S

The Huntland Middle School Hornets beat the South Trojans 24-20 in Huntland Tuesday in a matchup between two county football teams.

The Trojans carried a slight lead into halftime, but the Hornets took the lead midway through the fourth quarter, recovered an onside kick and ran the rest of the clock out to pick up a comeback victory.

Huntland Middle head football coach Mike Jernigan said that the Trojans are a formidable team, but his players rose to the challenge.

“We knew (the Trojans) were going to be tough. Their speed is extremely difficult to contain, and we knew that. That presents a problem for just about anybody that plays them,” he said before referring to his own team’s performance. “I’m very proud of the way that they fought. We overcame some adversity in the first half, and we came back out and gritted it out in the second half.”

Jernigan added later that his offensive linemen turned in great performances across the board, and his running backs ran hard behind them to complement their play.

South head football Jermaine Johnson said that the circumstances of the loss weren’t ideal, but his team will need to move on and learn from the experience.

“It’s a tough one. It’s always tough as a coach to come back to where you played and where you call home,” he said, referring to his roots as a Huntland alumnus. “(Huntland) showed a lot of grit. It’s back to the drawing board for us. We’re going to go back tomorrow, work hard and try to get better.”

The Hornets opened the game with a 61-yard touchdown drive which ended in a rushing score for Bryant Mooney. Mooney added a two-point conversion to put the score at 8-0 about 90 seconds into the contest.

The Trojans answered back quickly as quarterback Levi Lindsey connected with Kaveon Sutton on a long touchdown pass with 5:21 left in the first quarter.

However, Huntland’s defense held the Trojans out of the end zone on the ensuing two-point conversion to maintain an 8-6 lead.

The Hornets scored another touchdown on their next drive with Mooney breaking off a long scoring run and adding another two-point conversion to make it a 16-6 game with about three minutes to go in the opening period.

The Trojans again responded immediately as Brennan Taylor scooped up the ensuing kickoff and ran it back for a touchdown. Mooney intercepted a pass on the two-point conversion that followed, placing the score at 16-12.

The first defensive stop of the day came on Huntland’s third drive as the Trojans forced a turnover on downs at midfield.

The Trojans then took the lead for the first time in the game as Lindsey threw a pass to Sutton near the sidelines, and Sutton broke several tackles and sprinted to the end zone with 3:36 left in the first half.

Jacoba Fells caught a pass from Lindsey on the ensuing two-point conversion and carried the ball into the end zone to make it a 20-16 game.

The Hornets appeared to retake the lead on their next possession on a touchdown pass from Adon Bass to Mooney, but the play was waived off due to Mooney being called for offensive pass interference. The drive later ended in a turnover with Lindsey picking off a pass to keep South’s lead intact.

The Trojans led 20-16 at halftime.

A personal foul that was called after the final play of the first half pushed the Hornets back on the opening kickoff for the second half, and the Trojans ran the kick back to Huntland’s 25-yard line.

However, a holding penalty pushed the Trojans back, and they ultimately turned the ball over on downs.

The Hornets then conducted a seven-minute, 77-yard drive which ended in a touchdown run by Bass to put Huntland back in front with 4:55 left. Mooney scored one more two-point conversion for good measure to give the Hornets a 24-20 advantage.

The Hornets then went for an onside kick with Rylan Mills making the recovery to put Huntland’s offense right back on the field.

The Hornets brought the ball inside of South’s 10-yard line in the final minute before kneeling out the rest of the clock to clinch the win by four. Huntland possessed the ball for the entirety of the last 12 minutes of game time.

With the win, the Hornets improved to 2-2 on the season.

With the loss, the Trojans moved to 2-2 on the season.

The Trojans will next play Tuesday at Highland Rim Middle School. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

South Giles 26, Hornets 24

The Hornets lost to the South Giles Eagles 26-24 on the road on Aug. 17 for their second loss of the season.

The Hornets staked themselves to an early lead, but the Eagles pulled ahead in the second half and held an advantage for the rest of the day to move Huntland’s record for the season below .500.

Both teams scored one touchdown each in the first and second quarters with a pair of two-point conversions by Mooney providing the difference early.

The Hornets led 16-12 at halftime.

However, the Eagles scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half while Huntland put up just one with that being enough to give Huntland a narrow two-point loss.

Jernigan praised the play of his linemen in the contest, saying that they performed well against a tough opponent.

Jernigan added that the Eagles were led by a talented running back who was difficult to contain with his combination of size and speed.

Mooney ended the game with 23 carries for 263 yards, three rushing touchdowns and three two-point conversions.

Coby Martin had four carries for 25 yards on offense and also led the Hornets with 10 tackles on defense.

With the loss, the Hornets moved to 1-2 on the season.

They will next play Tuesday at Unity Middle School. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.