The Lakeland High School football team was looking to spoil Hickory High School’s homecoming on Friday night, but the Hawks took better advantage of their opportunity in overtime to hand the Cavaliers a 25-22 defeat.

“We weren’t in it like we should have been,” Lakeland coach Kevin Knight said. “We started slow.”

Hickory, which had only one win on the year entering the game, took a 12-0 lead in the first quarter.

Knight said he and his staff told his players all week that the Hawks were going to fight for four quarters.

“And that’s exactly what they did tonight,” he added.

The Cavs bounced back from their early deficit with touchdown passes from freshman quarterback Tyquan Holloman to senior tight end Monte Hillard and junior wide receiver Alajuwun Langston.

These scores made it 12-12, and the teams went into overtime tied 19-19.

Lakeland was on offense first and took the lead on an approximately 20-yard field goal by junior kicker Adam Worley.

When Hickory got its turn on offense, it came up big on third down, scoring on a touchdown run.

“We tried to keep it simple tonight, but at the end of the day, we just didn’t make enough plays,” Knight said.

However, he was pleased with how his team ran the ball, racking up 161 rushing yards. Junior running back Damontra Milteer carried the ball 15 times for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Lakeland’s defense had standouts, as well, as sophomore cornerback DeAndre Little and senior defensive back Daquan Boyette grabbed interceptions and sophomore Wyatt Gross slowed the run and accounted for one of the defense’s two forced fumbles.

The Cavaliers (2-5) host Grassfield High School next Friday night.