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The Huntland High School Hornets lost to the Moore County Raiders 49-7 on the road Friday for their sixth loss of the season.

A majority of the scoring was done in the first half as the Hornets were not able to rally back from a sizable early deficit against the highly-ranked Raiders.

Huntland head football coach Kermit Reed said his team put forth a good effort against an undefeated Moore County team led by a potential Mr. Football nominee in quarterback Dawson White, but it wasn’t enough in the regional contest.

“We went up against a great player and a great team, and our guys tried really hard. In the end, (Moore County) made more plays than we did. We’ve got some things to build on here in the future,” he said before turning his attention to his team’s next game against Cornersville. “We’ve got to get to work next week. It’s not going to get any easier. We’ve got another Division I running back coming to town.”

The Raiders opened the game with a 72-yard drive which ended in a touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead with 7:31 left in the first quarter.

A good kick return by Lashawn Kimmons gave the Hornets the ball at midfield on their first offensive drive, but they only moved three yards before turning it over on downs.

The Raiders scored another rushing touchdown on the ensuing possession with four minutes remaining in the opening period. Luke Powell was able to block the point-after attempt for Huntland to keep the early deficit at 13-0.

Kimmons broke off another long return on the next kickoff as the drive for the Hornets started at Moore County’s 33-yard line.

A pass from Evan Keller to Trace Kilpatrick moved the Hornets inside of the opposing 20-yard line, and BJ Summers scored on a rushing touchdown from 11 yards out two plays later to get Huntland on the board. An extra point from Grant Morris made it a 13-7 game with 2:05 to go in the first quarter.

However, the Raiders scored a rushing touchdown for the third consecutive possession and added a successful two-point conversion to boost the deficit to 21-7 about a minute into the second quarter.

Following a punt from the Hornets, the Raiders drove inside of Huntland’s 20-yard line once again, but defensive back Julius Miller intercepted a pass at the goal line for a turnover.

The Hornets gave the ball right back with a turnover on downs at their own 43-yard line, however, and the Raiders found the end zone with a touchdown pass on the ensuing possession to bring the score to 28-7 with 2:49 left in the first half.

The last score of the first half came from Moore County’s special teams as a Huntland punt was picked up at midfield and ran back for a score. The return touchdown made it a 35-7 game with 1:21 remaining in the second quarter.

The Hornets trailed 35-7 at halftime.

The second half opened with another Huntland punt, and the Raiders then drove down the field and scored on a 34-yard rushing touchdown with 4:26 to go in the third quarter as the deficit grew to 42-7.

The teams traded turnovers on downs for the next two drives as both teams began to cycle backups into the game in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets were able to move the ball into enemy territory once more before being turned away on fourth down to give the ball back to Moore County.

The Raiders worked the ball down the field one more time and recorded a touchdown pass with three minutes left to put the score at 49-7.

The Hornets weren’t able to answer back in the time remaining as they lost by 42.

With the loss, the Hornets moved to 2-6 on the season and 1-3 in regional play.

They will next play Friday at home against Cornersville High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Hornets need to beat Cornersville to remain in contention for the playoffs.