By Lee Trawick Riverbend News
On Friday, Sept. 10, the Lafayette Hornets invaded Trenton High School to battle the Trenton Tigers on their home turf. The Tigers got the ball first, but were unable to move it, forcing them to punt.
Mario Thomas quickly introduced himself on the Hornets' first play, going 55 yards up the middle for a Hornet touchdown. With the extra point added by Carter Higginbotham the Hornets took the lead, 7-0.
Thomas struck again on his second carry of the game, going 32 yards for another Hornet touchdown. Higginbotham, again, added the extra point, extending the Hornets lead, 14-0.
The Tigers made their adjustment after an interception deep in their territory midway through the second quarter, which helped them gain traction and cut into the Hornets' lead by scoring a touchdown of their own and adding their extra point, making the score 14-7, in favor of the Hornets going into halftime.
The Tigers controlled the clock in the third quarter, driving the length of the field before tying the game, 14-14. That score remained going into the fourth quarter.
The Hornets were bogged down at the Tigers' 35-yard line when they tried for the first down on the fourth down, but the Tigers made another interception back at their 10-yard line. Hoping to capitalize on the momentum shift after the interception, the Tigers took to the air. But Karlos Murphy was waiting and erupted the Hornets' crowd with an interception of his own, giving the ball and momentum back to the Hornets' offense. With the clock running down, the Hornets wasted no time. Thomas took the ball from center and followed his lead blocker, allowing him to get to the second level after breaking through five Tiger defenders. Thomas only had one man to beat in the open field. He hurdled the defender on his way for a 39-yard touchdown for the Hornets. However, a block on the extra point kept the score within reach for the Tigers, as they trailed 14-20 with 5:06 remaining in the game.
The Tigers tried to answer, driving deep into Hornets territory with their ground game. Unfortunately, the Tigers were running out of time. They tried their luck, yet again, in the air, something they had zero success in doing, due to Jalen Hill, Elijah Clay, Isiah Cook, Max Byrd, Carter Perry, Colin Perry and Murphy, along with the rest of that Hornets defense. Hoping for a better outcome, the Tigers' quarterback found his receiver. Still, Nic'Kel Freeman came out of nowhere to intercept the ball and return it 86 yards for the final touchdown of the night, sealing the win for the Hornets with only 1:10 remaining in the game. After a failed two-point attempt by the Hornets, they came away with a 26-14 win to improve their record to 3-0.
Hornets Coach Marcus Edwards was relieved to get the win over a tough opponent. "Tonight, I'm proud of our guys; they came in here against a good team and did what we asked them to do: play physical, disciplined football and they did that for us tonight," Coach Edwards said. Trent Thomas commented on his confidence in the Hornets offensive line and talked about what the coaches ask of them. "We had to play assignment football; anytime we do that, good things happen," Thomas said. "Tonight was tough. It was a battle against those guys, but we did what we were asked to do and see how it turned out. Our guys fought hard tonight and I'm proud of my team."
The Hornets will host the Hilliard Flashes at Dale Walker Field, located at 160 Hornet Dr., in Mayo, on Friday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m.