Lee Trawick
Riverbend News
As the second round of the Class 1A Region 3 football state semi-finals playoffs got underway, the Lafayette High School Hornets, the number four seed, traveled to take on the Chiefland High School Indians, the number one seed, on Friday Nov. 19. The winner of the game would advance to play the number three seed Union County Tigers. If the Hornets won, they would travel to Union County; if the Indians won, they would host Union County.
Three plays into the game, the Indians showed their speed by breaking outside for a 73-yard touchdown, giving them an early lead less than two minutes into the game. However, the Hornets answered on their first drive of the night when senior quarterback Mario Thomas connected with tight-end Carter Higginbotham on a 22-yard touchdown pass. The Hornets then tied the score at 7-7 when Higginbotham lined up for the extra point.
The atmosphere was electric, with momentum playing a big part of the game. Several big-time plays from both teams would give the momentum to the other team. The first momentum shift was on a fourth and inches in the first quarter, when the Indians were trying to pick up the first down. Hornets linebacker Jalen Hill read the play and was left unblocked as the Indians' big running-back was at full speed by the time he hit the hole. On that particular play, the Indians running back was no match for Hill, giving the ball and momentum back to the Hornets at midfield. Unfortunately, the Hornets were unable to get anything going and were forced to punt. The score remained 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
As the second quarter got underway, the Indians again scored on a long run outside, this time for 43-yards. After the extra point was added, the Indians led 14-7 early in the second quarter. The Hornets answered again with a long run up the middle, rotating in quarterback Hill and several passing plays by Thomas to senior Nic'Kel Freeman. This set up Thomas from the one-yard line, who delivered once more, giving the Hornets a 14-14 score after Higginbotham was called upon for the extra point.
In the first half, the Hornets had seen success in their passing game with Freeman, as the Indians had no answer all night long. Therefore, on the first play of the second half, Thomas looked to Freeman to come up with another big play. Freeman did not disappoint as, they connected for a 65-yard touchdown pass; Higginbotham added the extra point, giving the Hornets their first lead of the night, 21-14.
As the momentum shifted back and forth for both teams, the Indians finally answered by tying the game, 21-21, on a 37-yard touchdown pass. Late in the fourth quarter, the defensive dominance for both teams stood tall when the Hornets found themselves in trouble on a long third down and 22-yards deep in their own territory. When Thomas turned to his favorite target of the night, Freeman caught a three-yard pass and turned upfield, making several defenders miss on his way to a Hornets first down. Unfortunately, the Hornets could not move the ball any further, giving the ball back to the Indians at midfield with one minute and 29 seconds remaining in the game. The Indians then tried to catch the Hornets' defense off-guard with a long pass, but Freeman read the play and came up with his fifth interception of the season to end the fourth quarter.
The game went into overtime, giving the Indians the ball first, who scored a touchdown with a run up the middle. With the extra point added, the Indians led, 28-21. The Hornets then answered with a touchdown run of their own with a two-yard run by Thomas. The Hornets went for the win and decided to go for the two-point conversion. Unfortunately, they were stopped at the line of scrimmage, giving the Hornets the loss and ending their season with a final score of 28-27.