Preseason Preview: Hazelwood Central

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hawks return one of the biggest and most talented offensive and defensive lines in the state for 2023, along with a nice group of young skills players. Here is a preview of some of the top players for the Hawks for this coming season</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior QB talent <strong>Jackson Sommerville</strong> (6'0" 180) is back to lead the offense in 2023. The D1 athlete has picked up offers from Ball State and Northern Iowa in the offseason. Last year, Sommerville threw for 1,462 yards and 12 touchdowns, while adding another 6 TDs and 329 yards on the ground, averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He is a true dual threat that causes problems for opposing offenses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='849681' first='Kareem' last='Burns']</strong> (5'10" 170) had a great freshman season as the Hawks leading rusher with 712 yards and 8 touchdowns. KJ was impressive showing good speed and ability to turn the corner and make big plays up field. He also ran very tough between the tackles and could be elusive showing a nice spin move, or lower his shoulder and make yards after contact. He is also a weapon catching the ball out of the backfield. Fellow sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='849692' first='Antoine' last='Gunn']</strong> (5'9" 178) also returns after rushing for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging over 10 yards per carry in limited action. Look for him to provide a nice 1-2 punch for the Hawks run game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior<strong> Marcus Young</strong> (6'1" 200) is the leading receiver that returns from last season. He'll be joined by promising junior newcomer <strong>Alan Bright</strong> (5'10" 160 ) in the receiving corps. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hawks offensive line will be massive with seniors OT <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='321963' first='Tionne' last='Gray']</strong> ( 6'5", 300), OG<strong> Jaedyn McCloud</strong> (6'7" 320), OT <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='322070' first='Brandon' last='Mason']</strong> (6'6" 240, <strong>JT Davis</strong> (6'4" 290) and junior<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='836292' first='Blake' last='Brown']</strong> (6'3" 280) starting or in the mix to play. Gray is committed to Oregon, Mason has 15 D1 offers and Brown has a D1 offers from Alabama A&amp;M.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gray and Mason will also play DE along the defensive line, with Davis and Brown playing Defensive Tackle. Sophomore returns <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='849682' first='Marcel' last='Reed']</strong> (6'1"305) to play NG/DT for the Hawks after getting seeing action as a freshman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1281209' first='Amon' last='Lee']</strong> (5'11" 190 returns after recording 20 tackles last season at linebacker. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior cornerback <strong>Daronne Wright</strong> (5'10 165) leads the defensive backfield after racking up 44 tackles in 2022, and fellow DB junior <strong>Marvin Martin </strong>(5'8" 160) also returns having led the team with 5 interceptions and 18 tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->