Hamburg defeated by Annville-Cleona, 21-6

On Sept. 5, Hamburg Area lost, 21-6, to Annville-Cleona in non-league action on Hawk Hill.

The Dutchmen scored three rushing touchdowns on drives of 80, 61 and 40 yards to take a 21-0 halftime lead.

The Hawks had chances in the second half, but three successive drives deep in A-C territory resulted in no points and two turnovers.

Hamburg Area also had another drive end due to an interception at the A-C 24 in the second quarter.

“Look at the scoreboard,’ first-year head coach Damian Buggy said. “Three turnovers. There could have been a different result.’

Trailing 21-0, in the third quarter, the Hawks (0-2) drove to the A-C 3, but a fourth down pass was incomplete.

The big play on the drive was an 18-yard pass from quarterback Nick Kuhn to Robby Henne which moved the ball to the A-C 8.

On its next drive, Kuhn completed a 35-yard pass to Aaron Nelson followed by a Tyler Herber 10-yard run to the A-C 8.

The Hawks fumbled on the next play and A-C recovered.

The Dutchmen returned the favor by fumbling with the Hawks gaining possession at the A-C 35.

But the Hawks could not take advantage and seven plays later coughed up the ball at the A-C 19.

“We did not execute fundamentals,’ Buggy said. “We have eight seniors, so a lot of underclassmen are playing and gaining game experience.’

The Hawks were able to move the ball in the second half and scored their only points when Kuhn threw a 10-yard touchdown to Henne with 52 seconds left in the game.

A 33-yard completion from Kuhn to Kai Miller helped to set up the score.

“The kids are football savvy and capable,’ Buggy said. “We need more consistency and better fundamentals.’

The Dutchmen (2-0) had 325 total yards, 292 rushing and 33 passing. The Hawks had 270 total yards, 205 passing and 65 rushing.

Kuhn completed 13-of-24 passes for 205 yards. Henne caught 7 balls for 68 yards.

The Hawks travel on Friday, Sept. 12 to play the Northern Lebanon Vikings.