When most people go on a two-week hiatus, it usually takes a little time to get their feet back under them and get warmed up. But not the Hackett Sr High Hornets. It seems their time off made them stronger and faster than ever. On Friday, October 2, the Sr Hornets stepped into their first conference game of the season when they took on the Golden Arrows at Lavaca. With two clear adversaries already identified in being off for two weeks AND having to play on someone else’s field, it would seem like any other team would crumble under the pressure. Hackett and Lavaca are no strangers to each other as they competed together in the 2A and are now the newbies in 3A football.
The Hornets and the Arrows flew head-on with each other as they both tried to take control of the first half of the battle. With a halftime score of 14-13 Hackett, it looked to be anybody’s game. But coming back into the second half of the contest, the Hornets took flight as the Arrows remained grounded. The game ended with a final score of 40-13 putting Hackett at 1-0 in conference play. “We are really proud of our athletes for how well they have played early in the season. Especially coming off two weeks and having a short week. To get a win in conference play was good for our momentum for the rest of the season,” stated coach, Michael Meador.
QB, Ethan Slavens finished with 16/27 passes for 328, 5 TDS, and 2 INT. Westin winters made 20 carries for 165 and 1 TD. Peyton Hester snagged 6 catches for 136 yards and 1 TD. Cogan Hester grabbed 3 catches for 123 and 3 TDs. Zayden Dennis earned 1 catch for 17 yards and 1 TD. Peyton Hester got 9 solo tackles, 3 assists, and 1 sack. Weston Winters earned 9 solo tackles and 2 assists. Fischer Shipman picked up 4 solos and 4 assists. Jesse Esparza made 6 solos, 1 assist, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. Mason Oelke got 8 solos and 1 pancake. And Isaiah Carter and Luke Gann had one pancake each.
In their next conference game, the Hornets will host the 0-1 Cedarville Pirates on October 9. “Cedarville is going to be a very tough team to beat. They are well-coached. They play extremely hard and their offense can hurt you in many different ways. They run the football very well and we have to do a good job of slowing down their run game. They threw the ball around a couple of times and hit some big plays against Charleston. They will be tough to stop with how balanced they are. We have to continue to improve on tackling and executing our assignment. We have not played a complete game with both sides of the ball clicking. Should be a fun football game and we are looking forward to it!”
Photos courtesy of Mandy Foster
