Eagles ride Ponies to 40-8 road victory

Hennessey has taken care of business against the bottom feeders of District 2A-I-1.

Now the Eagles’ playoff hopes will hinge on how they fare against teams closer to the top of those standings.

Hennessey headed east Thursday night and came back home from Kellyville with a dominant 40-8 performance.

The Eagles scored the first 40 points of the game as they moved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the district.

Those three wins have come against teams who are winless in district games through Week 7.

The final three games - Luther, Stroud and Casady - come against teams with a combined 10-2 district mark.

The Eagles were effective both on the ground and through the air against Kellyville.

Gunnar Holder passed for 222 yards and completed 78 percent of his passes without an interception.

The team’s first score saw him hit Hunter Weber for a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Weber just missed his first career triple-digit receiving day as he caught four passes for 98 yards on the night.

Hennessey took complete control with four second-quarter touchdowns.

Holder found Hagen Copeland for an 11-yard pass. Later in the quarter, Copeland capped the Eagles’ first-half scoring with a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown.

In between, Jakob Johns (5 yards) and Jessin Hardin (2 yards) added TD runs.

Braedyn Richardson finished off the scoring in the third quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run.

Hennessey’s 32 rushes covered 169 yards and the team had 399 total yards.

Richardson got 12 carries for 60 yards while Mario Lopez rushed six times for 43.

Nine different Eagles caught at least one pass.

The Ponies managed just 147 yards overall.

Johns led the team with nine tackles.

The Eagles stay on the road this week as they visit Luther (4-3, 3-1).

They likely need at least one win in their final three games to qualify for the playoffs.