Hawthorne Wins, 21-14, to Clinch Bay League Title

The Hawthorne High football team had already clinched a share of the Bay League title.

The Cougars, however, earned the title outright and a little revenge in a 21-14 victory over rival Leuzinger Thursday night at Hawthorne.

Hawthorne (9-1, 4-0 in league) overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit and held off a last-minute rally to win its ninth game in a row.

Leuzinger defeated Hawthorne, 28-24, last season to force a three-way tie for the Bay title between Hawthorne, Leuzinger and Peninsula.

“It was a whole different thing from last year,” Hawthorne quarterback Kenji Tatum said. “Tonight was a pay-back for last year. We did it for everybody. We did it for the fans and all the seniors on last year’s team.”

Tatum, who completed four of 11 passes for 70 yards, hooked up with Omarr Morgan on a 50-yard touchdown pass to give Hawthorne a 21-14 lead with 11 minutes 52 seconds to play.

Leuzinger (5-5, 2-2) stopped Hawthorne on fourth down at the Olympian 36-yard line with 2:35 to play and moved to the Hawthorne 29-yard line with 11 seconds left after a personal foul penalty against the Cougars.

But Morgan, the Cougar free safety, intercepted a pass in the end zone with one second left, his second interception of the game, to secure the victory.

“We’ve been waiting for this game all week and all season,” Morgan said. “We weren’t afraid. We weren’t scared. This was the greatest game of my life.”

Hawthorne trailed, 14-7, at halftime, but the Cougars held the Olympians to minus-two yards offense in the second half.

Hawthorne outgained the Olympians, 240 yards to 118.

Tailback Eric Chaney rushed for a game-high 132 yards in 18 carries for Hawthorne. Chaney carried seven times for 52 yards on a 75-yard, third-quarter scoring drive.

Morgan scored on a four-yard sweep with 4:21 left in the third quarter to tie the score, 14-14.