Hawks Football Taken Down By Berry In 2025 Debut

MOUNT BERRY, Ga.- Picked as the USA South front-runner, Huntingdon Football kicked off their 2025 season tonight on the road, traveling to face the Vikings of Berry College in a non-conference battle under the lights in Rome, Georgia. 

The Hawks fell behind early, taking a 44-7 deficit into the halftime break. They continued to battle as the game wore on however, outscoring the Vikings 21-14 in the second half, but nonetheless, the Hawks fell 58-28 in their first game of the season. 

How it happened

Huntingdon's first possession of the season started on the offensive side of the ball after winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half. A short kick return saw the Hawks start things off well into their own territory, and that combined with two false start penalties killed the drive before it really got started, as the Hawks punted less than two minutes into regulation. The Vikings capitalized, going 45 yards in 6 plays to score their first touchdown of the season on a 3:08 drive. Following another Huntingdon punt on the ensuing drive, Berry managed to extend their lead to 15-0 with two minutes remaining in the quarter. 

The Hawks struck first in the second quarter, as sophomore quarterback Jake White rolled out to his right and connected with Timothy McReynolds on a short completion to cut the deficit to 15-7 with 12:40 remaining until halftime. Not to be outdone however, Berry bounced back in a major way, scoring 29 unanswered points in the quarter to take a 44-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

Coming out of the break, the Hawks continued to battle, forcing Berry to punt on their opening possession before freshman running back Eric Jones Jr. cashed in on a 24-yard rush to score his first collegiate touchdown and cut the deficit to 44-13. Berry responded quickly with a kickoff return touchdown to bring their lead back to 51-14, but Huntingdon found an answer as well, making the most of an excellent kick return by Timothy McReynolds with Knox Roberts leading the Hawks down the field for another Eric Jones Jr. touchdown. 

Huntingdon scored again in the fourth quarter on a rush by Roberts, but the deficit proved to be too much, as the Hawks ultimately were taken down 58-28.

The Hawks take to Charles Lee Field for the first time this season next Saturday, September 13th, as they host Hendrix. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM CT.