Published: October 05, 2008 01:06 am            

Meet the new boss

Determined to end a long drought, the Hornets went to Brenham on Friday with fire in their eyes. They came back home with a target on their backs.

Who would have thought the Hornets could go on the road and hold Brenham to 20 yards rushing?

Who here believed Huntsville’s defense, which had been shaky at best in two previous outings, could so thoroughly dominate a young, but talented Brenham team?

Who had the Hornets winning the turnover battle, four to one?

Who picked Huntsville to win 21-0 in the just-for-fun $1 office pool?

As optimistic as some of us are, no one could have reasonably expected all of the above to happen. But on Friday night at Cub Stadium, all of it did happen.

Huntsville simply outplayed Brenham on both sides of the ball. The Hornets wanted a win more than the Cubs. The guys in the forest green and white played like a team on a mission.

Constantly, the Hornets chased and caught Cubs quarterback Ty Schlottmann, dishing out punishment nearly every time they got ahold of the youthful sophomore. From the first time the Cubs touched the ball to the last play of the game, the Hornets raced all over the field with fire in their eyes.

On Brenham’s first possession, Huntsville linemen Marqueil Kizzee and Adam Ayala tackled senior quarterback Kendrell Washington behind the line of scrimmage for a 2-yard loss. Ayala batted down a pass on the next play, then Brenham’s Terrell Reese dropped a Schlottmann throw on third-and-long.

More than two hours later, the Hornets were still flying to the football, still making plays.

For the first time since Huntsville’s district-championship season of 2000, it was the Hornets controlling the lines of scrimmage, forcing the Cubs to make mistakes and dictating the pace of play.

“I really believe we were a little intimidated by them offensively,” Cubs coach Glen West told the Brenham Banner-Press. “The size of their players and how they were playing, I think it intimidated us to some extent because we turned the ball over and didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”

West said his team buckled to the constant pressure applied by the Hornets. The Cubs also made errors that were out of character for the four-time defending champs of District 18-4A.

“What hurt us offensively was us,” West explained. “From having a 20- or 30-yard run called back on our first series to dropping passes when we’re open to turning the ball over. (The Hornets) did a good job, but we sure helped them out and made life easier on them.

“They were big and physical,” West added, “and they have as good-looking of kids as I’ve seen them have defensively.”

Still beaming 20 minutes after the Hornets put the final wrap on Friday’s win, Huntsville coach Mitchell Coey said he had been waiting for his defense to play up to its potential. Against College Park in the season opener back on Sept. 6, the Hornets were eaten alive by the Cavaliers’ option offense. Quarterback Taylor Parsons rushed for 249 yards by himself, and the Cavaliers totaled 442 yards of offense — 416 on the ground.

After two games were canceled by Hurricane Ike, Huntsville gave an improved performance in the district opener, but Caney Creek still rushed for 236 yards. Fortunately, Hornets quarterback Justin Gilbert threw for 118 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 55 more in a 21-19 Huntsville victory.

Friday in Brenham, the Hornets played with a fury rarely seen by high school teams. They kept a wrap on running back Keith Sanders (25 yards on seven carries) and dared the Cubs to throw the ball. Schlottmann actually did a decent job, but as West said, his receivers dropped a couple of balls and the Hornets took care of the rest.

With helmet-turning hits, Kevin Butcher and James Davidson broke up a couple of passes. Ayala and fellow defensive end Kirby Ennis combined to bat down three throws. Shaquille Ross, Marcus Williams, Kizzee and Ayala sacked Schlottman three times. Brys Baggett, Ayala and Kizzee recovered one fumble apiece.

For good measure, the Hornets threw in a couple of Saturday-morning stingers, tackles which still smart the next day. Davidson had one on running back Russell Sinegal as the Cubs running back was attempting to catch a long pass early in the third quarter. Sinegal had the ball in his hands for a second, then Davidson lowered the boom.

Two plays earlier, Ennis body slammed Washington as he rolled to his left on an ill-advised option play. It was Davidson who turned the play inside, right where Ennis was waiting.

“I thought that defense would be the strength of this team at the beginning of the season,” Coey said, the snicker of an old linebacker getting the best of him.

“Tonight they jelled together. I don’t know how much better they can get, but hopefully they’ll just continue to improve.”

        

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