By Tom Waddill
How about those Huntsville Hornets? It looks like they can do more than just play defense.
On Friday night in an 18-15 win over Montgomery, the Hornets established an effective ground game, they threw the ball well when necessary, they never stubbed their toes with untimely penalties and with one exception, they stayed away from costly turnovers.
The end result was an impressive victory over a young and talented Montgomery team.
The Hornets. who improved to 3-1 in District 18-4A play and 4-3 overall, threw a few new wrinkles into their offensive game plan. They ran the speed option several times, and it worked well more often than not. Huntsville quarterback Justin Gilbert also fired quick passes to his speedy receivers and let them use their feet to make plays.
Huntsville, which now sits alone in second place in 18-4A, compiled 316 total yards against a Montgomery defense that had allowed an average of 229 yards per game and was ranked second in the district going into Friday’s game.
With bruising back Shaquille Ross and Gilbert leading the way, the Hornets finished with 180 yards on the ground. Gilbert also threw for 136 yards, completing 8-of-16 passes with no interceptions. The good-hands man, senior Trevion Byrd, snagged six of Gilbert’s throws for 121 yards.
Ross, who was on the field for nearly every snap Friday, rushed 11 times for 67 yards. Gilbert added 60 yards on 24 carries and little Mark Wheeler tossed in 41 yards on three rushes.
On an option play in the second period, Wheeler took a pitch from Gilbert, made a couple of slick moves then cut back to the middle of the field. Wheeler raced 36 yards to the end zone and put the Hornets on top to stay.
Defensively, Ross picked off a pass early in the second half and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.
“That interception set the tone,” coach Mitchell Coey said before heading to a happy Huntsville locker room.
Ross also put on his hard hat and led the construction crew that built a brick wall in front of the Huntsville goal line midway through the fourth quarter. The Hornets did not budge when Bears running back Leroy Dobbins tried on four consecutive occasions to score from inside the Huntsville 7-yard line.
On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Dobbins took a handoff from quarterback Tyler Bolfing and ran right into Ross. Quickly, Ross got a lot of help from his teammates, who kept the district’s leading running back out of the end zone.
“Jiminy Cricket, we do one of those every year,” Coey said of the Hornets’ impressive goal-line stand that looked a lot like the one that helped Huntsville hold onto a win against Waller last fall.
“Those guys gave me everything they’ve got,” the ecstatic coach continued. “They ran until they didn’t have any more, then we told them to take a break and get back in there.”
After losing to Brenham two weeks ago, the Hornets have bounced back like champs. Coey’s bunch blanked Waller 21-0, then by playing a near error-free game, the Hornets picked up a thrilling victory over Montgomery.
If they continue to improve and stay away from turnovers and penalties, the Hornets are going to be hard to beat come playoff time.
What about basketball? — R.V. Baugus, the editor and publisher of TexPreps Basketball magazine, says the Hornets and Lady Hornets are both playoff-bound in the season that tips off in a few short weeks.
The Huntsville boys, according to the writers who put together the slick TexPreps Basketball publication, won’t win their fourth consecutive district title, but they will finish second in 18-4A behind Brenham.
The Hornets went 14-0 in district play last year, but TexPreps thinks the Cubs and coach Bruce King have enough firepower to unseat the three-time champs of 18-4A.
“Brenham advanced to the regional quarterfinals against Livingston,” TexPreps says. “Four starters return, along with six lettermen. (The) Cubs are very quick and athletic.”
Huntsville coach Larry Carlson says the Hornets are quick and athletic, too. They have guards Jeremy LaDay and Marvin Dunbar back, along with forward Justin Gilbert. The magazine mentions a few newcomers who Carlson is counting on to help his team in 2009-10.
“Huntsville advanced to the regional semifinals against Houston Jones in Coach Carlson’s first year,” the magazine says. “(The) Hornets graduated a staggering 11 seniors, but returned three major components in LaDay, Dunbar and Gilbert, in addition to up-and-coming post man (Jason) Nwisienyi and versatile guard (James) Driscoll.
“This team should again compete for the district championship, but may be a little thinner in depth,” TexPreps adds. “(Matt) Marlin, (Ross) Nesselrode, (Kervin) Simmons and (Michael) Murray will see playing time as well. Another deep run in the playoffs is within reach for Huntsville if the football players on the team don’t suffer injury.”
Surprisingly, the Lady Hornets are picked to finish first in District 18-4A. Rookie head coach Jay Oliphant takes over a Huntsville team that went 18-13 overall and 10-4 in district play last season.
The Huntsville girls were picked ahead of Willis, which went 30-6 and 14-0 in district last season. TexPreps likes the Lady Wildkats to finish second and Magnolia to take third.
Oliphant inherits a nice nucleus of players, including 6-foot post Ronisha Major and guards Shonecra James and Tayler Gray.
“Major and James were first-team all-district stars,” TexPreps says. “Major was also named TABC (Texas Association of Basketball Coaches) all-region, while James was the district co-newcomer of the year. (Ceidra) Coleman was an honorable mention (all-district) selection.”
