The football team will play against Lewisville at the Brian Brazil Stadium on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. The team has started the district season with a 2-2 record and sits fourth in district after a 49-0 win against Little Elm Oct. 18.
“Taking the execution that we took from Friday and knowing that we still made mistakes, we have to limit those mistakes,” quarterback PJ Crayton said. “We won’t be able to make those same mistakes [again] and be able to beat Lewisville.”
The Hawks sit at fourth in the district standings, just behind Lewisville in third. After not making the playoffs for the past two seasons, head coach John Towels said the team hopes to win the rest of the season to finish in the top four of the district and clinch a spot in the playoffs.
“Our mentality for the remainder of the year is [that] every game is a must win game for us,” Towels said. “This is our playoff march. We want to keep our future in our hands. This is a must win for us, because if we win out, we don’t have to worry about anyone else.”
This season, the Hawks held a lead during the first half in every game, besides their matchup against Coppell. Their only losses this season came to Southlake Carroll (No. 4), Coppell (No. 3) and Guyer (ranked No.9) in the state.
“We have to fight for all four quarters,” Crayton said. “We get off to a hot start, we get in the lead but can’t finish. If we put four quarters together, execute and click on all cylinders, we can play anybody in the state.”
Crayton, Towels and running back Antonio Dennis stressed the importance of this game being at home. With Lewisville ranked No. 30 in the state and Hebron just behind ranked No. 31, it could be a deciding factor for the team’s playoff hopes.
“[Fans] don’t realize how big of an impact the student section has on a game,” Dennis said. “When the crowd is loud, the other team can’t get their calls off, it’s just so hard to communicate [for them]. It’s important that we get as many people as we can to come out to our student section just to be loud.”
Last season the Hawks lost to Lewisville 32-10, a loss that knocked them out of playoff contention. This season, Towels said this is another game the team has circled on the calendar to collect an overdue win against the Farmers.
“We’re going to play hard, play with effort and attack them,” Towels said. “We’re not about to lay back. We’re going to try to attack them and make them match our effort. This is do or die. It’s a playoff game for us. If we want to continue playing, we have to beat Lewisville, we have to win.”
