Butler football drops second and has things to ‘talk about’ after Hickory’s run game runs roughshod
BUTLER TWP — After throwing 14 passes in the first half, Hickory decided to stay grounded in the second.
And the Hornets’ score kept rising.
Hickory, a District 10 Class 3A football team playing its first District 7 opponent in 19 years, scored touchdowns on its first five possessions of the second half in running away from Butler 34-18 Friday night at Butler’s Art Bernardi Stadium.
The Hornets did not throw a pass on any of those scoring possessions.
“We knew coming in they were a better running team than a passing team,” Butler coach Eric Christy said. “We played a strong first half, but they found something that worked in the second half and we took our foot off the gas a little bit.
“That’s something we’ll talk about.”
The Golden Tornado (3-2) had a 6-0 lead at halftime. Nicco Baggetta’s 35-yard punt return set up his 20-yard touchdown catch from Will Dunaway late in the first quarter. The A.J. Morris PAT kick hit off the upright and was no good.
Hickory (4-1) started three possessions in Butler territory in the first half but was held off the scoreboard. A bad snap on a field goal attempt resulted in a 21-yard loss and change of possession. Another threat ended when Tornado linebacker Kyle Newton-Boston deflected a fourth-down pass from the Butler 10.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the first half, and Butler runs an odd-man front that was confusing us some,” Hickory coach William Dungee said. “We talked at halftime about getting back to basics.
“Block, counter, power. ... Just get physical. Our effort on the ground from that point was phenomenal.”
The Hornets put together scoring drives of 40, 64, 55, 77 and 50 yards on consecutive possessions in the second half. They rushed for 303 yards on the night, 284 of those coming in the final two quarters.
Hickory played the game without injured star running back Kelvin Morrison, a Virginia Tech commit.
“They kept running the same play, and we had trouble adjusting,” Butler senior receiver/defensive back Deacon Simko said. “We just couldn’t stop it.”
Simko caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Dunaway to interrupt Hickory’s offensive eruption, giving the Tornado a 12-7 lead with 5:55 left in the third quarter. But Hickory quarterback Christian Dungee scored on a 12-yard run — his first of three rushing touchdowns — two-and-a-half minutes later.
Hickory built a 34-12 lead before Jake Kollinger completed the scoring with a 1-yard run for the Tornado. Kollinger had a 60-yard run earlier in the game to set up Butler’s second touchdown. A 32-yard catch by Simko set up Kollinger’s score.
“We haven’t reached our potential yet in the passing game,” Simko said. “We ran the ball well tonight, but Nicco and myself are capable of making more big plays.”
Dylan Carter led Hickory with 131 yards rushing and a touchdown. Dungee ran for 111 yards and three scores, while receiver Jadon Phillips broke loose for a 77-yard touchdown scamper on a sweep.
“They have a lot of speed and a lot of weapons,” Christy said. “We lost contain outside, and they broke tackles inside.”
Dunaway threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns for Butler. The teams combined for 248 yards in penalties. Hickory was flagged 13 times, Butler 12.
The Tornado travel to Hollidaysburg for a Week 6 game.
Hickory 0 0 21 13 — 34
Butler 6 0 6 6 — 18
First Quarter
B — Nicco Baggetta 20 pass from Will Dunaway (kick failed), 1:24
Third Quarter
H — Dylan Carter 15 run (Callum Darraugh kick), 8:35
B — Deacon Simko 18 pass from Dunaway (pass failed), 5:55
H — Christian Dungee 12 run (Mearlon Patterson pass from Dungee), 3:18
H — Dungee 8 run (kick blocked), 1:17
Fourth Quarter
H — Jadon Phillips 77 run (kick failed), 8:52
H — Dungee 34 run (Darraugh kick), 4:47
B — Jake Kollinger 1 run (pass failed), 2:56
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Hickory, Christian Dungee 13-111, Dylan Carter 15-131, TEAM 1-(-21), Jadon Phillips 2-78, Ty Turosky 1-4, Devin James 1-0. Butler, Nico Baggetta 1-5, Will Dunaway 4-(-2), Kevin Shriver 8-14, Jake Kollinger 9-98, Deacon Simko 3-20.
Passing: Hickory, Christian Dungee 7-14-63-0, Ty Turosky 1-1-6-0. Butler, Will Dunaway 14-28-168-1.
Receiving: Hickory, Jadon Phillips 5-40, Mearlon Peterson 1-20, Dylan Carter 1-3. Butler, Nico Baggetta 3-40, Deacon Simko 6-88, Chase Boden 1-0, Kevin Shriver 1-10, Jake Kollinger 2-25, Patrick Kisoma 1-5.
