Hawks beat Everman 55-24, advance to area round

RED OAK – It’s been seven years since the Red Oak Hawks have won a playoff game, but on Friday November 15, the Hawks pounded the visiting Everman Bulldogs in the Bi-district round of the State 5A-Div. II playoffs with a 55-24 win. 

The Hawks controlled this game from start to finish and although Everman put up 24 points, two of their touchdowns came against underclassmen getting some playing time. The Hawks amassed 556 total yards of offense against the Bulldogs, using a mix of the run and pass to keep the Bulldogs off balance. 

Senior running back CJ Palmer carried 19 times for 204 yards and scored 3 touchdowns in the first half. Zach Sanders continued the ground game attack in the second half and ended up with 74 yards on 8 carries and a TD. 

Junior QB Joshua Ervin was 19-of-22 passing for 268 yards and three touchdowns. The Hawks receiving core had a big night too. Coby Cavil (19) had 8 catches for 101 yards, while LaKelsey Johnson (11) had two catches for 71 yards, Raymond Gay had 6 grabs for 53 yards and Tristan Edwards (17) had three catches for 43 yards with each receiving a touchdown pass from Ervin.   

The Hawks offense did not turn the ball over, but their defense forced two fumbles which set up two Red Oak touchdowns. The Hawks even had a chance to work on their field goals with Kicker Dakota Santos connecting on a 20-yard FG and even more impressive, connecting on a 39-yarder. 

With their win, the Hawks now play in the area round and face the team who gave them their only loss of the season, the Denton Braswell Bengals, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Saturday, Nov. 23.  Kickoff is scheduled at 7 p.m.

The Hawks will have to play mistake free football, something they didn’t do in their first meeting. Both teams are ranked locally and in the state, separated by 2 or 3 spots depending on which poll being viewed.