By Curtis Rockwell/Sports Director
KILN — Since a state-wide playoff system was implemented for football in the state of Mississippi 45 years ago, Hancock High has never qualified for the state playoffs five straight seasons.
However, the Hawks can break that streak this season under the direction of second-year head coach Michael King.
While it was an up-and-down ride last year for the new head coach and his troops that wound up at 5-7 overall, King and Hancock did notch a new mark in program history with its first road playoff win ever.
The Hawks began the season at 0-4, but then rallied to take five out of the next seven games and ended the season in the second round of the South State playoffs for just the fourth time ever.

“We’re excited for year two as a coaching staff,” King said, in a recent interview. “(last year) was a testament to our guys’ resilience. Instead of giving up the ship like a lot of teams would have, they continued to battle and show up to practice with a good attitude and continued to play hard and played the best football when it mattered the most late in the year.”
King indicated that he has a senior class of around 20 players this year which is more than double that of his first HHS team.
“We’re excited about that,” he added. “The level of commitment and dedication they have shown is encouraging. A lot of those same guys that were on the field last year as sophomores and juniors are back this year, so it’s some of those guys that have those same memories and some of those same experiences.”

Hancock has some really big shoes to fill at perhaps the most important position on the field. Record-setting quarterback Kaison Koennen has moved on after he was selected as the Class 6A Offensive Player of the Year on the All-State First Team last season when he accounted for almost 4,000 yards of total offense and 40 touchdowns through the air and on the ground.
However, King feels confident that Koennen’s understudy from last year, now Senior Justin Wedgeworth, will fill in quite nicely.
“We’re expecting a lot out of him this year,” the head Hawk said. “He’s a big, physical quarterback who can see the field really well, but also the first guy I had probably ever that can push the ball down the field in the way that he can. He’s got a really strong arm, arm talent as some of the coaches call it, so I’m really excited about that to see how that can basically open our offense up. He’s a quarterback that really fits the Air Raid-style system that we do and that is going to be huge.”

Joining Wedgeworth in the backfield will be both Coleton Hopgood and Omar Zelaya, the top two returning rushers from last season.
Out-wide, the new QB1 looks to Aspen Farve and Bryson Thompson, the top returning receivers from last year.
Up front, “we’re bigger this year and that should be one of our stronger groups” King said, of the offensive line.
Defensively, Hopgood is back to lead the way at linebacker after leading HHS in total tackles with 82 last season.
“He’s one of the better all around players on the Gulf Coast” King added.

Korbyn Whitfield returns to join Hopgood to bolster the linebacking unit after recording over 70 total tackles last year as well.
Hancock kicks off the new season on the road at Stone on Fri., Aug., 28th.
“We want to start fast, which is something we didn’t do last year,” King concluded. “WE want to get faster and we want to run the ball more effectively; those are some things we’ve been focusing on. We’re excited about getting a new season started.”