Thornton takes it to Hillcrest

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:24PM

Looking to strengthen a young, inexperienced defense, Thornton coach Bill

Mosel made a gutsy decision this summer.

Returning quarterback Dimitrius Hardwick and his 1,895 passing yards and 790

rushing yards would switch to cornerback while maintaining a role in the

offense and star receiver Charles Knowles would take the QB reins.

The early returns? More than positive.

In Thornton's opener, Knowles threw for 159 yards and four touchdowns,

Hardwick catching two of them in the first half as the Wildcats trounced

Hillcrest 55-0 in Harvey.

Knowles had never played quarterback in a game prior to Saturday.

"I was just trying to relax," Knowles said with a smile. "I've been

practicing all summer. If it helps the team, I'm all for it. My line was

blocking, and we've been working on routes all summer. I went through my

reads and found who was open."

The final result was almost never in doubt. Thornton scored just three

minutes into the game when Knowles hooked up with Hardwick for a 27-yard

touchdown pass.

The Wildcats blew the game open in the second quarter, scoring four times.

Knowles had three more scores through the air, finding Hardwick (15-yard TD

catch), Terrell Franklin and Jalen Banks.

Also scoring was Damien Bell on an 82-yard breakaway up the middle. Bell

finished with 216 yards on 17 carries.

On eight first-half possessions, Thornton scored on five, most of the touchdowns

coming on quick-hitting, big-play opportunities.

"It's a huge confidence boost," Knowles said. "We've just been working hard

all summer, and we were prepared."

Defensively, Thornton held Hillcrest to just five first downs and sacked

quarterback Breyonte Brewer seven times.

Brewer finished 9 of 23 for 87 yards and an interception. Teron McKinley had

37 yards on 12 carries for the Hawks.

Thornton's Tracy Keys and Denzell Rollins consistently put pressure on

Brewer in the backfield.

"We only had two or three seniors out there on defense," Mosel said. "I was

really pleased with their effort. Because of their youth, (the effort) was

very important."

As for the Hawks, coach Earnest Sutton gave his team an option, bail on the

season now or get back to the grindstone.

"Football's about the little things, and if you don't take care of them then

big things happen and you get blown out," Sutton said. "I told them 'we can

pack it in now and go 0-9 or we can regroup and keep fighting each week.'

Hopefully that's the route we take."

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