jones and quarterback Jordan Taylor. Royse City hung with Dennison much of the game but had four costly turnovers, and two fumbles were recovered and returned for TDs.

The winners of both games will meet each other the following weekend to battle for the Division 2 Region 2 championship.

For more local sports scores, stories and photos, visit www.rockwallrocks.com/sports.html.

Kendial Lawrence scores 5 more TDs as Rockwall-Heath destroys Hillcrest, 58-21, in playoff game

Kendial Lawrence rushed for 255 yards and five touchdowns and Everitt Gilbert rushed for 215 yards and two TDs to lead Rockwall-Heath to a 58-21 victory over Dallas Hillcrest late Friday night in Class 4A Division II playoff action at Texas Stadium.

Although the game was close throughout most of the first half, the Hawks (12-0) scored three touchdowns in the last six minutes of the second quarter to take a commanding 44-21 halftime lead.

Lawrence scored on runs of 10,12, 58, 1 and 64 yards. Gilbert scored on 47 and 7 yard runs.

The Hawks defense took over in the second half, holding Hillcrest (8-4) scoreless and limiting them to 128 yards total offense, after giving up 253 yards in the first half.

Hillcrest only managed 14 total yards rushing during the entire game.

Rockwall-Heath’s high-powered offense racked up a massive 626 yards total offense, including 484 yards rushing and 142 yards passing.

Quarterback Drew Hollingshead completed 12 of 14 passes, seven to Gilbert for 69 yards and two to Lawrence for 20 yards.

Placekicker Brad Howes also kicked a 19-yard field goal and converted 6 of 8 PATs.

Hillcrest quarterback Jake Sherrington threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns, completing 21 of 37 passes.

In other Area Class 4A games, HIghland Park overcame five lost fumbles and beat Dallas Kimball, 24-7; Dallas Carter ran over Richardson Pearce 62-28; Dennison crushed Lincoln 42-13; Everman beat Aledo, 24-7; Denton Guyer destroyed Arlington Sequin, 44-0; Denton Ryan overpowered Mansfield Timberview, 49-14; Ennis licked Kilgore, 48-21; and Longview clobbered Lancaster, 49-22.

For more sports scores, photos and stories, visit www.rockwallrocks.com/sports.html.

Rockwall-Heath routs Frisco Centennial in first playoff game, 49-14

Kendial Lawrence rushed for 241 yards and five touchdowns on just 14 carries leading Rockwall-Heath to a 49-14 rout of Frisco Centennial in a Class 4A Division II Region II bi-district victory at Wylie’s Pirate Stadium last night.

Ranked No. 1 in the Dallas Morning News Class 4A rankings and No. 8 in the AP State Poll, Rockwall-Heath (11-0) scored on six of seven first-half possessions. They led 42-0 at halftime.

Five of the Hawk’s scoring possessions took three or fewer plays. They just gave the ball to Kendial and let him run through the huge holes opened up by the offensive line.

The Hawk’s defense did not allow Centennial to cross mid-field until late in the third quarter. and limited Centennial to just 204 yards offense all night.

Lawrence, who leads Class 4A area rushers in yards (2,069) and scoring (212 points), had scoring runs of 36, 30, 6, 31, and 55 yards, giving him 40 total touchdowns on the season.

He was pulled on Rockwall-Heath’s final possession of the first half, and replaced by Jesse Irokwe, who rushed for 100 yards on just 14 carries in the second half.

Quarterback Drew Hollingshead completed five of five passes for 45 yards.

Everitt Gilbert caught four passes for 38 yards and rushed for 13 yards on two carries.

Centennial (6-5) was led by QB Antwan Mitchell, who had 110 total yards that included a 14-yard touchdown run.

Rockwall-Heath advances to face Dallas Hillcrest (8-3) in the area round next week, Friday, Nov. 21, 7:30 pm, at Texas Stadium.

Hillcrest beat Pinkston (6-6), 20-13, last night at Forester Stadium in a defensive struggle, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Behind do-everything quarterback Michael Harrison, Hillcrest only mustered up 164 yards of total offense, but scored when they needed to.

Harrrison scored on 43 and 23-yard TD runs, rushed 21 times for 92 yards, completed 2 of 7 passes for 12 yards, plus caught two passes for 31 yards.

He accounted for 123 of Hillcrest’s total 164 yards of offense.

Hillcrest’s Stefon Nelson also ran back a 49-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Pinkston actually outgained Hillcrest with 229 yards offense – all rushing – but still lost.

For more sports scores and stories, see the Sports page at http://www.rockwallrocks.com.

Rockwall-Heath stays unbeaten, barely escapes with 55-49 overtime victory over Richardson Pearce

Rockwall-Heath running back Kendial Lawrence rushed for 306 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime, as the unbeaten Hawks (8-0, 5-0) escaped with a victory in overtime Friday night in a wild one over Richardson Pearce (3-5, 2-3), 55-49, in District 10-4A action at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium in Rockwall.

