EVERETT – Everett Hawks coach Rickey Foggie is rarely seen without a ballcap on his head, but he is willing to make an exception for starting quarterback Chris Dixon.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to Chris,” Foggie said of Dixon’s impressive debut as a starter last Saturday against the Stockton Lightning. “It’s tough when you’re on the road in a hostile environment.”
Dixon, starting in place of Julian Reese, who was traded to South Georgia earlier in the week, completed 23 of 36 passes for 279 yards and five touchdowns with one interception in the 50-40 loss.
Dixon said he saw at least one positive in the game, which was winless Everett’s fifth straight loss.
“We found our heart,” Dixon said of the way the Hawks responded after they fell behind 27-7 midway through the second quarter. “Nobody got down on their teammates. Everyone pulled together.
“The hunger is there.”
Dixon, an Oakland, Calif., native who said he had a large contingent of family and friends cheering him on against Stockton, did an excellent job of mixing up plays and getting multiple receivers involved in the offensive attack, Foggie said.
Five players caught passes and four were on the receiving end of touchdown tosses from Dixon.
“That’s very important,” Dixon said. “You can’t just rely on one guy, everyone needs to be involved.”
Hassan Brockman had eight receptions for 94 yards and two TDs, his most productive receiving performance of the season.
“That’s what we’ve been waiting for out of Hassan,” Foggie said.
Brockman, who doubles as a defensive back, also had five tackles and leads the team with 24.5 tackles this season.
D.J. Humphries, who took over as offensive specialist with A.J. Street serving a team-imposed one-game suspension, had seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Charles Davis and Milton Myers each caught three balls for a combined 89 yards and each caught a TD pass.
Foggie remains optimistic: Despite Saturday’s loss, Foggie said he was pleased with the effort against Stockton, a game that came on the heels of a lopsided home loss to Central Valley on April 30.
Foggie’s outlook brightened even more with the news that Friday’s opponent, previously unbeaten Spokane (4-1), was hammered 52-20 by Bakersfield (4-1), and that Central Valley (3-2) lost at home 59-52 in overtime to the previously winless Quad City Steamwheelers. Both Spokane and Central Valley are ahead of the Hawks in the af2 West Division.
“Other teams are starting to bump each other off, which is good,” Foggie said. “It’s time for us to do our part, but we have to do it now.”
Hawks add secondary coach: The Hawks this week hired Tony Wells to coach their defensive backs. Everett ranks 13th in the 23-team af2 in pass defense, allowing an average of 246 yards per game.
As head coach of the National Indoor Football League’s Cincinnati Marshalls in 2005, Wells posted a 10-6 record.
Alvin Ashley, who previously had responsibility for Everett’s secondary, will focus his efforts on coaching the wide receivers and the offensive and defensive specialists.
Reese sees action for South Georgia: When South Georgia’s starting quarterback, Dondri Pinkins, proved ineffective, Julian Reese – traded to South Georgia by the Hawks on May 4 – entered last Saturday’s game against the Macon Knights midway through the second quarter. Reese completed 15 of 25 passes for 171 yards. He threw one touchdown pass and one interception. The winless Wildcats (0-5) were routed by Macon, 62-20.
Pioneers remain atop poll: The unbeaten Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Penn.) Pioneers (5-0) are ranked No. 1 for the third consecutive week in the weekly af2 coach’s poll. Spokane’s loss left the Pioneers as the only team with a perfect record. Rounding out the top-5 are Florida (4-1), Memphis (5-1), Oklahoma City (4-1) and Bakersfield (4-1). Spokane slipped to No. 6. … Game of the week: No. 8 Rio Grande Valley (4-2) at Bakersfield (4-1) on Saturday.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
