Hawks score first win of season

HOUSTON — The Houston Hawks were awarded an expected forfeit victory last week and on Friday, the Hawks powered their way to another win with a 38-0 victory over Seward at Seward High School.

With the win over the Seahawks, combined with the forfeit victory over Skyview, Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said his athletes are playing with a newfound sense of confidence and enthusiasm, which will be big as the Hawks head into the final three weeks of the season.

“It’s huge. We’ve been playing from behind so much, it’s huge to feel like the better team,” Bouchard said.

Senior Beau Frank ran for a touchdown and passed for another, and five different players scored to help Houston move its official mark to 2-2 overall.

“We’re doing alright,” Bouchard said. “The kids said they’ve learned a lot.”

Tyler Barron and Russ Ruta also ran for touchdowns in the win. Jake Wells hauled in a Frank touchdown pass. Reserve quarterback Devan Elson threw a touchdown pass to River Ross to round out the scoring.

Bouchard said the Hawks were able to get the bulk of their talent into the game during the victory. He said once the game was in hand, the final score didn’t matter.

“Some of the younger kids came in and played a lot,” Bouchard said. “We took our first team out. We got the victory, we didn’t need to score any more.”

The Hawks are also returning key players to the lineup. Ruta, who spent an early chunk of the season injured, scored. Houston also welcomed back junior Charlie Buzby, who is making an immediate impact on both sides of the ball.

“Getting him back has helped a lot,” Bouchard said. “He’s an emotional leader.”

Skyview beat Houston 45-0 in Week 4, but during the week school officials learned an ineligible player participated for the Panthers.

Once that was discovered, the Panthers were forced to forfeit that win.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.