Hazen falls 32-12 in season opener

Published 1:10 pm Friday, September 5, 2014

Despite a strong opening first quarter that saw the Highlanders firmly in control, the Lake Washington Kangs rallied through the second half of the game and handed Hazen a 32-12 loss in new coach David Kilpatrick White’s first game with the team.

After receiving the opening kickoff, Hazen took their opening drive all the way down the field, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Nolan Hoover to Marquis Lee that started with a muffed snap and a near fumble.

Hoover recovered the ball, turned and flipped to Lee, who broke a few tackles as he sprinted into the endzone for a 6-0 Hazen lead.

After missing the 2-point conversion attempt, Hazen surprised Lake Washington with an onside kick that the Highlanders recovered, though they didn’t score.

The Hazen defense also looked good early, as they forced and recovered a fumble on a long pass reception. Later in the second, J. Conklin returned a fumble 98 yards for a touchdown and a 12-0 Hazen lead.

But Lake Washington would not be held down, with R. Simonson scoring a touchdown on a 5-yard run for a 12-7 halftime score.

Unfortunately for Hazen, the second half was all Kangs.

In the third, quarterback D. Mann had a pair of touchdown passes. The first was a 30-yard strike to S. Muller to make it 14-12 Lake Washington, which was followed by a 7-yard touchdown to B. Inslee and a 20-12 lead.

In the fourth, Lake Washington handed the ball to E. Phillips for a 10-yard touchdown run and then a 70-yard touchdown run to seal the 32-12 victory for the Kangs.

Hazen heads to Liberty on Sept. 12.