After a blowout win against Sebastopol last week, Lake football coach Hanna thought his football team had taken several steps forward.
But then the Hornets took several steps back on Friday night against Pelahatchie.
The Chiefs took the early lead and never trailed as they took a dominant 33-7 win over the Hornets, spoiling homecoming ceremonies.
Hanna wasn’t pleased with what he saw on Friday night.
“We played about as poorly as we have played in any game since I have been here,” Hanna said. “We made mistake after mistake. I didn’t think we did anything good. I thought a couple of guys played hard but I thought we were just going through the motions. I told them I don’t mind getting beat by a team that’s a lot better than us if we play with effort. I can deal with a lot of things if we are giving effort. But we didn’t play with a lot of effort and that’s disappointing. The bottom line is I thought we laid an egg.”
The Hornets went three and out on their first series and Pelahatchie wasted little time finding the end zone. The Chiefs went 71 yards on their first play from scrimmage and scored on a 3-yard run to take a 7-0 lead.
Lake then turned the ball over on downs on the next possession and the Chiefs scored on a 43-yard touchdown pass to take a 13-0 lead.
“They just big played us to death,” Hanna said. “The quarterback is a really good athlete but I thought we matched up fine with them elsewhere. That first play, we had seen that on film and scouted that and should have been prepared for it but the linebacker lined up on the wrong side. We came out flat and they hit some big plays on us and then we just shut it down. I think Pelahatchie just wanted it more.”
The Chiefs took a 13-0 lead into the second quarter and again used the big play to find the end zone, this time on a 63-yard run to take a 19-0 lead. The last score came on a fumble recovery in the end zone late in the half to give the Chiefs a 27-0 halftime lead.
Lake’s only score came early in the fourth quarter as they went 48 yards in four plays as Cornelius Mayers scored on a 9-yard touchdown run. Frank Pazos hit the PAT and Lake trailed 27-7.
“The bad thing is I thought this was a game we had a chance to win,” Hanna said. “I think if we play them with a different attitude, it’s a different game. But if you are having to coach effort, you are behind. I could look at us in pre-game and tell that we were flat. I just don’t feel like everybody gave their best and the outcome reflected that.”
The Hornets had 189 yards rushing and 45 passing for 234 yards of total offense. Brady McGee had 99 yards rushing on 19 carries while Mayers had 90 yards rushing on 17 carries. Magee was 9-of-20 passing for 45 yards.
