Published: September 04, 2008 10:20 pm            

Closer and closer

Only one more day before Hornets kick off 2008 season

As patiently as possible, the Hornets waited a week. Now, they have to wait one more day before kicking off the 2008 football season.

On Saturday night in Shenandoah, Huntsville will finally get its season under way. The Hornets clash with the Cavaliers of College Park at the brand-new, $12.6 million Woodforest Bank Stadium starting at 7 p.m.

The Hornets say they’re ready. They’ve been anxious to get started since practice began last month.

“We should be ready. Everybody seems to be focused and everything,” senior receiver Howard Brown said Thursday.

Cornerback Kevin Butcher added, “This is exciting. We’ve just got to get all the first-game jitters out, go out and have fun. We’re just going to do what we’ve been practicing for the last few weeks.”

Against College Park, the Hornets have to be sharp if they want to keep the game close and possibly upset a large Class 5A school that has advanced to the playoffs in its only two seasons of varsity action.

Last fall, the Cavaliers rolled to a 37-0 halftime lead and walked off the Bowers Stadium turf with a 45-7 victory over Huntsville. A year earlier, College Park, in its first varsity campaign, beat the Hornets 31-12.

It’s true, coach Richard Carson lost 41 lettermen from last year’s team. But Huntsville coach Mitchell Coey said the Hornets will be making a serious mistake if they think the Cavaliers are in some kind of rebuilding cycle.

“They’ve just reloaded. On film, it looks like they’ve got a lot of athletes down there again,” Coey said. “They are certainly big and they seem to be as talented as they were last year. They run that dive option stuff pretty good. Their quarterback is pretty athletic and he handles the offense pretty well. The offensive line is pretty big, plus their free safety is a big old kid.

“College Park is well coached. It’s going to be a chore for us. We have to be ready to play four quarters.”

The Cavaliers went 9-2 last season and 4-1 in District 15-5A. Carson’s squad finished second behind Lufkin and ahead of Conroe and The Woodlands in the ’07 district race.

Gone from that team are quarterback Josh Parsons, wide receiver Trey Diller, running back D’Jeale Lyons, offensive lineman Troy Balzer and defensive back Travis Keating.

Parsons put it to the Hornets last year, rushing for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He also hit Diller with a 17-yard scoring pass that made it 30-0 early in the second quarter. College Park finished the night with 317 yards on the ground and 74 more through the air.

Last week, the Cavaliers got their season started with an 18-16 come-from-behind win over Kingwood at Reliant Stadium. Fullback Adrian Stewart scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, then Parsons’ little brother, Taylor, capped the Cavaliers’ game-winning drive with a 2-yard scoring run.

The Hornets have been gearing up in practice to stop Parsons, Stewart and College Park’s option.

“We’ve got to be disciplined,” Butcher said. “Every man has his own responsibility and he has to follow that.”

Coey stressed Thursday the point he’s been making for more than a week.

“We’ve got to play assignment football,” the coach said. “Everybody on our defense has got a part to do. If we do that, we’ll be all right.

“We need to create some turnovers. Anytime you pitch the ball backward, bad things can happen. Hopefully, we can make some of those bad things happen to them for a change.”

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.