Published: August 30, 2008 02:36 am            

Preseason setback

Hornets return to earth after 3-2 loss to Livingston

The Hornets looked like a different team for much of Friday’s final preseason scrimmage.

The squad that outscored Class 5A Conroe three touchdowns to one last week disappeared Friday and dropped a 3-2 decision to Livingston at Bowers Stadium.

After meeting on the field with head coach Mitchell Coey, the Hornets didn’t look like the same team either. Last week, the Hornets sprinted off the Moorhead Stadium turf. On Friday, heads were hanging, spirits were low and many of the feet were moving slowly.

“I think we were still thinking about last Friday when we got out here today,” Coey said. “We forgot we had a new opponent tonight. Livingston’s got a good team. We didn’t look too good early, but we did some good things during the two live quarters. We started moving the ball and we started making some plays defensively.”

During the early part of the scrimmage, the Hornets did not move the ball. Huntsville netted only 22 yards in 12 plays with its first-team offense going against the Lions’ top defense.

Livingston then advanced the ball 39 yards in eight plays before being held on downs. After starting another drive on their own 30, the Lions hit a 60-yard pass with senior quarterback Dustin Harris finding a receiver behind cornerback Howard Brown. Three plays later, Livingston scored on a 1-yard plunge.

Huntsville’s second-team offense picked up only one first down in 10 plays. Backup quarterback George Perry hit James Davidson for a 10-yard gain, but that was all the Hornets could manage against Livingston’s second defensive unit.

Like the first-teamers, the Lions’ second offense moved the ball effectively during its 10-play possession. Two consecutive completions pushed the ball into Huntsville territory, then Livingston used the run to get into the red zone.

Finally, the Hornets buckled down defensively. Three plays netted the Lions only two yards. On fourth-and-8 from the 14, cornerback Dijon Henderson kept the Lions from adding to their lead when he put blanket coverage on the Lions’ intended receiver.

After a short kicking-game segment, the Hornets picked up the pace considerably during two live periods. Everyone on the Huntsville sideline came to life when junior Shaquille Ross spun out of a tackle and raced 43 yards down the left sideline. Unfortunately that drive stalled at the Lions’ 26 and ended when the Hornets came up just short on a 45-yard field goal attempt.

Harris, Livingston’s talented quarterback who led the Lions to a 41-28 victory over Huntsville last fall, took over and engineered a quick 63-yard scoring drive that took only six plays. Livingston burned the Hornets with another long pass. This time, linebacker Anthony Griffin tried to intercept Harris’ pass, but the ball sailed over Griffin, into a receiver’s hands. On the next play, Livingston punched it in from a yard out to take a 2-0 lead in the scrimmage.

Huntsville answered with a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive.

Starting quarterback Justin Gilbert completed three passes in a row, one for 18 yards to Brown, another to Perry for 9, and the third to Brown again for 43 more to set up the Hornets’ first touchdown.

Ross got stuffed for a no gain on first down from the 4-yard line. Huntsville offensive coordinator Jason Jamison called Ross’ number again on second down. This time, the burly, bowling-ball-type back would not be denied. He pounded the ball over for a touchdown.

Martin Juarez booted a successful point-after kick to make it 7-7 in the live portion of the scrimmage.

Gilbert shined during the two live periods. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 110 yards and ran for 19 yards on three carries.

Following Ross’ score, Huntsville got the ball back when James Davidson made a big play. On third-and-13, the Lions tried to throw the deep ball again. Davidson was waiting. He timed the pass perfectly, leaped and came down with it.

The Hornets then zoomed downfield, moving 61 yards in seven plays. Gilbert, who mixed three more completions with a nifty 15-yard run, hit junior Ross Nesselrode with a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring drive.

This time, the Hornet missed the extra point.

Livingston responded by going 70 yards in 11 plays. The Lions picked up a clutch first down on fourth-and-4 when one of their receivers ran his way out of a tackle to pick up 12 yards. Three plays later, the Lions scored on a 4-yard run. They kicked the extra point with 34 seconds remaining, then celebrated their “victory” over the Hornets.

“We came out slow, that’s for sure,” Nesselrode said. “We’ve got some little things we’ve got to correct, but we’re definitely growing. I guess we were living off that Conroe scrimmage. We need to fix the mistakes we made tonight and get our heads on right before next week.”

The Hornets open the 2008 season next Saturday at College Park.

Coey said he wants to see the Hornets who dominated Conroe and the team that quickly scored two touchdowns Friday, not the one that failed to move the ball and gave up three preventable scores to a talented Livingston squad.

“We’ve got the potential to be pretty good, but we’ve got to stop living in the past,” the coach said. “We can’t be thinking about our last opponent.

“Tonight, we got to look at a lot of kids. There were some kids that we didn’t get a chance to look at, but we’ll sort it all out and put the guys out there we think we can win with.”

        

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