Everyone hears of things that sound odd now and then. Things like pickle-flavored ice cream or clean politics. But there was one even weirder combo last Thursday night. The Hackett Jr Hornets versus the Waldron Jr Bulldogs. You may have heard of this oddity a few years ago in little league, but Jr High? Well sometimes we hear of things that do sound odd but they turn out to be really good together. This was that exact case as the Jr Hornets edged out Waldron in overtime 18-12.
The Jr Hornets took to the field for the first time and made sure it counted. Defensively, the Jr Hornets swarmed any Bulldog with the ball and “pounded” them to the ground. Leading this defensive charge in tackles was Dawson Clay who walked away with six impressive tackles. Hot on his heels in the tacking department was Brycen Hamilton and Danny Robinson who executed five tackles each. One of the defensive highlights was when Datyn Clay read the Waldron quarterback like a Dr. Seuss book to snatch an interception. Although Waldron did pull two touchdowns out of their hat, the Jr Hornets held their own very well against the Bulldogs.
Offensively, Hackett earned every yard the hard way. The workhorse they used to plow the field was none other than Cole Ketchum. Ketchum had 8 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown while also passing for 30 yards. Hackett used a pair of F-18 Hornets in Wyatt Hester and Eli Slavens to spread Waldron out. Hester snagged two passes for 27 yards while Slavens pulled in one pass for 30 yards. Leading Hackett’s ground game was Dawson Clay who mowed his way through Waldron’s defense with 13 carries for 36 yards.
Waldron made a late mistake in the game when they kicked the ball to Ketchum who took the ball 72 yards to the house for a touchdown to help spark Hackett’s comeback in the game. With the game all tied up and going into overtime, the Hornets drew up a crafty game plan. Run. The. Ball. That’s exactly what they did too by handing it off to their backfield beast, Clay, who took it in for the big time winning touchdown.