Hawks kicker Brad Howse kicked an 18-yard field goal to tie the score in regulation time, setting the stage for Lawrence’s two-yard plunge to win the game. He also kicked a 34-yard field goal and connected on five of five PATs.

Hawk running back Everett Gilbert also scored three touchdowns, plus a two-point conversion, while rushing for 179 yards on 13 carries. He also caught four passes for 79 yards.

Although the Hawks took a commanding 17-6 first quarter lead and increased it to 24-6 early in the second quarter, J.J. Pearce stormed back with 21 unanswered points and led 27-24 midway through the third quarter.

Pearce was led by quarterback Caleb Lewis, who completed 24 of 40 passes for 422 yards and six touchdowns; Blake Jumonville, who caught five passes for 161 yards and three TDS; plus Michael Webb, who caught 9 passes for 75 yards.

Gilbert then scored on 43 and 29 yard runs to put the Hawks back in front, 38-27.

Not to be outdone, Pearce rallied for 20 more points, while Rockwall-Heath scored only seven, on Gilbert’s third TD run for 15 yards.

With the score tied 46-46 in the fourth quarter, both teams then traded field goals, setting the stage for the overtime. Pearce’s Michael Hunnicut kicked a long 45-yarder to take a brief 49-46 lead.

Rockwall-Heath (8-0, 5-0) finished the night by generating 650 yards of total offense, rushing for 466 total yards.

Quarterback Drew Hollingshead completed 9 of 14 passes for 187 yards and one TD, a 62-yard pass to Matt Bielski in the second quarter. Bielski caught three passes during the game for 94 yards.

For more local sports scores, stories and photos, please visit the Sports page at http://www.rockwallrocks.com.

Rockwall Heath stays unbeaten, overcomes Royse City in 4th quarter, 42-28

Unbeaten Rockwall-Heath’s Everitt Gilbert ran for two touchdowns of 23 and 21 yards in the fourth quarter, and Kendial Lawrence scored four touchdowns, rushing for 268 yards on 36 carries, to break open a third-quarter tie and defeat stubborn Royse City, 42-28, Friday night at Royse City ISD stadium.

Heath (7-0, 4-0) trailed 28-20 in the third quarter, but when Lawrence scored his fourth TD of the night to even the score and Gilbert scored twice more, that ended any upset hopes for Royse City (5-2, 3-1).

Lawrence scored on runs of 1, 5 and 56 yards. He also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Drew Hollingshead off a reverse as well as running for a two-point conversion that tied the game at 28 with eight minutes left in the third period.

The six-foot, 180-pound senior has 1,301 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns.

Gilbert finished with 87 yards on 14 carries, as Heath rolled up 406 yards in total offense.

Richard Morrison kept Royse City in the game for three quarters, passing for 310 yards and three scores, plus completing 25 of 39 passes without an interception.

But he did make a crucial turnover, fumbling the ball away while scrambling, with his team trailing, 35-28, midway through the final quarter.

Justin Jacobs was Morrison’s favorite target, catching 10 passes for 170 yards.

Hollingshead completed just 6 of 13 passes for 59 yards, but extended his streak of consecutive passes without an interception to 115.

For more local sports scores and stories, visit the Sports page at www.rockwallrocks.com.

Four long TD plays help undefeated Rockwall-Heath to easily beat Newman-Smith, 27-3

Four long touchdown plays of 90, 65, 48 and 70 yards helped undefeated Rockwall-Heath (6-0,3-0) to easily win its Homecoming game and beat Carrollton’s Newman-Smith, 27-3, last night in District 10-4A action at Rockwall’s Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium.

The Dallas Morning News fifth-ranked, Class 4A Hawks’ Darius Jones took the opening kickoff 90 yards for Heath’s first TD.

In the second quarter, wide receiver Everitt Gilbert scored his first TD of the night on a 65-yard catch-and-run pass play from quarterback Drew Hollingshead.

Kendial Lawrence, who rushed for 144 yards on 10 carries, ran 48 yards for another score in the third quarter.

Then Everitt Gilbert scored again in the fourth quarter on a 70-yard burst. For the night, he rushed for 99 yards on just three carries.

Newman-Smith could only manage a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter by Philip Ichter.

For the Hawks, Hollingshead completed 10 of 11 passes for 103 yards. Gilbert led receivers in yardage gained with 76 yards on three receptions. Daniel Kemp caught four passes for 59 yards. Matthew Agnew caught four passes for 58 yards.

For more Rockwall County sports scores, stories, schedules and photos, visit our Sports page at:
http://www.rockwallrocks.com/sports.html.</p>