Telegraph Staff Writer
Dalton Hollingsworth rushed for all four touchdowns, but the Keystone Heights High School football team needed only one of those scores as its defense held host Stanton Prep to less than 40 yards in a 32-0 win on Oct. 28.
The Indians (9-0) have won every game by double digits and look to complete a perfect regular season at P.K. Yonge on Friday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
“Anytime you can shut out an opponent, that’s a plus,” said KHHS Head Coach Chuck Dickinson, whose team held an opponent scoreless for the third time this season. In another three games, the Keystone defense allowed opponents only one touchdown.
Opponents are averaging eight points a game.
Conversely, the offense is averaging 44 points a game behind a punishing ground game that has accounted for an average of more than 350 rushing yards per game. Against Stanton, the Indians rushed for 332 yards.
Senior center Luke Snider said Keystone’s state-championship weightlifting season last year plays a major part in the success of the offensive line this year.
“Winning state in weightlifting was just a big boost in confidence for us,” Snider said, adding, “Every week, we just go out there and practice our hardest to have the payment out here on the field.”
Snider said the team has also benefitted from new varsity players putting in the work to match that of their older, more experienced teammates.
“We got some new kids in. They put in the work over the summer they needed and are just growing every game,” he said.
Though pleased with the defensive effort, Dickinson has seen something missing from his offense the last two weeks, despite the fact the Indians defeated Stanton and Pierson Taylor by a combined score of 82-7.
“We’ve got to get back to that midseason form we were at — punishing people, coming off the ball and getting movement,” Dickinson said, adding, “We’ve got to get back to moving the line of scrimmage a yard or two off the ball.”
Keystone still gained an average of 7 yards per carry against Stanton, with Hollingsworth rushing for 130 yards on 16 carries and Tyler Jenkins rushing for 118 yards on 16 carries. Logan Williams added 62 yards on 10 carries.
The game seemed to go by in a blur as the two teams combined to throw only five passes. Each team’s offense had the ball only once in the opening quarter.
Keystone received the opening kickoff and drove 62 yards on 10 plays. Jenkins and Williams gained first downs on runs of 8 and 9 yards. Jenkins later broke free for a 19-yard gain to the Stanton 11-yard line. Hollingsworth found his way into the end zone on third down from the 8-yard line. Jenkins got the carry on the successful two-point conversion to put the Indians ahead 8-0.
The Blue Devils (0-9) converted a fourth-and-1 play on their first series, with Brooks Beach carrying the ball for a 3-yard gain to the Keystone 45. Any momentum Stanton had was short-lived, with Williams sacking quarterback Heath Bell for a 9-yard loss on the ensuing first-down play. The Blue Devils eventually punted, with Keystone’s offense taking the field again at its own 22.
Hollingsworth promptly ripped off a 16-yard gain, followed by a 12-yard run by Jenkins to the 50. Hollingsworth gained 14 yards on a third-down run to the Stanton 35, while an 11-yard run by Jenkins to the 18 converted a fourth-and-4 play. After a 7-yard run by Hollingsworth, Jenkins carried the ball 8 yards to the 3. Hollingsworth scored from there and got the call again on the successful two-point play to put the Indians up 16-0 in the second quarter.
Beach gained a first down for the Blue Devils on another fourth-down run play. Stanton later faced third-and-1 at the Keystone 46 after the Indians jumped offsides. A fumbled snap, however, resulted in a 2-yard loss. The Blue Devils went for it on fourth-and-3, with Snider tackling Beach for a 1-yard loss.
The Indians took over on downs with 36 seconds remaining in the half. After a 4-yard run by Hollingsworth, quarterback Connor Guy rolled to his right and threw back across the field to Williams, who made his way down the Stanton sideline for a 37-yard gain to the Blue Devils’ 10-yard line. Jenkins took a pitch on the next play and looked to pass before eventually tucking it and running to the 5-yard line as time expired in the first half.
Stanton’s offense went three-and-out on the first series of the second half, with Sam Ulsch setting the tone early for the Keystone defense with a tackle for a 2-yard loss on a first-down pass play.
The Blue Devils’ punt rolled to the Keystone 5, but the Indians simply responded with a 95-yard scoring drive, which Dickinson said resembled what he’s been used to seeing out of his offense.
“We had some fire. We moved the ball and got excited,” he said. “That’s how we’ve been playing the whole year other than the last couple of weeks.”
Keystone had a first down in the red zone on a 23-yard run by Hollingsworth to the Stanton 18. After an offsides penalty against Stanton, Jenkins carried the ball for a 5-yard gain for first-and-goal at the 8. Hollingsworth scored from there. Bryar Schenck caught a pass from Guy on the two-point conversion to make the score 24-0.
Stanton faced a third-and-4 play on the following series. Williams and others made a tackle for just a 1-yard gain, leaving the Devils facing fourth-and-3 at the 50. Stanton went for it, but a fumbled snap resulted in no gain and turnover on downs.
The Indians then drove 50 yards for the final score. Hollingsworth and Jenkins had runs of 16 and 13 yards to help Keystone move to the Stanton 18. Williams later set up first-and-goal on a 6-yard run to the 3. Hollingsworth added his fourth touchdown on a run from there. Jenkins ran it in on the two-point conversion to make it 32-0 in the fourth quarter.
Williams came up big for the defense after that. He had a 6-yard sack on one Stanton possession and recovered a fumble on another.
Williams finished with four tackles, as did Hollingsworth and Tyler Anthony-Rozier.
Clayton Kicklighter and Caleb Moncrief led the Indians with six tackles each. Tray Jeffries had five.
Keystone next plays a P.K. Yonge team (6-3) that’s on a five-game winning streak after a 1-3 start to the season. The Blue Wave is coming off a 42-20 win over Providence.
Keystone and P.K. Yonge have played two common opponents, and the scores have been almost identical. The Indians defeated Tocoi Creek 44-8 and Fort White 30-14, while the Blue Wave defeated Tocoi Creek 43-7 and Fort White 28-14.
