Skyhawks are on cloud nine
Hammond 41
Ben Lippen 14
Photos and story
by Mike Maddock
mike@thecolumbiastar.com

Hammond running back Kyle George tries to break free of Ben Lippen's Patrick Reilly. George came on in relief of Jarry Kuilian to rush seven times for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

After defeating Heathwood Hall 20-16, the soaring Hammond Skyhawks could have been primed for an upset when they traveled to Ben Lippen to face a much improved Falcons team on senior night Friday, October 20, 2006. However, it took about a minute and a half to crush any notions of a miracle upset off Monticello Road.

Hammond quarterback Punky DaSilva found his favorite receiver, Rashad Ishmael, on an innocent slip screen from the Ben Lippen 36-yard line on the fourth play of the game. Ishmael dodged a few Falcon defenders and turned the seemingly innocent slip screen into a race to the end zone for the game's first touchdown. The PAT was missed.

Two possessions and nearly seven minutes later, Hammond running back Jarry Kuilian scored on a ten-yard run that put the Skyhawks up 12-0. The two-point conversion attempt failed. After an interception by Hammond's Robert Simmons at the 1:42 mark of the first quarter, running back Kyle George scampered 15 yards for another Skyhawk touchdown. DaSilva found Taylor Smith in the end zone for the two point conversion to give the Skyhawks a 20-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Ben Lippen cheerleader Alex Stoker

The Skyhawks added more in the second quarter when Ishmael took another DaSilva pass at midfield and blew by Falcon defenders racing 51-yards for another touchdown. The PAT was good. Then with 26 seconds remaining in the half, Sam Simmons powered in from the one yard line to put the Skyhawks up 32-0. Taylor Smith came in at quarterback and sprinted to the right corner of the end zone for another two points making the score at half time 34-0.

The only thing that stopped the Skyhawks all night was turnovers. DaSilva was intercepted three times by Rob Brigman, who was just about the only bright spot for the Falcons. The Hammond defense was stifling, limiting Coach Heath Nivens' offense to ten net yards in the first half, five of which came from a defensive offsides.

Hammond head coach Erik Kimrey emptied his benches in the second half and the Skyhawks still scored on their first possession when George rushed 23 yards for his second touchdown of the game giving Hammond a 41-0 advantage. Even the Skyhawk cheerleaders decided they'd had enough and only mustered seven push-ups after the score.

The Ben Lippen offense did come to life against the Skyhawk second and third teamers and put together two scoring drives of 78 and 51 yards. Emmanual Hightower scored on a 20-yard run to end the third quarter, and quarterback Greg Dunston found Kyle Williamson for a six-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter making the final score 41-14.

The Skyhawks improve to 9-0 (3-0) and will try for a perfect 10-0 (4-0) record and the SCISA Region I, AAA regular season title when they host Augusta Christian, Friday October 27. The Falcons fall to 4-5 (1-3) and will try to even up their record when they travel to Orangeburg Prep for their season finale.