S

The Huntland High School Hornets beat the Wayne County Wildcats 29-16 at home Friday for their first win of the season.

The Hornets led for a majority of the day and fully pulled away with two minutes to go to seal a victory in the homecoming contest.

Huntland head football coach Kermit Reed said his team got off to a solid start and fought through challenging situations at various points to record a much-needed victory.

“We came out with good energy and did some good things. We had some adversity in the middle of the game and toward the end of the game, and this time, we got over the hump,” he said. “Just like in life, with adversity, you’ve just got to find a way to keep pushing forward. We did that tonight.”

The Hornets took the ball all the way down the field on their opening possession with Jarren Kinslow breaking off a 32-yard touchdown run to give them a 7-0 lead just over a minute into the contest.

Following a punt from the Wildcats, the Hornets moved inside of Wayne County’s 10-yard line, but an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the ball back to the Wildcats.

The teams then traded punts before the Hornets forced a turnover with Trace Kilpatrick making a leaping grab over a receiver for an interception at Huntland’s 23-yard line. However, the Hornets weren’t able to pick up a first down on the ensuing drive as they punted the ball to the Wildcats for the second possession in a row.

The Wildcats then put together their first scoring drive as they concluded a four-minute, 68-yard possession with a touchdown run and added a successful two-point conversion to take an 8-7 with 3:10 left in the first half.

The Hornets were able to answer back on their next drive as quarterback Evan Keller called his own number and juked out multiple defenders on a 28-yard touchdown run with 1:17 remaining in the half.

Keller found Kilpatrick in the end zone on the ensuing two-point conversion to put the Hornets back in front by seven points.

The Wildcats advanced into Huntland territory in the final minute of the half, but the Hornets forced a fumble with Caden Smith recovering the loose ball for a turnover with four seconds to go in the period.

The Hornets led 15-8 at halftime.

Huntland’s defense forced another fumble after the Wildcats crossed midfield to start the third quarter as Malachai Tollis recovered the ball for the Hornets.

The Hornets then added to their lead as Kinslow concluded a 58-yard drive with an eight-yard rushing touchdown, and Keller connected with Kannon Lafevers on the two-point conversion to put the score at 23-8 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

A turnover on downs by the Wildcats at midfield gave the Hornets another chance to score with good field position, but the ensuing drive for Huntland stalled and ended in a turnover on downs of their own at Wayne County’s 22-yard line.

An attempted deep pass by the Wildcats a few plays later would backfire as Kilpatrick tracked the ball down and picked it off for his second interception of the day.

However, the Hornets fumbled the ball right back to Wayne County two plays later, and the Wildcats scored a 33-yard rushing touchdown on the next snap.

The touchdown and the two-point conversion that followed made it a 23-16 game with 8:20 to go.

The Hornets started their next possession at midfield with a third-down pass from Keller to Kilpatrick moving the ball down to Wayne County’s 27-yard line.

A penalty for defensive pass interference on fourth down later in the same drive moved the ball to inside of Wayne County’s 10-yard line as the time on the game clock continued to tick away.

Kinslow scored his third rushing touchdown of the contest a few plays later to bring the deficit back up to double digits at 29-16 with 1:58 remaining.

The Hornets slowed down the Wildcats on defense enough to run out the rest of the clock as they won by 13.

With the win, the Hornets improved to 1-5 on the season and 1-2 in regional play.

They will next play Friday at Lookout Valley High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 EST.