By Lee Trawick Riverbend News
On Friday, Oct. 1, the Lafayette High School Hornets varsity football team invaded Buccaneer Stadium to take on the Branford Buccaneers. At the beginning of every season, both the Hornets and Buccaneers mark their calendars when they will face-off. For each team, there is more on the line than a win or loss; they play for school pride, bragging rights and, most importantly, the Golden Helmet, which is passed on to the winner. The Hornets senior class was in the first grade the last time the Buccaneers laid claim to the Golden Helmet, 11-years-ago.
"This is always a big game. If our guys can't get up for this game, we have bigger problems than X's and O's," said Hornets Head Coach Marcus Edwards.
The Hornets scored on their opening drive with a 29-yard touchdown run by Kiami McKnight after busted through several tackles up the middle. Carter Higginbotham was then called on to add the extra point, giving the Hornets an early 7-0 lead. Caden Coker then erupted the Buccaneers crowd with a 65-yard kick-off return to answer the Hornets. With an extra blocked point by Hornet Karlos Murphy, the Hornets held on to their lead, 7-6.
The Hornets wasted no time on their next possession, finding the end-zone once again. This time, it was Nic’Kel Freeman who caught the pass from Trent Thomas on a quick slant. Freeman turned it upfield for 70 yards and another Hornets touchdown. After a failed extra point, the Hornets led, 13-6, midway through the first quarter. The Buccaneers tried to answer by driving down the field, but fell short when Freeman intercepted a pass intended downfield for Adrik Miller inside the Buccaneers 20-yard-line.
"Tonight, we came to work and it paid off for us," Freeman said.
In the second quarter, the Buccaneers found some success in their passing game. Kyson Johnson was able to orchestrate a Buccaneers touchdown drive, capped off with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Nathan Hill across the back of the end-zone. The Buccaneers decided to try for a two-point conversion to give them the lead, but the Hornets' defense came up big once again and protected their lead by a score of 13-12.
The Hornets' defense caused problems for the Buccaneers' offense all night. Elijah Clay, Manny Watkins, Max Byrd, Jalen Hill and Amire Freeman ran downhill all night. In addition, Carter Perry and Colin Perry played lights-out football for the Hornets, never allowing the Buccaneers' running attack to break containment. The Hornets forced the Buccaneers' offense to the air, where the Hornets' secondary was waiting, intercepting a total of three of Johnson's passes.
In the second quarter, Thomas came away with the second interception of the night for the Hornets, thus killing any chance of the Buccaneers taking the lead before halftime. The Hornets were looking to capitalize late in the second quarter, until Brice Criggall came up big for the Buccaneers with an interception deep in their own territory to keep the score 13-12 and well within striking distance going into halftime.
In the second half, it was a show of the usual suspects. Again, the Hornets' defense stood its ground, forcing the Buccaneers to try their luck in the air downfield. This time, it was Murphy waiting for his chance for a Hornets' interception and he did not waste his opportunity. From there, Thomas led his Hornets down the field and into the end-zone for another Hornets touchdown, extending their lead with another extra point, added by Higginbotham, to 20-12.
After the Hornets' defense forced the Buccaneers to punt, Thomas rewarded his defense with another Hornets touchdown, when he dropped back and found Freeman for the second time of the night for a 21-yard touchdown. Higginbotham added the final nail to the Buccaneers' coffin, taking the score to 27-12
"We knew what we had to do to in this game. That's a good and well-coached team over there, so we knew it was going to be a fight and it was. Our defense played outstanding," coach Edwards said. "I'm proud of our guys tonight, how they came out and fought hard and worked hard and played assignment football. We still have some things to clean up moving forward, but I'm proud of our guys tonight."
In the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers were plagued with injuries that took a toll on the depth of their roster. Johnson, himself, suffered an injury that disrupted his style of offense. However, he played as far as the coaching staff and his heart would allow, trying to will his team back into the game. Injuries, however. became too much, as the Buccaneers failed to mount any response.
"We fought hard and didn't quit,” Thomas said.
Next week, the Hornets are off and will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 15, as they host the highly talented, undefeated Chiefland Indians at Dale Walker Field, located at 160 N.E. Hornet Dr., in Mayo. The Buccaneers will gear up on Friday, Oct. 8, as they travel to Trenton High School, located at 1013 N. Main S., in Trenton, to take on the Trenton Tigers.