In the middle of the season, the Lake Hornets were limping into district play with a 1-4 record. And after a loss to Kemper County, the season looked bleak for the Hornets.
But Lake turned the corner and has since won three straight and dominated Nanih Waiya 41-6 on Friday night.
Lake improves to 4-5 on the season and will host Stringer in a non-district contest on Thursday night in the regular-season final. Lake will be the No. 2 seed out of Division 5-2A play and host a first-round playoff game.
“I thought we did a good job of coming out and taking care of business early,” Hanna said. “I was proud of our effort and intensity. I thought we controlled the game in all three phases. Up front, everybody had told me how good they were but I thought we dominated them. Our like is improving every week and has gotten so much better since that first week. If you would have told me when we were 1-4 that we would be the No. 2 seed in the district and playing like this, I would have thought you were nuts. But I think that’s a testament to our players and coaches for never giving up.”
The Hornets got the ball to open the game and struck quickly as Cornelius Mayers raced 47 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Frank Pazos hit the PAT and Lake led 7-0 with 11:44 left in the first quarter.
The Warriors went three and out on their first drive and punted right back to Lake. The Hornets struck quickly again as Brady McGee hit Cameron Hunt on a 57-yard touchdown pass. Pazos’ PAT was good and Lake led 14-0 with 9:44 left in the first quarter.
Lake stopped the Warriors on their next possession with a Jalen Gray interception. But the Hornets were forced to punt after six plays.
Nanih Waiya then put together its best drive of the game as they went 70 yards in 11 plays as Tanner Courtney hit Rico Moore on a 17-yard touchdown pass. The try for two failed and Lake led 14-6 early in the second quarter.
It was all Lake from that point out. The Hornets responded with a five-play, 51-yard drive as McGee hit Gray on a 17-yard touchdown pass. Pazos hit the PAT and Lake led 21-6.
The Warriors responded with a 12-play drive but turned the ball over on downs at the Lake 18. The Hornets then went 82 yards in six plays as Mayers got loose again on a 72-yard touchdown run. Pazos hit the PAT and the Hornets led 28-6.
Mayers found the end zone again before the half as he scooped up a Nanih Waiya fumble and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown right before the half. Pazos PAT failed and Lake led 34-6 at the half.
In the second half, the Warriors turned the ball over on downs on its first two possessions and Lake added its last score on the first play of the fourth quarter as Mayers scored on a 43-yard touchdown run. Pazos hit the PAT and Lake led 41-6.
Mayers had another big game for the Hornets with 163 yards, putting him at 946 yards on the season.
“The thing about Cornelius is that he’s run for 200 yards the last two games and he’s not healthy,” Hanna said. “He still has a hip pointer and is not at full speed. I can’t say enough about him and Brady pushing through some pain. You are going to be banged up at this point of the year. I’m proud of them both for the work they have put in.”
On defense, the Hornets dominated and got a boast when defensive lineman Kalvin Dinkins returned from an early-season injury. Nanih Waiya had 178 yards rushing and 35 passing for 213 yards of total offense.
On defense, Rodarius Nelson led the defense with 5.5 tackles while Kenny Ray Hanna and Miles Johnson each had five tackles apiece. Antavious Robinson had four tackles and three for a loss while Kelon Rhodes had 3.5 tackles.
“It’s the first time since the jamboree that Dinkins has played,” Hanna said. “I was glad to get him back and get him some playing time before the playoffs. Maybe we can get him back rolling. And we’ve got Kenny Ray (Hanna) back and that helps us as well. We had been rotating eight or nine defensive tackles and I think that has helped us. Now with Kalvin back, we are that much more fresh. I like where we are at headed to the playoffs. I think we are getting healthy and gelling at the right time. I’m proud of how we are playing and where we are at right now.”
