The Hudson Hawks varsity football team will face a tough challenge when they take on the Auburn Rockets Tuesday, November 27, 2012 in a first round playoff game. The Hawks come into the game as the fourth seed with a 5-6 record. The Rockets come into the game as the first seed in the division, with an undefeated 11-0 record. It’s safe to say that the Hawks will have an uphill battle to climb if they plan on moving forward in the playoffs.
These two teams have had many battles in the past, so there is a lot of history behind this game.
“We have played Auburn the past three seasons, and lost close games in all three,” coach Dan McAnespie said. “Last year was in the Superbowl.”
Hudson will need the leadership and experience of their seniors to have any chance of winning this game. But they will be without two of their captains, Darnell Butler and David Rodgers, in this game.
While disappointed, Butler still feels there is a chance to win this game.
“Our motto is next man up, so the young guys are going to have to rally behind James Adams and other leaders on the team like Ben King and Dan Bothwell and execute the assignments that are given by the coaches.”
The Hawks are going to need to play tough on defense it they plan on keeping up with the Rockets. Auburn senior running back Tyler Desjardins is third in Central Mass in rushing yards, so he will have to be a main focus of the defense.
“We need to play tough Hudson High football and make secure tackles,” McAnespie said.
On offense the Hawks are also going to face a tough challenge, as well. They are facing an Auburn team that has given up only 5.7 points per game and has shut out their opponents on four separate occasions. They’ll need junior quarterback Dan Mendes to have a big game passing the ball and a big game running the ball by junior Dan Bothwell.
“If we can play our game and score fast and early, I think we can have some success this year,” senior captain James Adams said.
The Hawks will need to get going fast and make sure they score early to show the Rockets that this will be tough game.
The Hawks are coming off of a run to the Superbowl last year, where they were led by guys like Karl Sery, Ryan and Jake Wardwell, among others. It might be a bit harder to get back to that point this year, but Coach Mac still has confidence in his team.
“Every year is a new challenge. All teams turn over players,” McAnespie said. “We put together the nucleus of players that we have, and find their strengths and weaknesses. We have been in the Superbowl for the past two seasons, with the same goal every year.”
The Hawks take the field against the Rockets this Tuesday, November 27, at Auburn, so make sure you are there.
