Photos by Pat Carrigan / Championship game coverage brought to you by Ja-Mar Roofing & Sheet Metal
Hawley has had a picture of AT&T Stadium hanging in its locker room all year long.
That photo served a constant reminder of its 47-12 defeat to Shiner in last year’s 2A Division I State Title Game.
But this year, the Bearcats weren’t going to be denied.
Senior running back Austin Cumpton rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns and the Hawley defense forced four turnovers as the Bearcats romped to a 54-28 victory over Refugio in Thursday’s 2A Division I State Title Game.
It was the first state title for Hawley in school history.
“They’ve been talking about this for 365 days,” Hawley head coach Mitch Ables said. “When we lost last year, these guys put it in their minds that we were going to come back and win it this year. Just super proud of them.”
Cumpton was resigned to watching last year’s game on the sideline as he recovered from a back injury suffered during the playoffs. He made his presence felt Thursday as Refugio continually struggled to get him on the ground.
He said what he and his teammates went through last year made what the Bearcats accomplished this year even more special.
“Last year, it was heartbreaking, but I was happy for my guys that we came all the way,” Cumpton said. “We worked so hard all offseason and now we’re here. It’s just a dream come true..”
On the other side of the ball, linebacker Hez Parker was the star of the show. He forced a fumble on Refugio’s opening possession and also blew up another play on fourth-and-one.
But his biggest contribution came in the second half. With Hawley already up 40-13, he took a pick-six 50 yards to the house, putting an exclamation mark on Hawley’s afternoon while wrapping up Defensive MVP honors in the process.
5️⃣0️⃣ yd pick 6 for＃5️⃣0️⃣
OLB Hez Parker takes it to the house! @Bearcat_HHS 😼 : 48@RefugioBobcats 🔶 : 13@uiltexas | #TXHSFB | 📺: BSSW pic.twitter.com/AWaARqiqZr
— BallySportsTXHS (@BallySportsTXHS) December 15, 2022
Parker said despite how routine it looked, it was not a play he’s used to making.
“It’s crazy honestly, I miss all those in practice,” Parker said. “They either go off my fingers or I’m just too short and can’t catch it. But they threw it to me and I caught it. And Refugio’s pretty fast, so I thought I was at least going to get to the 20, but Diontay [Ramon] had a great block and that carried me to the end zone.”
Meanwhile, Refugio head coach Jason Herring rued the scheduling that meant the Bobcats had to make the six-hour trek to Dallas on just two days of practice. Regardless, he said the better team on the day won.
“The difference in the game is you can’t turn the ball over and we turned it over,” Herring said. “And they just absolutely crushed us rushing the football. We just couldn’t get the ball back. And if you don’t have the ball and you can’t get the ball to your weapons, then it don’t matter how fast you are.”
Eziyah Bland did rush for 163 yards for Refugio, but Hawley limited state 100-meter champion Ernest Campbell to just two rushes for six yards and three catches for 33 yards.
Ables said his team’s defense was outstanding all afternoon.
“They’re a bunch of blue-collar, hard-working guys that are undersized in some spots,” Ables said. “[They] just got after it. They fought their tails off tonight.”
Hawley’s defense made its presence known from the very beginning of the game. On the opening possession, Parker obliterated Refugio quarterback Kelan Brown, forcing a fumble deep in Refugio territory. Cumpton quickly turned that into points on a seven-yard rushing touchdown three plays later.
Parker and Cumpton teamed up early in the second quarter again as Parker yet again destroyed a Refugio play on fourth-and-one before Cumpton found the end zone on a barreling 14-yard touchdown run.
Cumpton would add another score following an interception by Bearcat defensive back Chandlin Myers before Diontay Ramon left the Refugio defense in the dust with a 74-yard touchdown on a receiver screen. 
Ramon was a thorn in Refugio’s side all afternoon as he finished with six catches for 150 yards and two scores.
74 YD HOUSE CALL FOR @Diontay_11 🙀
Bearcat’s WR uses pure agility and speed to get the TD!@Bearcat_HHS 😼 : 28@RefugioBobcats 🔶 : 0@uiltexas | #TXHSFB | 📺: BSSW pic.twitter.com/ex0q5kl38N
— BallySportsTXHS (@BallySportsTXHS) December 15, 2022
Refugio would find some life in the two minutes before halftime as Kaleb Brown scored a three-yard touchdown, but their momentum would last all of 48 seconds as Hawley wide receiver Kason O’Shields took advantage of blown coverage for an easy 66-yard touchdown.
Bobcat fullback Jordan King delivered a boost heading into halftime as he took a screen pass 35 yards to the house, but the Bearcats still had a commanding 34-13 lead at the interval.
And it was much the same in the second half.
The Bearcats asserted their will with an eight minute 14-play, 73-yard drive out of halftime as Ramon caught his second touchdown on the day.
The pick-six and Cumpton’s fourth touchdown followed while Refugio added two consolation scores as the game wound down and Hawley’s dreams of its first state title turned into a reality.
On Thursday, Refugio had 11 sophomores and freshmen starting. Herring even noted that he thought his team was a year ahead of schedule.
Despite the loss, Bobcat senior lineman JR Moore said it was special for he and his eight fellow seniors to lead this group to state.
“It’s the best feeling ever because we’ll be remembered forever as a team that went to state,” Moore said. “In the eyes of those kids, they’ll remember how we led them and then they’ll lead the other kids. Hopefully they come back next year.”
For Hawley, Thursday marked the end of high school football for Cumpton and the Bearcats’ other 16 seniors. After over 4,600 career rushing yards, Cumpton said it was a dream way to end a career the town of Hawley will likely never forget.
“It feels amazing,” Cumpton said. “Coach brought me in as a little old freshman. I’ve had an amazing career. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. To go out with a win, words can’t even describe what it means. I can’t thank all these guys enough.”
Offensive MVP: RB Austin Cumpton, Hawley
After missing the title game due to injury a year ago, Cumpton was the bell cow on the day for Hawley, rushing for 151 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries.
Defensive MVP: LB Hez Parker, Hawley
Parker finished with 4.5 tackles, but most importantly he had a key pick-six in the third quarter that put the game beyond doubt. He also had a forced fumble and a tackle for loss in the first half that denied Refugio on a fourth-and-one play.
CLICK HERE to listen to the Texas HS Football Podcast, with Taylor Arenz
