By Lee Trawick Riverbend News
On Friday, Sept. 24, the Lafayette High School Hornets concluded their 2021 Homecoming festivities by hosting the Paxon School of Advanced Studies Golden Eagles at Dale Walker Field in Mayo. The buzz was in the air, as fans filled the stands in anticipation of the halftime festivities, as well as to see if the Hornets could make the adjustments after a 13-0 loss, four days earlier.
The Hornets answered their fans' questions two minutes into the game, when quarterback Mario Thomas found himself in open space around the left side of the Golden Eagles for a 20-yard touchdown run. After Carter Higginbotham added the extra point, the Hornets were up, 7-0. However, the Hornets did not stop there. Moments later, Kiami McKnight found the endzone with a 22-yard touchdown of his own, giving the Hornets a 13-0 lead, until Higginbotham added the extra point, making the score 14-0. Then, with only 17 seconds left in the first quarter, Monte Gillard fought for four yards and another touchdown for the Hornets, extending the Hornets' lead to 21-0, again, after Higginbotham added the extra point.
In the second quarter, the Hornets added two more touchdowns on the ground with a two-yard touchdown run by Thomas and an 11-yard touchdown run by McKnight, separating the Hornets' lead from the Golden Eagles by a score of 34-0 going into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Hornets were stunned with a 65-yard touchdown run by the Golden Eagles' quarterback getting them on the scoreboard. But, the Hornets answered as time was expiring in the third quarter, when Thomas found Nic'Kel Freeman for a two-yard touchdown pass. The Hornets led by a score of 40-7 going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Gillard put the final nail in the coffin for Golden Eagles with another two-yard touchdown run. Then, Higginbotham hammered it home, after adding the extra point, to give the Hornets a 47-7 victory.
The Hornets will be back in action, as they travel to Branford High School, Friday, Oct. 1, to take on the Branford Buccaneers at Buccaneer Stadium, located at 405 N.E. Reynolds St., in Branford, for bragging rights and the capture of the Golden Helmet. The Buccaneers are coming off their first loss of the season at the hand of the Fort White Indians on Friday, Sept. 24.