HS continues shutout streak

The Hot Springs football team is riding the wave of a three-game win streak. The team traveled to White Sulphur Springs, earning their third shutout in a row with a 59-0 win over the Hornets.

“Our kids played really well. They played really good defense. A lot of the kids are really stepping up for us,” Head Coach Jim Lawson said of the Savage Heat, who are now 3-2 for the season and 1-0 in conference play.

“Everybody is getting involved and we had a really good performance at White Sulphur,” Lawson said. He noted that Daniel and Weston Slonaker both rushed for around 85 yards against White Sulphur Springs, and Nick McAllister threw three touchdowns.. “Defensively we are pretty solid.” He credits the strength of his defense to assistant coaches Andrew Leichtnam and Kane Lawson. “They are doing a great job directing the defense.”

Hot Springs scored on all but one of their offensive drives at White Sulphur. In the first quarter, the Savage Heat rallied with three touchdowns, including a 23-yard run by senior David Chapman, who also scored on a 22-yard pass from quarterback Nick McAllister. Ben Aldridge had the other score in the first quarter as McAllister connected with the sophomore on a 36-yard pass.

Up 22-0 as the first quarter ended, the Hot Springs defense didn’t ease up on the Hornets as the offense kept adding to the lead. Daniel Slonaker ran in for 15 yards for his first touchdown of the game, then McAllister found Slonaker for a 13-yard pass for another touchdown. Chapman then blocked a punt out of the end zone, turning it into another two points for Hot Springs with a safety. Chapman followed that up with a 1-yard run for the final touchdown of the half as the Savage Heat went into the locker room up 44-0.

The Hot Springs defense posed just as much trouble for the White Sulphur offense in the third quarter, though the Hornets didn’t give up. White Sulphur allowed Hot Springs just one touchdown in the third quarter, with Slonaker tallying his third score of the game with a 29-yard run for another six points.

In the fourth quarter, Aldridge again found the end zone, running 22 yards for a score. With Hot Springs up 57-0, the team put the icing on the victory cake with another safety as Samson Jacabowski sacked a Hornet in the end zone.

Though Hot Springs has surfed to victory in their last three games, scoring a cumulative 154 points against scoreless opponents, Lawson will keep the focus on defense for practice this week. “We really need to be good tacklers and continue to work on pursuing the football,” he expressed.

The Savage Heat will host Lincoln on Friday for the Hot Springs homecoming football game. “Lincoln is a very good team. They are dangerous and you have to respect them,” Lawson said this week. He is proud of his team and that everyone is stepping up. “Our goal is to win the conference and get that No. 1 seed.”