With their fifth win of the season stemming from Friday nights 20-17 conquer over the Hector Wildcats, the Hackett Sr High Hornets seem to be holding their own just fine in the 2A-4. Headed by first-year Hackett Coach, Michael Meador, this young team has been molded into everyday warriors. The Hornets sit with a 5-2 overall record and 1-1 in conference play.
Backup Quarterback and safety, sophomore Ethan “Superman” Slavens, has Hackett football running through his blood. Playing since the third grade, Ethan is beyond proud of how far he and his teammates have come. When it came to Fridays game against Hector, there was a different feeling in the air about the Hornets.
The boys have always been a close-knit group. But this time, the comradery and support for each other was overflowing. The Hornets wanted this win. Bad. And during the entirety of the game, no man was left behind. “We earned this win by staying solid and really playing as a team. We always play well together, but on Friday we took it to the next level,” explains Slavens. “We coached each other up, encouraged one another, and at halftime, re-energized each other through some major hyping up so that we could go and get the job done.”
Quarterback, Avery Hester, connected a beautiful 45-yard pass to Wide-Receiver Fischer Shipman along with one interception, 14 carries totaling 89 yards, and three touchdowns. Hester also carried out six solo tackles and one tackle for a loss. Junior Running back, Weston Winters, did major damage on the Wildcats with 31 carries totaling 179 yards.
Hackett was able to keep Hector at bay with some explosive hits and tackles. The pressure the Hornets kept on the Wildcats offense caused Hector to make mistakes. One of those mistakes was throwing the ball in the vicinity of Slavens who snatched a pass for an interception. Another was putting the ball on the ground. When you put the ball on the ground, you can expect Shipman to be there….and like clockwork, he was and gained a fumble recovery. Shipman totaled two turnovers on the night by also getting an interception on Hector. Peyton Hester led the Hornets with nine tackles and two QB sacks. And defenders Avery Hester, Jessie Esparaza, and Mason Oelke showed off their open-field skills by combining for 16 total solo tackles.
The Hornets have three games left in the season. Mountainburg, Lavaca, and JC Westside. Hackett will travel to Mountainburg on October 25 at 7 p.m. and attempt to slay the Dragons in a game that is sure to impress. Slavens adds “The upcoming game against Mountainburg is the one we will really need to buckle down for. They have a clean running game but I know our defense can shut it down. Go Hornets!”
