Seahawks take flight (WITH VIDEO)

Ray Harrington broke a finger on his left hand two weeks ago trying to break up a pass in practice. The injury forces him to wear a cast that extends to his forearm.

The Hilton Head Island High School linebacker claims the cast makes it much more difficult to tackle.

His recent performance, however, would suggest otherwise.

Harrington tallied 11 tackles for the second consecutive week, including three for a loss of yardage, leading the Seahawks' defensive charge in a 27-7 win against Ridgeland High School on Friday night at Hilton Head Island Community Stadium.

"Our defense was very, very good tonight," Harrington said. "... Everybody's attitude has changed."

Just two weeks ago, Hilton Head High coach Tim Singleton called out his team's defensive effort in a 24-13 loss to Calhoun County.

What a distant problem that seems now.

Hilton Head High extended its defensive scoreless streak to seven quarters before giving up a Quanell Simmons 3-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth. The Seahawks allowed just 163 yards in the game while forcing four Ridgeland turnovers.

"They're hungry. They're finally finding a sense of urgency," Singleton said. "They're playing as a unit. (Defensive coordinator Howard) Merrick is doing an outstanding job with the scheme. The kids are doing a great job of bending but not breaking."

And that's despite being thrown into vulnerable situations Friday night.

To view this video in a larger window, click here.

Twice in the first half the Jaguars started a drive in Hilton Head High territory. Each time, however, they came up with no points.

Hilton Head High safety Octavius Logan -- who scored three offensive touchdowns on runs of 1, 2 and 4 yards -- ended a second-quarter Ridgeland drive when he sacked quarterback Octavian Hanley, who fumbled the ball. Seahawks lineman Abel Green recovered the loose football, one of two fumbles he scooped up in the first half.

The Jaguars' best scoring opportunity of the half came after they recovered a fumble of their own on the Seahawks' 13-yard line. But they again came up empty after cornerback Armond Walker intercepted Hanley in the end zone with less than a minute remaining in the half.

Ridgeland was never able to find a compliment for fullback Dominic Nelson, who carried the ball 29 times for 131 yards. Hanley finished the game 2-for-7 with a pair of interceptions. He didn't complete his first pass until midway through the third quarter.

"Our passing game isn't that well right now," Ridgeland coach Richard Kirkland said. "We've been trying to work on it to get some pressure off (Nelson). But when we throw interceptions, I don't want to throw it anymore."

Hilton Head High was also forced to go to its passing game after failing to move the ball with the run. But the Seahawks were able to find success with it behind quarterback Dominique Driessen.

Driessen found Clifford Morrow on a fly pattern for a 57-yard touchdown on the team's first offensive play of the game. Driessen finished 9-for-15 with 167 yards, while Morrow had 96 yards receiving, all in the first half.

"We worked on our wide game and our long game tonight, just to see what Niko could handle and get accomplished." Singleton said. "... He's really matured as a quarterback and matured as a leader."

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Ridgeland	0	0	0	7	7
Hilton Head High	7	6	0	14	27

First Quarter

HHH--Clifford Morrow 57 yards from Dominique Driessen (Matt Olivetti kick), 10:24.

Second Quarter

HHH--Octavius Logan 1 run (kick failed), 8:46.

HHH--Octavius Logan 2 run (Olivetti kick), 3:00.

Fourth Quarter

HHH--Octavius Logan 4 run (Olivetti kick), 11:54.

Ridgeland--Quanell Simmons 3 run (Shaquille Grant kick), 6:33.

	RHS	HHH
First downs	10	18
Rush	8	10
Pass	1	5
Pen.	1	3
Rushes-yards	38-157	38-161
Comp-Att-Int	2-7-2	10-20-1
Passing yards	20	173
Return yards	82	6
Punts	2-27	1-29
Fumbles-Lost	2-2	2-1
Penalties-Yards	8-52	8-74
Third-down conv.	4-9	2-7
Fourth-down conv.	1-3	2-3
Time of Possession	23:29	24:31

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Ridgeland, Dominic Nelson 29-131, Quanell Simmons 5-15, Walter Nix 2-14, Levi Gadson 1-2, Octavian Hanley 1-(minus 5). Hilton Head High, Marcus Green 15-69, Lawrence Jenkins 4-39, Ben Fraser 5-29, Jaquan Cohen 2-28, Octavius Logan 7-20, Jeff Homad 1-(minus 9), Dominique Driessen 4-(minus 15).

PASSING--Ridgeland, Hanley 2-7-2-20. Hilton Head High, Driessen 9-15-1-167, Homad 1-5-0-6.

RECEIVING--Ridgeland, Simmons 2-20. Hilton Head High, Clifford Morrow 3-96, Victor Frazier 3-26, Logan 2-30, Jenkins 1-15, Khiry Washington 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS--None.