Observations from the Hornets' win over Brownsboro
(Photo by Toby Rhodes. You can see, or purchase, more photose from Toby at https://tgrsportsphotography.pixieset.com.)
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The Athens Hornets opened up the 2020 season in fine fashion Friday night with a 42-28 win over Brownsboro, keeping the Highway 31 Championship trophy.
Here are some things I saw that didn’t make the game story last night.
-- New unis! The Hornets unveiled black uniforms with silver trim with SWARM spelled out down the leg. I heard the team loved the new uniforms. Apparently, they didn’t get to see them until Friday morning when they were surprised by Nathan Sims modeling the new look.
-- Freshman Gage Friedrich came up with a pair of vitally important plays. In the third quarter, with Athens driving, the Hornets fumbled along the left sideline. Friedrich jumped on the ball to retain possession and Athens finished the drive with a touchdown. Later in the quarter, he recovered an onside kick. That is a great nose for the football, young man.
-- During our podcast last week, Coach Zac Harrell said he was excited about what Special Teams Coach Chayse Rives was bringing to the Hornets. It showed up on the field Friday night. The Hornets downed two punts at the Brownsboro 1 yard line, recovered three onside kicks by Brownsboro, and allowed just 19 yards in kick returns. The Hornets also stopped a fake punt attempt. In addition, Cesar Martinez hit all six of his extra points. The kicking game heavily favored Athens and it was an important part of the win.
-- While we’re talking about special teams, did you see that reception by Cedric Lowe on Brownsboro’s first punt? Coach Harrell said it was important for the Hornets to make sure they didn’t drop any kicks and Lowe did a great job to make that happen.
-- Talk about quick strike offense. Five of the Hornets’ six scoring drives were of five plays or less, including scoring drives of one-play, one-play, and two-plays.
-- I’ve already written plenty about Ty Arroyo’s debut as the Hornets’ quarterback, but let’s add his official stat line: 11 carries, 160 yards, 4 TDs rushing ... 7/12 Passing, 56 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. He also had two punts (50.5 yard average) that were both downed inside the 1 yard line and two touchbacks on kickoffs.
-- The other player that stood out was Connor Clay on defense. His official stat line included: 15 tackles (3 assists) and 1 fumble recovery.
-- I was lucky enough to be in the press box with the father-son team of Tim and TJ Howard as they called the game for KLVQ. It was the first time they called a game together and it was pretty cool to listen to TJ try and remember to say “Tim” instead of “Dad.”
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