S

The Huntland Hornets lost to the Tullahoma Wildcats 48-30 on the road Friday in a 7-on-7 preseason scrimmage.

The Wildcats scored in each of their eight drives for the day while a slow start from the Hornets put them behind for most of the day.

Huntland head football coach Kermit Reed said the scrimmage was a learning opportunity for his team with some good things and some bad things coming out of it.

“We learned a lot of lessons, and it’ll be a tool for us to go back to practice and fix some things,” he said. “Offensively, we just need to work on progressions in our passing game and being where we need to be and where you’re supposed to be. Defensively, we didn’t do bad there. We’ve just got to realize that you’re not playing against air. You’re playing against people.”

The Hornets were held out of the end zone on each of their first three drives while the Wildcats jumped out to an early 18-0 lead.

The Hornets broke through for their first score on their fourth drive as Grant Jernigan connected with a diving Ellis Stewart for a passing touchdown to put the score at 18-6.

Following another touchdown by the Wildcats, the Hornets brought the ball into the red zone on their fifth possession, but the drive stalled and ended in a turnover on downs about 10 yards away from a score.

The Hornets put together their second scoring drive on their next possession with Trace Kilpatrick catching a pass over the middle from Jernigan for a touchdown to put the score at 30-12 as the Wildcats continued to add points on each of their possessions.

The Hornets scored once more on their next drive as a pass from Parker Schultz deflected off of a defender’s hands and was snatched out of the air by Jernigan for a touchdown.

Schultz and Jernigan connected on another passing score on the Hornets’ second-to-last possession with Jernigan making a leaping grab on a deep pass to put the score at 42-24 late.

The Hornets closed out the scrimmage with their fourth straight touchdown drive as Evan Keller found Kilpatrick in traffic for a score to put the final deficit at 18.

The Hornets are scheduled to open the 2023 season on Aug. 18 at home against Whitwell High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.