Hornets drop region opener against Patriots

PERRY, Ga. — The Westfield Hornets (3-4, 0-1 Region) hosted the Strong Rock Patriots (6-1, 1-0 Region) in both teams’ region opener, and the Patriots came away with a 31-26 win.

It started as a defensive game, as both sides traded three-and-outs before the Patriots were able to strike first.

The Hornets’ defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage to keep the Patriots’ offense in check, but after a few possessions the Patriots were finally able to string together a few first downs and long gains to finish with a counter play to run in for six.

The Hornets knocked on the door to answer back, and a Ben Hulbert reception advanced the ball to the Patriots’ 15-yard line before the Patriots intercepted the ball and ran it 85 yards for the pick six to lead 14-0.

From there the Patriots chipped away on the ground, and built a commanding 21-0 lead at the half.

Coming out of the half the Patriots returned the kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, but a flag on the play brought them back to their own 10-yard line .

After forcing a punt, the Hornets’ offense marched right back down to the red zone. Though, they gave the ball right back on the eight-yard line on a fumble from a bad snap, and another turnover prevented a score for the Hornets.

The Patriots weren’t able to do anything with the fumble recovery except punt it back to the Hornets, and this time they were able to get into the end zone.

On the first play of the drive the Hornets completed a pass to the 26-yard line before running it in to cut the lead to 21-7.

The Patriots mustered three points on their next possession, and the Hornets answered back by getting in the end zone again, but missed the extra point to trail 24-13.

In what seemed to be a shift of momentum, the Patriots fumbled and the Hornets scored again. They went for a two, but couldn’t convert and they only trailed 24-19.

The Patriots finally pulled it together to score their final touchdown, but the Hornets also responded with a touchdown pass from Brayden Gay to Stone St. Clair to make it a 31-26 game.

The Hornets attempted to mount a game-winning drive, but couldn’t connect on a pass deep down the field and turned the ball over on downs, allowing the Patriots to run out the clock.

UP NEXT

The Hornets are one of two Houston County teams active this week, and they’ll travel to Newnan, Ga. to take on the Heritage Hawks (2-4, 0-0 Region) on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

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