Greenville comes up short against Heath
September 27, 2008

By DAVID CLAYBOURN
Herald-Banner Staff

GREENVILLE -- Drew Hollingshead’s nearly perfect passing helped the Rockwall-Heath Hawks pull away for a 42-28 victory over the Greenville Lions on Friday night at T.A. “Cotton” Ford Stadium.

Hollingshead went 19-of-20 passing for 259 yards and two touchdowns as the Hawks claimed the District 10-4A opener despite the efforts of Greenville quarterback Alton Dennis, who racked up 342 yards of total offense, scoring three touchdowns.

“I’m very proud of them,” said Greenville coach Jim Phillips, whose Lions dropped to 1-3 for the season.

Phillips noted the Lions could have won this game if “you take away three plays, two long passes and a deep snap.”

Dennis rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries and was 8-of-16 passing for 118 yards to keep the underdog Lions in the game.

“Alton did a good job,” said Phillips. “He played well. He played like I thought he could play.”

Greenville tied it at 28-28 with 1:38 left in the third quarter after Dennis broke loose for a 63-yard touchdown run.

But Hollingshead connected on a 39-yard pass to wide receiver Cameron Wilson to set up Kendial Lawrence’s 1-yard touchdown run with 8:20 left and then Hollingshead found wide receiver Matt Bielski open for a 49-yard touchdown pass with 5:02 left to seal the victory.

Rockwall-Heath drove 52 yards in four plays to score on its first possession. Lawrence ran for 28 yards on the drive, including a 12-yard burst up the middle for the touchdown.

N.J. Mason's 50-yard kickoff return set the Lions up at the Hawk 45. Dennis dashed for 26 yards to the Hawk 22. But the Lions drew a blocking-below-the-waist penalty and the drive ran out of steam at the Hawk 29.

Greenville got the ball back four plays later when a Hawk running back lost the football and free safety Jarel Nelson fell on the fumble at the Greenville 45.

The Lions covered 55 yards in just two plays with a 21-yard completion from Dennis to Aaron Johnson and then Dennis' 34-yard touchdown run. Ryan Rumph's kick tied it at 7-7 with 4:10 left in the first quarter.

Rockwall-Heath scored off a Greenville miscue to go up 14-7 as Darius Jones beat the punter Rumph to an errant punt snap at the Greenville 9-yard line. Jones picked up the ball and rambled in for the touchdown with 10:32 left before the half.

Greenville answered with a 54-yard, eight-play drive to tie the score at 14-14. Tristan Farley set the Lions up with a 21-yard kickoff return to the Greenville 46. Dennis connected with receivers Dijuon Sheppard and Bryan Bellotte for completions of 21 and 14 yards and also ran for an 11-yard gain. Tailback Dakieston Williams also rambled for 12 yards before capping the drive with a 1-yard burst for his fifth touchdown run of the season. Rumph's kick tied it at 14-14 with 7:10 left before the half.

Rockwall-Heath rebounded with a 62-yard, 11-play drive. Hollingshead was 4-of-4 passing on the drive for 44 yards, including a 16-yard strike to wide receiver Tyler Harding on a skinny post for the touchdown. Brad Howes converted as the Hawks went into halftime leading 21-14.

Greenville tied the game at 21-21 with a 49-yard drive that featured runs of 3, 12, 2, 2, 8 and 4 yards from Dennis, who scored on the 4-yarder.

Rockwall-Heath answered with a 60-yard, six-play drive that mixed the passing of Hollingshead with the running of Lawrence, who finished with 134 yards on 21 carries including a 6-yard TD run at the end of the drive.

Greenville, which also collected 51 yards rushing on 16 carries by Williams, finished with 355 total yards on offense as Sheppard led the Lion receivers with four catches for 84 yards.

Rockwall-Heath finished with 385 yards.

“They’ve got a good team,” said Phillips. “But we do, too.”