Hornets take close home loss to Grundy County

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The Huntland High School Hornets lost to the Grundy County Yellowjackets 14-13 at home Friday for their second loss of the season.

The score was kept close throughout the day with a blocked extra point proving to be the final difference in Huntland’s defeat.

After punting the ball on the opening drive of the game, the Hornets quickly got the ball back when Grant Jernigan picked off a pass near midfield and returned it to Grundy County’s 34-yard line.

However, the ensuing drive for the Hornets would stall out around the opposing 20-yard line before they turned the ball over on downs.

The next drive for the Hornets also saw them get deep into enemy territory before another turnover on downs halted their progress.

The Yellowjackets followed that change of possession by going on a 75-yard drive which ended in a touchdown run to break the scoreless tie and make it a 7-0 game with 2:11 remaining in the first half.

The Hornets were able to respond back before halftime, however, as a 66-yard drive ended in a touchdown run by Jarren Kinslow and a successful point-after kick by Grant Morris to tie the score once more with 43 seconds left in the half.

The Hornets got the ball back again at midfield with 17 seconds remaining in the period when Blaine Counts picked off a Grundy County pass, but the Yellowjackets recorded a sack on the next play from scrimmage to halt Huntland’s momentum and run the rest of the time for the half off.

The score was tied at 7-7 at halftime.

The Yellowjackets got off to a fast start in the third quarter as they concluded an 82-yard drive with a fourth-down touchdown pass to retake the lead at 14-7 less than three minutes into the second half.

The Hornets once again brought the ball into enemy territory on their first possession of the half, but the Yellowjackets forced another turnover on downs.

The Hornets got their own defensive turnover on downs to start a drive in enemy territory, but the very next snap was fumbled away to give the ball right back to the Yellowjackets.

Huntland’s defense was able to get the ball back for the offense at midfield on another fourth-down stop, and the offense capitalized this time with Kinslow scoring his second touchdown of the day to conclude the possession with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Huntland quarterback Evan Keller fielded a high snap on the ensuing point-after attempt and tried to get it down for Morris, but multiple Grundy County defenders got through and blocked the kick to keep the Hornets behind by one point.

The Yellowjackets fumbled the ball away a few plays into their next drive. However, the Hornets weren’t able to move the ball much and ultimately punted it back to Grundy County before the Yellowjackets later kicked it right back to them.

The Hornets were forced to punt again on their next possession, but the kick attempt ended in an inadvertent turnover on downs after Morris’ knee hit the ground while he was trying to field a low snap at Huntland’s 20-yard line.

The Hornets then stepped up on defense and forced a fumble for a turnover at their own 10-yard line with 3:39 remaining to give the offense one more shot at taking the lead.

However, the Hornets turned the ball right back over about a minute later on an interception over the middle of the field.

The Yellowjackets successfully converted a fourth down with less than 90 seconds remaining and were able to kneel out the clock from there to give Huntland the loss by one.

With the loss, the Hornets moved to 0-2 on the season.

They will next play Thursday at Cascade High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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