Huntland's Evan Keller prepares to throw the ball during a scrimmage Friday against Richland High School. Keller had a passing touchdown in the 24-18 loss.
Huntland's Evan Keller prepares to throw the ball during a scrimmage Friday against Richland High School. Keller had a passing touchdown in the 24-18 loss.
The Huntland High School Hornets lost to the Richland Raiders 24-18 at home Friday in a preseason scrimmage.
Each team conducted six drives during the scrimmage with the Raiders jumping out to an early lead and a late scoring surge by the Hornets coming up just short.
Huntland head football coach Bob Robertson said that the contest was an indicator of his team’s need to continue working on conditioning as the 2022 season approaches.
“We’ve got a lot of learning to do, and we’ve got to get in a little better shape,” he said. “Numbers-wise, we’re not everybody else is so we’ve got to be ready to go for the whole time that we’re out there.”
The Raiders struck quickly on the first drive of the day with a rushing touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.
The Hornets picked up a few first downs on their opening possession, but a fumble would cut the series short.
After the teams traded punts on their respective second drives, the Raiders found their way into the end zone again to put the deficit at 12-0.
An interception by the Hornets would lead to another Richland touchdown to bring the deficit to its highest point at 18-0.
The Hornets were able to create a momentum shift on Richland’s fifth drive of the scrimmage when Eli Wiggs intercepted a pass and ran it all the way back for a touchdown.
Due to the rules of the scrimmage, the Hornets then immediately got an offensive drive as they worked the ball down the field before Evan Keller threw a touchdown pass to Hunter Bates to cut into the deficit and make it an 18-12 game.
However, the Raiders quickly brought their lead back up to double digits with their fourth touchdown of the day on what would ultimately be their final offensive drive.
The Hornets closed out the scrimmage with an explosive play as Coastlon Ringer broke off a 70-yard touchdown run to put the final deficit at six points.
The Hornets will have their next scrimmage on Friday with a three-team matchup against Grundy County High School and Middle Tennessee Christian School. The scrimmage is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with the venue unconfirmed at the time of writing.
They are scheduled to open their 2022 season on Aug. 26 at home against Whitwell High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
