Battle of the Hill Summit vs Spring Hill
by. Aby Goodman (D1 – Intern)
D1 Highlights Prep Football News
NO MORE 7V7
Battle of the Hill, No more 7 on 7, no more camp, and no more preseason, it’s here and it’s breathtaking! Football season has arrived and Spring Hill high’s Dontae Smith (2-SR) is leaving no mercy for anyone. The energy leading up to this game has been strictly business from both teams. Anyone who follows players, staff, or students can see that this game is personal. With the Raiders holding on to the “Battle of the Hill” trophy for the last 3 years they were looking to keep the streak alive and that they did, but not without a explosive fight from Summit.
Summit dominated the first half of the game with a touchdown by Ethan Cash (12-SO) keeping the game 7-0 the entire first half. Summit played football and that was that, they played GOOD football. Neither team was going to go down without a fight and that was obvious. Momentum and intensity seemed to favor the Spartans as halftime approached. They seemed as though they were ready to “end the streak” and make history, the excitement was palpable.
Making some adjustments for the Raiders, second year Head Coach Jay Emmons kept the Raiders positive and ready to just focus on playing football the second half. That they did, with Smith rushing for 134 yards with roughly 10 yards of that being in the first half. Coach Emmons clearly made some adjustments that worked for the Raiders, but not before the Spartans were finished with them.
Tai Carter (13-SR) contributed with providing the Spartans their last two touchdowns of the night giving them a significant lead with a score of 20-7 in the 3rd quarter with just over 8 minutes left. While Summit had an amazing night of football, it just wasn’t enough as it all came down to one thing… Special Teams and anyone in football has probably heard “special teams win ball games.” Smith got a firm hold of the ball making his presence known; with helpful plays from Darrin Johnson (1-SR) at receiver, and with the help of the line, the Raiders were able to open up pockets and get the run game started for Smith. It is very apparent in Week 1 that getting the ball to Smith at any point in the game, with the line contribution, yields big numbers fast. Next week the Spartans will face off against the Independence Eagles and the Raiders will face the Columbia Academy Bulldogs August 25th at 7. Final Score 21-20
