AHEAD OF THE PACK: Hun School football player Justin Morrison races to the end zone in a game earlier this fall. Last Saturday, senior standout Morrison scored two touchdowns to help Hun rout Lawrenceville 62-14 and take sole possession of first place in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL). The Raiders, now 5-1 overall and 3-0 MAPL, play at Peddie (4-2 overall, 2-1 MAPL) on November 1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

There was no messing around last week as the Hun School football team prepared for its showdown against the Lawrenceville School.

With both squads boasting 2-0 records in Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) play, Hun head coach Todd Smith demanded attention to detail.

“We knew this game meant a lot to the coaching staff and we required the players to be extra focused,” said Smith. “We wanted them to do a better job, both the scout team and the starters. We weren’t tolerating anything.”

Hun showed that focus right from the start on Saturday, drawing first blood with a 67-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive end Cameren Kitchen. Senior running back Chris Sharp took over from there, scoring on three touchdown runs as Hun took a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The onslaught continued in the second quarter as Hun doubled its lead to 56-0 by halftime with another Sharp TD run, an interception return for a touchdown by Kyle Horihan, and two scores from Justin Morrison.

Cruising from there, Hun posted a 62-14 win in improving to 5-1 overall and taking sole possession of first place in the MAPL standings.

“We played well in both phases of the game,” said Smith. “Any time the defense scores touchdowns, that sets you apart. The defense scored 12 points and every time they came up with a stop, the offense had a short field.”

Hun dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball. “I thought the offensive line got great push,” said Smith.

“C. J. Williams is a freshman and he started at guard and had a great game. Fred Hansard was also great on offensive line. On defense, Jordan McGriff played out of his mind; he had six tackles and a sack and sniffed out a screen. Kitchen has been a force on defense all season and he had TD for us on an interception.”

The University of Virginia-bound Sharp has been a force of nature this fall, piling up some eye-popping statistics.

“We watched the tape today and he had 222 yards rushing on 11 carries with 5 TDs,” said Smith, noting that senior Morrison also produced some good numbers, rushing for 81 yards in five carries.

“He is out of this world. He is getting our schemes and he is reading the cutbacks. He has the size to run over people and the speed to run away from them.”

The game film from Saturday made for pleasant viewing by Smith and his staff.

“We are always looking for that perfect game and that first half was pretty near perfect,” said Smith.

“We had just a couple of penalties. It is just about us, if we control ourselves and do our job, we can score like that every week.”

With Hun playing at Peddie (4-2 overall, 2-1 MAPL) on November 1 in another league clash, Smith will push his players to keep chasing perfection.

“We didn’t win the MAPL yet but we are the team that controls our destiny,” said Smith.

“We have to take care of business to make sure that we don’t share it with anybody. The guys are self motivated, some of them are playing for looks in college. The whole senior class is seeing what can happen if they play as a team.”