By Tom Waddill
MAGNOLIA — Huntsville has discovered a deadly combination of thunder and lightning.
In seniors Shaquille Ross and Justin Gilbert, the Hornets have a 1-2 punch that knocked out another opponent Friday. Ross rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns, while Gilbert ran for 248 yards and two more scores.
Ross and Gilbert even hooked up on a 17-yard touchdown pass to lead the Hornets to a 41-28 victory over Magnolia.
The win was the Hornets’ third in a row and fourth in five District 18-4A games. With Friday’s victory, Huntsville (5-3 overall) closed in on its second consecutive playoff berth, something the Hornets have not done since the 1991 and ’92 seasons when Joe Clements was Huntsville’s head coach.
“We’re close, but I don’t know for a fact that we’re in the playoffs yet,” Hornets head coach Mitchell Coey said. “It depends on what happened in other games tonight.”
That hardly mattered to Coey and his players. They were excited about putting another notch in the win column, one that came with relative ease.
While the speedy and slippery Gilbert hurt the Bulldogs by going zig, zag, zoom, Ross, the bull, went boom, boom, boom.
Huntsville took a 35-14 lead early in the fourth period when Ross banged in from 5 yards out. Magnolia, which dropped to 2-3 in district play and 5-3 on the season, scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but the outcome was never really in doubt.
Running behind the blocking of Jamaal Lenoir, J.R. Venette, Jimmy Spivey, Xavier Briggs and Forbes Baggett, Gilbert and Ross made sure the Bulldogs did not get too close. After Magnolia scored to make it 35-21, Gilbert took off on runs of 13 and 32 yards. The future Oklahoma State Cowboy hurdled a Bulldog defender standing straight up on one play.
Ross capped the quick 90-yard drive with a nifty 16-yard TD run.
“With me at quarterback and Shaq at running back, it’s hard for a defense to focus on one of us,” Gilbert said. “We’re a pretty dangerous duo. Plus, we’ve got some good receivers in Mark (Wheeler), Gabe (Franklin) and Tre (Byrd). (Ross) Nesselrode made a couple of good catches tonight, too.”
In addition to his 248 yards on 14 carries, Gilbert completed 10-of-17 passes for 165 yards with no interceptions.
Franklin caught four passes for 78 yards, Nesselrode snagged two throws for 38 yards, while Byrd and Wheeler caught one pass apiece. Ross cashed in on that part of the game, too. He caught two passes for 51 yards.
For the first time since beating Caney Creek in the district opener, the Hornets did not turn the ball over.
“We’re starting to play consistently,” Coey said. “We’re not getting hit with a whole lot of penalties like early in the season, plus we’re starting to take care of the football.
“Everything is starting to come together. We’re playing well together — each week we get a little better.”
Gilbert, who put his name in the Huntsville High School record book Friday with the sixth-best single-game rushing performance, said he’s feeling much more comfortable leading the Hornet offense.
“I have a lot more confidence in my line right now,” Gilbert said. “They’ve gotten a lot better at blocking, staying on their blocks and doing what our coaches are asking them to do.”
Venette said it took some time to learn the blocking schemes in the Hornets’ new spread offense, but the players have made steady progress that is starting to pay big dividends.
“We’re moving as one instead of individuals now,” Venette said. “Tonight, we played against two really good defensive tackles and we shut them down.”
Venette said it’s fun blocking for play-makers like Gilbert and Ross.
“It’s a sight to see J. Gil,” Venette said. “He makes amazing cuts, then leaps over a guy. That definitely motivates you. When he makes plays like that, it makes you want to make plays.”
The Hornets head back to Magnolia next week to take on the Mustangs of Magnolia West.
