Hillcrest-Evergreen too much for Handley

The Handley Tigers found themselves in a real battle against Hillcrest-Evergreen in Friday night’s jamboree game in Roanoke.

And when the dust settled, Hillcrest-Evergreen emerged on top, 33-20.

“This was a four-quarter, no-holds barred game,” Handley head coach Mike Battles said.

Hillcrest-Evergreen, a team that returns a stunning 19 starters from last year’s team, gave Handley a good game, which was just what Battles was looking for.

Going into the spring, Battles said the Tigers would have to replace an entire offensive line that led them to a region title and the third round of the state playoffs.

For a team in the reloading phase on the offensive line, Battles said he was far from disappointed in the effort.

“We’re rebuilding the offensive line and they did pretty good,” Battles said.

Hillcrest jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, but Handley answered quickly to make the score 8-6.

Hillcrest took another lead at 14-8, but again Handley answered and held a lead until late in the third quarter.

“We were able to move the football and make some plays,” Battles said. “We just couldn’t stop them from making big plays.”

Handley couldn’t find an answer for some of Hillcrest-Evergreen’s speedier players, leaving room for them to make clutch plays and score from far out.

“We expected a handful and we got it,” Battles said.

After Handley’s success last season, a loss is hard to swallow, even for a jamboree game, but Battles said the Tigers know for certain what to work on this summer and early in the fall.

“We found some spots we’re going to have to work on,” Battles said. “We found some positives too.”

One main positive for the Tigers was the special teams play.

“We’re way ahead in our kicking game,” Battles said. “We worked hard on that all spring and it showed.”

Another positive, according to Battles, was the effort from the offensive line.

“All seven were out there fighting,” Battles said. “They might not have blocked a soul, but they were fighting.”

Battles said overall the spring practice sessions and the jamboree game were positive.

“We played pretty good,” Battles said. “We just couldn’t get the job done up front.”