EVERETT – For Everett Hawks quarterback Albert Higgs, the tradeoff is worthwhile.
He’s forced into the role of kicker, but the lack of a kicker on the 22-man active game roster allows him to utilize one more talented wide receiver.
Six of the 22 Hawks players on Sunday’s roster were listed as wide receivers. Five of them made receptions as Higgs completed 19-of-30 passes for 238 yards and five touchdowns.
“And we still have a couple of guys that didn’t suit up today that are very good as well,” Higgs said. “We’re really deep at the wide receiver position, so they’re really going to have to earn their spot each and every week.”
Cory Grow, who says he caught more than 60 TD passes from Higgs when the duo played together for Billings, started things off with a 39-yard TD reception on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
“We like to start off games going long,” said Grow, whose second and final reception came on a 36-yard TD pass from Higgs in the fourth quarter. “We try to set the defense up, and on this occasion it worked.”
Despite the group’s success, none of the receivers posted big numbers individually. Jason Quinn caught a team-high six passes for 48 yards and a TD. AJ Street (three catches, 58 yards) electrified the crowd by turning a short pass into a 35-yard TD with 2 minutes, 17 seconds to go in the game. Antonio Chandler (four for 18) and Anthony Simmons (two for 14, one TD) also caught passes along with running back Verna Owens, who had two receptions for 15 yards. The sixth receiver, Hassan Brockman, did not catch a pass but helped limit Wyoming’s kickoff return game.
“They all contribute,” Hawks coach Dan Maciejczak said. “We need two footballs out there, because we’ve got so many guys who want the ball. In our system, we really don’t have superstars. We just score.”
Big hockey fan: Hawks owner and Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Sam Adams attended the Everett Silvertips’ playoff game Saturday night and will be rooting for them when they play Game 7 of their WHL playoff series in Portland on Tuesday – despite the fact that the two teams share the Events Center. Adams, who is listed on the Buffalo Bills’ roster at 6 feet, 4 inches, 335 pounds, played hockey while his father – Sam Adams Sr. – played football for the New England Patriots in the 1970s.
“Hockey was my first sport,” Adams Jr. said. “I don’t tell many people about that. … I learned how to skate, I know that much. But, (wearing cleats) comes easier to me.”
Owens owns up: Ejected late in the game after a confrontation with Wyoming’s Anthony Thomas, Everett’s multi-purpose running back Verna Owens explained the skirmish:
“The other guy hit me first, he got a good cross in and I hit him in the shoulder. I should have been more professional…it was just the heat of the moment,” Owens said.
It’s all mixed up: Everett’s multiple offensive weapons are apt to give teams fits as the season goes along.
“It’s very key to our offense,” Maciejczak said. “You might have 11 catches one game and two in the next two games. As long as you keep doing the little things, throwing the blocks and hustling to the ball to help each other out.”
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