Hanford firing on all cylinders in 41-0 rout of Davis

Friday’s season-opening football game for the Hanford Falcons couldn’t have been more perfect.

The Falcons had six different players score touchdowns on offense, and the Hanford defense pitched a shutout en route to a 41-0 victory over the visiting Davis Pirates at Fran Rish Stadium.

But Falcons coach Brett Jay is a perfectionist, and come Monday his team will have plenty of things to work on in practice — starting with the penalties.

The officials threw 13 yellow flags against Hanford, worth 111 yards. Many of those were offensive holding calls that stalled out drives that would have made the game an even bigger blowout.

“We just have to get better on penalties,” Jay said. “It’s been a problem in the past. We get tired and then we start grabbing.”

But no one expects perfection in Week 1, and Jay saw a lot of good things for Hanford.

Start with the defense.

The Falcons not only shut out the Pirates on the scoreboard, but they only surrendered 82 yards.

“It’s huge,” Jay said of the team’s defensive performance. “We’ve got a new defensive system. Defensive coordinator Stephen Dyer has done a great job.”

Linebacker AJ Wiegand, who picked off Davis quarterback Angel Amezola on the opening series, agreed.

“It’s just a little bit different from the way we used to do things,” said Wiegand, who added 4 tackles.

Luke Sutey added 4 tackles, including a quarterback sack, and a forced fumble for Hanford; while teammate Chris Gray had 4 tackles and a pass breakup.

But as exciting as it was to watch the defensive unit perform, many Hanford fans show up on Friday nights to watch the Falcons’ high-octane spread offense.

It didn’t disappoint.

Despite the penalties, Hanford rolled up 507 yards of offense.

Jared DeVine led the way, carrying the football 27 times for 220 yards and a 13-yard TD run. He also added 6 catches for 36 more yards.

“We definitely could clean up some of the penalties,” said DeVine. “But I love my linemen and they gave me some good holes to run through.”

DeVine says it’s a blast to play in this offensive scheme.

“We like to spread the ball out,” DeVine said with a smile. “And we play fast.”

Quarterback Garret Horner is the catalyst. The junior threw to six different receivers for 235 yards and three touchdown passes.

“He made some great throws tonight,” Jay said. “The key is to keep pushing forward. He works so hard.”

And he spread the wealth, hitting Dimitri Kennedy-Woody for a 39-yard scoring strike; connecting with Blake VanderTop for a 23-yard TD pass; and then finding Daunte Blackwell for a 20-yard TD.

Wiegand scored his first-ever varsity touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard dive, and Drezdyn O’Daol-Lyons — who had 71 yards rushing — finished the scoring with a 15-yard ramble into the end zone with a minute left.

Ivory Evans-Kimble led the Pirates defensively with 8 tackles, including one for a loss and a quarterback sack, and a pass breakup.

Davis 0 0 0 0 -- 0

Hanford 7 20 0 14 -- 41

H – Dmetri Kennedy Woody 39 pass from Garrett Horner (Damian Fraga kick)

H – Jared DeVine 13 run (Fraga kick)

H – Blake VanderTop 23 pass from Horner (kick failed)

H – Daunte Blackwell 20 pass from Horner (Fraga kick)

H – AJ Wiegand 1 run (Fraga kick)

H – Drezdyn O’Daol 15 run (Fraga kick)

RUSHING – Dav, Henry Hernandez 8-7, Von Phothisane 3-6, Gusmaro Mendoza 1-0, Raul Martinez 4-minus 2, Angel Amezola 1-minus 3, Ivory Evans-Kimble 2-minus 4, Totals 19-4. Han, DeVine 27-220, O’Daol 11-71, Wiegand 2-4, Horner 4-minus 23, Totals 44-272.

PASSING – Dav, R.Martinez 8-17-0-51, Amezola 4-5-1-27, Phothisane 0-1-0-0. Han, Horner 20-34-1-235.

RECEIVING – Dav, Mendoza 5-36, Corey Ault 2-20, Phothisane 2-12, Tyerai Walker 2-8, Evans-Kimble 1-2. Han, Woody 4-60, VanderTop 3-46, Blackwell 3-39, DeVine 6-36, O’Daol 2-26, Thomas Kitchens 2-25.

FIRST DOWNS – Dav 7, Han 27.

FUMBLES-LOST – Dav 1-1, Han 0-0.

PENALTIES-YARDS – Dav 7-70, Han 13-111.

This story was originally published September 2, 2017 at 1:41 AM with the headline "Hanford firing on all cylinders in 41-0 rout of Davis."