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The Huntland High School Hornets played in a scrimmage Thursday against the Perry County Vikings and the East Hickman Eagles at Perry County.

Each team had four possessions in the scrimmage with the first two and the final one for each squad consisting of 10 plays with possession being maintained through turnovers and touchdowns while the third drive for each team featured standard down-and-distance rules.

The Hornets scored five total touchdowns in the scrimmage while allowing just two touchdowns for the day.

Huntland head football coach Kermit Reed said that his team put in some good work while continuing to prepare for the start of the regular season.

“We’ve got some things to clean up, but I was pleased at our effort and our aggressiveness,” he said. “Offensively, we moved the ball on both teams. Defensively, at the beginning, they didn’t even move it an inch. I think we wore down a little bit in this heat and got a little mental weakness there, but we’re going to clean that up.”

The Hornets started the scrimmage on defense against the Vikings with a fumble early in Perry County’s possession being recovered by Lashawn Kimmons. The Vikings kept the ball, but they weren’t able to advance up the field as Huntland’s defense held firm.

Following a scoreless possession between East Hickman’s offense and Perry County’s defense, the Hornets had their offense take the field to face the Eagles.

The Hornets scored the first touchdown of the day on their first possession as a long drive ended in a touchdown run by Coastlon Ringer.

The Hornets kept possession and scored again on the next play from scrimmage as quarterback Evan Keller found Lashawn Kimmons on a deep pass down the sidelines for another quick score.

Huntland’s offense stayed on the field to then take on the Vikings’ defense. The Hornets slowly worked the ball down the field before Keller and Kimmons connected on another touchdown pass on the final play of the possession.

The Hornets got a brief break as Perry County’s offense was held scoreless by East Hickman’s defense in the ensuing possession.

The Eagles were able to get on the board against Huntland’s defense as they scored a pair of touchdowns during their next 10-play possession.

The Hornets rebounded during their next defensive opportunity as they shut down the Vikings and forced a turnover on downs during Perry County’s down-and-distance drive.

The Hornets also struck quickly on their next offensive opportunity as Keller threw his third touchdown of the day to Kimmons on a long pass to put up another score on the Eagles.

The Eagles were held off of the scoreboard on their drive against the Vikings’ defense to round out the third set of possessions for each team.

All three teams put their backups into the game for a fourth round of drives with the Hornets holding the Eagles off of the board on their final defensive opportunity. The possession for East Hickman included a fumble which was recovered by Huntland’s Grant Morris.

Following another scoreless possession for the Vikings against the Eagles, the Hornets had the final possession for the scrimmage against Perry County’s defense.

Huntland’s backups added one more touchdown to the final tally as Luke Yarbrough carried the ball across the goal line from a few yards out. The Hornets’ possession continued from there, but they weren’t able to score again before running out of chances.

The Hornets will have their next scrimmage on Aug. 4 at Community High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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