Hubbard hammers Lakeview, 49-14
HUBBARD — Lakeview’s 14-7 first-quarter lead probably didn’t create a false sense of security because the Bulldogs knew they were playing in the House of Hubbard.
Then the roof collapsed as Hubbard (4-1, 2-0 AAC White) scored 42 straight points and Lakeview (3-2, 1-1) didn’t see the end zone again in losing, 49-14.
Andre Givens scored three times, while Kurtis Drummond, Tommy Jackson, Danny Duvall and Mike Lopuchovsky each had a TD.
Again, Matt Shelton was the offensive catalyst as the 6-3, 180 senior passed for 236 yards.
Duvall caught four for 98 yards and Drummond snagged three for 69.
“We knew we could beat them in the air because we have the athletes,” the 6-3, 200 Drummond said of Hubbard’s game plan.
“We utilize the play-action — are successful running the ball — so it opened up the passing game,” the senior said of Shelton’s 14 completions of 22 attempted.
Drummond didn’t break stride while collecting two of his catches from Shelton.
“He’s been my quarterback for a couple years now, so we’ve got our chemistry together,” Drummond said of Shelton’s accuracy.
“It was definitely Kurtis’ best game of the season, offensively and defensively,” coach Brian Hoffman said. “He made some tremendous plays on the defensive side and, obviously, some big catches, particularly in the first half,” the coach said of Drummond’s 36-yard reception play on 3rd-&-23 before Givens’ 14 yard TD run put the Eagles ahead for good, 20-14.
“He was pretty amazing out there tonight. We were impressed with what he was able to do on the field,” Hoffman said.
As an outside linebacker Drummond, a senior, was part of a defense that has limited opponents to 59 points in five games.
Hoffman concurred that Hubbard had its eye on Lakeview’s coverage.
“We wanted to come out throwing. We put an emphasis on it in practice. In the last few weeks, we tried to work on our running game in preparation for the [league] season, but we knew we could throw the ball and they were giving us some things. We felt like we had some good match-ups that we wanted to take advantage of early and that kind of carried us through.
“In the second half, I think they became conscious of our throwing game, so we were able to slip Andre [Givens] in and hit the draw two or three times at crucial points.”
Givens netted 117 yards on 21 carries.
Hoffman noted the hard-nosed running of Lakeview’s Te Elias, who had 76 yards on 15 carries.
“He broke some runs, but, fortunately for us, we were able to make some big plays at crucial moments and keep them from sustaining drives. It’s a tribute to the way our defense played.”
The Hubbard coach singled out his team’s punt return and kickoff teams.
Givens and Duvall had several good returns, while Lopuchovsky’s contribution as the kicker paid dividends.
“They had to start at their own end and when you have a long field to go that’s a tremendous advantage for our team. Mike’s doing a nice job with our kicking game.”
Plugging the Bulldogs up front were nose guard Dom Dionisio, along with linemen Mike Starr, Anthony Nadeja, Dante Chick and Dan Moffitt.
“They were blowing up some things up front, especially when they were pulling their gap scheme and the linebackers were making nice plays,” Hoffman said.
Blake Novotny’s menacing hits left their mark on the Bulldogs from his middle linebacker spot.