Hornets win in a blowout at Ohio County
The Hornets racked up 540 yards of offense during a 50-7 blowout win over Ohio County at Hartford Friday. Hancock County remains unbeaten at 3-0 on the season.
“It took us a little while to get it figured out but once we got it going the kids really buckled down,” Hornet coach Bobby Eubanks said. “We had five different players score touchdowns and the biggest thing is how well our offensive line is playing. Defensively, we played really well, too. We were pleased overall with the effort.”
Hornets fullback Logan Willis had another huge night, eclipsing the 200 yard rushing mark for the game. The junior delivered the first blow when he scored on a 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Kaleb Keown scored on a conversion run and HCHS led 8-0.
Quarterback Cole Dixon put the Hornets ahead 14-0 when he scored on a 2-yard TD run before Ohio County got on the scoreboard. The Eagles completed a 54-yard pass to the end zone to pull with seven points (14-7).
The Hornets went to the air on their next scoring drive and Dixon connected with Kaleb Keown for a 26-yard TD. Aiden Weatherholt added the conversion and Hancock County led 22-7 at halftime.
Second half
Senior Noah Mize was the next Hornet to score when he crossed the goal line after a 15 yard run. The TD and conversion by Weatherholt left HCHS leading 30-7. Later, Willis reached paydirt for the second time when he scored from 11 yards out.
A perfect pass and catch resulted in a 47-yard TD reception as Dixon connected with Austin Volocko for the score late in the third quarter. Weatherholt ran in his third 2-point conversion of the game to make the score 44-7.
The final score of the night was a 34-yard TD run by Weatherholt that gave Hancock County its highest offensive total of the season.
Willis rushed for 218 yards on 27 carries, both career highs, and Dixon gained 120 yards on 10 attempts. Mize ran four times for 58 yards, Weatherholt had 31 yards on three runs, and Alex Basham had four carries for 20 yards.
Dixon completed 5 of 8 pass attempts for 93 yards with two TDs and two INTs. Volocko had two catches for 55 yards and Keown caught three for 38 yards.
Basham led the defense with eight total tackles, a fumble recovery and two QB sacks. Weatherholt was just as impressive with eight stops, one sack and one TFL, and Braydon Wathen had eight tackles (one TFL). Keown had eight tackles, Christian Richards had seven and one TFL. Jack Duncan and Volocko had five stops each, Landyn Emmick made four tackles, Mize had three, Evan Ferry two, Aiden Embry had one TFL, and JT Richards, Jake Frames, Jaxson Morris and Colin Johnson all made one stop each. Volocko had two pass break up, while Mize, Johnson and Weatherholt all had one each.
Next game
The Hornets go on the road to Brownsville Friday for a game with Edmonson County. The Wildcats are winless at 0-3 on the season, but two of their losses were due to Covid cancellations.
“They’re a tough team, they always are,” Eubanks said of his next opponent. “Ed Smart, who coached at Grayson County for years and years, is now their new head coach. We expect to face a well coached team so we’ll have to make the long bus ride and be ready to play.”
By Steve Wimmer
