Athens gets tripped up by Henderson, 58-41
On a night when the two teams combined for nearly 100 points, Henderson's ability to strike quickly was something Athens couldn't overcome as the Hornets fell to the Lions, 58-41.
The loss drops Athens to 4-2, 0-2 on the season while Henderson improved to 4-1, 1-0.
Henderson brought a big-play offense into Bruce Field that kept the Lions always just out of reach Friday night. The Lions had seven scoring drives of five plays or less and recorded a defensive touchdown on a 36-yard fumble return.
Henderson's efforts were helped by a huge advantage in field position. The average starting spot for the Lions' drives was their own 44. They started six of their 10 possessions past their own 40 yard line.
The Hornets' average starting spot, on the other hand, was their own 28. Athens had one drive start past their own 40 yard line.
Even with the disadvantage in field position, the Hornets stayed after the Lions all night. Athens had three scoring drives of 10-plus plays.
The Hornets also never gave up as evidenced by their 14-point outburst in 1:51 of the fourth quarter to cut the Henderson lead to 10 points.
The sequence started with Ty Arroyo finishing off a 64-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 6:27 left in the game. Playing catchup, the Hornets went for two but failed, leaving Henderson with a 51-33 lead.
Athens followed that by recovering an onside kick. The Hornets used a unique formation with all the players between the hash marks on the kick. Hornet kicker Anthony Ariciaga made the recovery.
Five plays later Arroyo scored again, this time on a 5-yard run. The drive was sparked by a 41-yard screen play from Arroyo to Jecorey Roberts. Arroyo then hit Jorien Ray for a 2-pt conversion to cut the Lions' lead to 51-41 with 4:36 left in the game.
Athens, however, couldn't recover a second onside kick.
The Hornets will be off next week. They will return to the field in Lindale on Friday, Oct. 15.
DID YOU NOTICE
-- The Hornets were led by quarterback Ty Arroyo, who looked to run the ball more Friday night than at any other time this season. The strategy worked with Arroyo rushing 26 times for 113 yards and four touchdowns.
-- The Lions like to blitz and twice the Hornets caught them with screens to Jecorey Roberts, who went for 39 and 41 yards on those two plays. He also added 58 yards rushing.
-- It was a big night for sophomore WR Jorien Ray, who caught six passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a 2-point conversion. Ray's touchdown went for 73 yards when the speedster got behind the Henderson defense.
-- This week, Coach Harrell said turnovers would be a key and he was right. For the second straight week, Athens lost the turnover battle and lost the game.
-- The Hornets pounded the Lions with their rushing attack and that doesn't happen without a lot of blocking. Give credit to the offensive line: John Hayes, Slade Haresnape, Dillon Normandin, Manuel Blancas, and Ivan Pinedo did a good job against a talented defensive front. Add Grant Yudizky, who often lined up as a blocking H-back, to that group.
-- The Hornets faced 4th-and-short on two of their scoring drives. Athens converted both with the same play, a QB run with Grant Yudizky and Jecorey Roberts lining up just behind the right side of the offensive line. It worked like a charm. Coach Harrell challenged his players to be physical this week and they were.
-- Give hustle points to Slade Haresnape for recovering a fumble deep in Athens territory for the Hornets to keep possession. Those plays don't always make it into stories, but they are huge.
-- The Hornets' last play of the game was a hook-and-lateral that actually connected, but unfortunately didn't get enough yardage for a first down. Ty Arroyo threw to Grant Yudizky, who flipped it back to Daniel Stanley.
-- Athens' first touchdown came on a trick play with Ty Arroyo throwing a lateral to Grant Yudizky, who then hit a wide-open Jermarius Moore for a 51-yard score.
SCORING SUMMARY
HENDERSON (1Q 9:34): Jacobe Robinson 31-yard pass to Tobaius Jackson. Julian Garza kick good. -- 7-0
ATHENS (1Q 5:37): Grant Yudizky 51-yard pass to Jermarius Moore. Zsaid Inestroza kick good. -- 7-7
HENDERSON (1Q 4:31): Jacobe Robinson 64-yard pass to Jamal Robinson. Julian Garza kick. -- 14-7
HENDERSON (2Q 7:02): Jacobe Robinson 20-yard pass to Deuce Davis. Julian Garza Kick. -- 21-7
ATHENS (2Q 0:39): Ty Arroyo 2-yard run. Zsaid Inestroza kick good. -- 21-14
HENDERSON (2Q 0:00): Julian Garza 36 yard field goal. -- 24-14
ATHENS (3Q 7:30): Ty Arroyo 8-yard run. Zsaid Inestroza kick good. -- 24-21
HENDERSON (3Q 6:24): Ya'corus Porter 33-yard run. Julian Garza kick. -- 31-21
HENDERSON (3Q 2:57): Kaleb Tate 36-yard fumble return. Julian Garza kick. -- 38-21
ATHENS (3Q 2:00): Ty Arroyo 73-yard pass to Jorien Ray. Kick blocked. -- 38-27
HENDERSON (4Q 11:53): Jacobe Robinson 5 run. Kick no good. -- 44-27
HENDERSON (4Q 8:59): Jacobe Robinson 22-yard pass to Ya'corus Porter. Julian Garza kick good. -- 51-27
ATHENS (4Q 6:27): Ty Arroyo 2-yard run. 2pt attempt n/g. -- 51-33
ATHENS (4Q 4:36): Ty Arroyo 5-yard run. Arroyo pass to Jorien Ray good. -- 51-41
HENDERSON (4Q 2:43): Ya'corus Porter 5-yard run. Julian Garza kick. 58-41
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