The Lake Hornets were right where they wanted to be against 2A contender Kemper County on Friday night.
But a few key mistakes cost the Hornets and the Wildcats took a 32-21 win over the Hornets on Friday night at East Mississippi Community College.
Lake falls to 1-5 on the season and will host Newton on Thursday night in a 5-2A contest.
Despite the loss, it was the Hornets best efforts of the season.
“I told the kids that I was proud of the effort,” Hanna said. “The biggest problem was three or four plays. We had too many costly mistakes. The game was ours to win and we just didn’t execute well enough to win. They were the No. 2 team in Class 2A coming in and I thought we gave them all they wanted. We’ve got to figure out how to get off the field on third down.”
The two teams swapped punt to start the game and the first big play came from the Hornets when Cornelius Mayers blocked a Kemper punt and returned it for a touchdown with 6:09 left in the first quarter. Frank Pazos kicked the PAT and Lake led 7-0 early.
The Wildcats responded with a 13-play, 69-yard drive and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak late in the first quarter. The PAT failed and Lake held a slim 7-6 lead.
The Wildcats took the lead midway through the second quarter when they scored on a 50-yard pass and converted the two-point try to take a 14-7 lead.
The Hornets responded as they went 66 yards in four plays. Brady McGee ripped off a 50-yard run and Mayers scored on a 10-yard run. The PAT failed and Kemper held a 14-13 lead at the half.
“We gave up some big plays on defense,” Hanna said. “We have to get off the field on third down. We didn’t do it all night and it cost us. We had some costly plays. Like the 50-yard touchdown they scored, it was a simple out route on third down and we were there to make the tackle and the guy breaks five or six tackles and goes scores. We just have to tackle the guy and get them off the field.”
The Hornets got the ball to start the second half and put together a 13-play drive and drove inside the Kemper 20 before McGee threw an interception.
Kemper extended its lead early in the fourth as they scored on a 45-yard pass to go up 20-13.
Lake then responded with a five-play, 69-yard drive as Mayers scored on a 46-yard run. McGee ran in the two-point conversion and Lake took a 21-20 lead.
Kemper quickly went down the field in three plays and scored on a 2-yard run to retake the lead at 26-21.
Lake responded as McGee broke through the defense on a 68-yard run to the Kemper 2. But McGee’s helmet came off and he had to leave the game. The Hornets then fumbled on the next play to give Kemper back the ball.
The Wildcats then went 95 yards in five plays and scored on a 32-yard touchdown pass to go up 32-21.
“Right now, luck is just not going our way,” Hanna said. “At some point though, you have to make your own luck. At the end of the day, we are still playing hard. We just have to clean up those mental mistakes. We still have a good chance to be right there in our district.”
The Hornets had 310 yard rushing as McGee had 210 yards on 20 carries while Mayers had 100 yards on 19 carries.
Kelon Rhodes led the defense with seven tackles while Mayers had five tackles and three tackles for loss. Cameron Hunt also had five tackles while Demetrius Towner had 4.5 tackles. Rodarius Nelson and McGee each had four tackles apiece.
