Berry Football Closes Season in Narrow Loss to Huntingdon

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ROME, Ga. — The Huntingdon Hawks scored on a 56-yard touchdown pass late in the game on Saturday afternoon, closing the books on the 2019 season for the No. 23 Berry College football team.

With the loss, Berry closes the year 9-2 and snaps their 22-game home winning streak. The Hawks will advance to face Mary Hardin-Baylor in the second round next Saturday after improving to 8-3. 

Berry struck first on a fumble return for a touchdown by Devin Grier in the opening quarter. The Hawks answered with a 12-yard linkup from Michael Lambert to C.J. Pugh, but the extra point was blocked to give Berry the 7-6 advantage. Trey Gregory tacked on a field goal in the second quarter, but the Hawks recovered a loose ball on a punt, returning it for a score to go up 13-10. Mason Kinsey then caught his 50th career touchdown pass before halftime on a toss from Gavin Gray to give the Vikings a 17-13 lead at the break. 

The Hawks went ahead in the third on a 22-yard pass to Garrett Headley, and held the lead until just over four minutes left to play when Gavin Gray found a wide open Zach Bush for an 11-yard score. On the very next drive, Lambert found Headley for 56-yards to go up 27-24. Gray led the Vikings down the field on the next drive all the way to the Hawks' 35-yard line, but his next pass was intercepted by Dylan Powell to seal the win for Huntingdon. 

The Vikings are 39-6 over the past four seasons, having won four consecutive SAA titles. 

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