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The Huntland High School Hornets lost to the Eagleville Eagles 35-0 on the road Friday for their fourth loss of the season.

The Hornets struggled to move the ball on offense for most of the day while the Eagles pulled away in the middle quarters of the regional contest.

Huntland head football coach Kermit Reed said the game was a poor showing for his team coming off of a bye week.

“I was very disappointed in our effort and our execution. We had two weeks to prepare for this game, and we really practiced them very hard,” he said. “Tonight, we came out without any effort and any intensity.”

The Hornets started the game with the ball and were forced to punt after three plays.

The Eagles then drove inside of Huntland’s 30-yard line before the Hornets’ defense stepped up to force a turnover on downs.

Another attempted punt by the Hornets was blocked by Eagleville’s special-teams unit to give the Eagles the ball inside of the red zone, but the Hornets tightened up defense again and forced a turnover on downs at their own 5-yard line.

However, the Eagles broke through for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter after forcing another Huntland punt to break the scoreless tie and take a 7-0 lead.

The Eagles struck for a long touchdown on their next drive as a 78-yard scoring pass put the Hornets in a 14-0 hole with 4:14 remaining in the first half.

The Eagles tacked on one more touchdown with 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter as they found the end zone with a fourth-down run from a few yards out to put the score at 21-0.

The Hornets brought the ball over midfield for the first time on the ensuing kickoff as Jarren Kinslow returned the ball to Huntland’s 40-yard line, and a facemask penalty moved the ball into Eagleville’s territory.

However, the Hornets turned the ball over on the next play from scrimmage with an interception to immediately end the possession.

The Hornets trailed 21-0 at halftime. Five of their six drives in the first half ended in punts.

The Eagles picked up where they left off in the third quarter as a 38-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the period brought the deficit up to 28-0 less than four minutes after halftime.

The Hornets were able to get the ball into enemy territory on their next possession, but the drive stalled around Eagleville’s 30-yard line before ending in a turnover on downs.

The Eagles scored their final touchdown with two minutes remaining in the third quarter as a touchdown pass from about 34 yards out made it a 35-0 game.

The Hornets crossed midfield once again on their next drive before another turnover on downs gave the ball back to the Eagles with a running clock in effect. Both teams began to cycle their backups into the game from there.

After forcing an Eagleville punt, the Hornets quickly gave the ball right back with a fumble a few plays later, and the Eagles ran out the rest of the clock from there to seal Huntland’s loss by 35.

With the loss, the Hornets moved to 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in regional play.

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