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November 3, 2009

UPON FURTHER REVIEW: Palestine at Athens

By Jayson Larson Sports Editor

A look back at Athens’ game against Palestine last Friday:

3 Key Plays

• Let’s do a two-for-one here on a huge defensive series for the Hornets. Palestine scored with 9:20 left in the game to cut Athens’ lead to an unsettling eight points and then got the ball back after a three-and-out by the Hornets. On second-and-17, Palestine tried a deep pass over the middle on which Kendall Sanders jumped and made a great deflection. On third down, the Hornets put heavy pressure on Wildcat quarterback Olin Terry and Desmond Bowie sacked him a forced a fumble recovered by Matt Jordan at the Palestine 7. Xavier Harris scored on a rushing touchdown on the next play to push the lead to 15. Bowie also had an interception earlier in the game.

• After Harris’ touchdown run, senior defensive back Tacameo Barker put an exclamation point on the victory by intercepting an Olin Terry pass at the Athens goal line with five minutes left. That allowed the Hornets to run out the clock and seal the upset — and playoff clinching — win.

• Sanders deserves a mention once more here. After Palestine was unable to get into the end zone on its first drive, the Wildcats lined up for a 22-yard field goal attempt. Sanders blocked it (his third blocked field goal of the year) to keep the Wildcats off the board.

Athens responded by driving 62 yards on 15 plays, ending with Zabdiel Mota’s 19-yard field goal that gave the Hornets the first lead of the game.



Points to ponder ...

• The Hornets put the first points on the board thanks to Mota’s 19-yard field goal near the end of the first quarter. It marked the third time this season the Hornets have scored first; they are 2-1 in those games. It also marked the second time this season a Mota field goal was the first score of the game.

• You could certainly make a case for wide receiver Courtney Whitehead being the team’s offensive MVP (41 catches, 569 yards, five TDs), but you’d be hard pressed not to consider the contributions of Justin Hofstetter. “Hof” logged his second 100-yard rushing game in district play (and had 97 in another game). Since district began, he has scored three rushing touchdowns, a defensive touchdown and had a safety.



Thanks for the memories

• Friday Night was Senior Night and the last home game for 18 players on the football team: Randall Gamble; Jack Barkley; Carson Hutson; Shabrodwick Hill; Tyler Yarbrough; Sammy Garza; Josh Coleman; Cody Walker; James Marshall; A.T. Cumby; Felipe Robles; Dillen Wenberg; Shawn MacAvoy; Ryan Kramer; Tacameo Barker; Tre’ Prosper; Jonathon Dora and Matt Jordan.



Play of the Night

• Barkley hit Whitehead on a 33-yard pass — on which the junior receiver had to leap and pull down the ball in double coverage — on a late second quarter drive. That drive culminated with Barkley’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Gamble for the go-ahead score, 10-7. The Hornets never trailed after that.

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