Hornets fall to Fort Bend Marshall in the bi-district round
Nov. 11—HOUSTON — Huntsville football traveled down to LeRoy Crump in its bi-district matchup against Fort Bend Marshall.
The Hornets (4-6) fell to the Buffalos 56-0 in the bi-district round.
"It's been probably one of the most up and down seasons that I have ever been a part of as a head coach," Huntsville head coach Rodney Southern said. "When you play a bunch of sophomores and young inexperienced kids, you are going to have some growing pains. We won some games we probably shouldn't have won and we lost a few games we probably shouldn't have lost."
Huntsville opened the game with a pooch kick that they recovered and set themselves up in prime field position. However, a bad snap on the field goal try led to a scoop and score for an early touchdown.
From there on out, it was the Buffalos game.
Fort Bend Marshall would score four more touchdowns taking a 35-0 lead into the break.
Huntsville's offense gave the Buffalo defense everything they could handle but it wasn't enough. The Hornets went 0-3 in the red zone.
Junior quarterback Jawann Giddens and freshman running back Trae'Shawn Brown led the way. Giddens finished the game with 18 yards on the ground and connected with a few receivers for 40 yards.
Brown finished with 26 yards on the ground.
While the Hornets had to rely solely on their running game, the Buffalos quickly figured that out and limited their attempts.
"You have to think about this, 51 of the 69 guys got experience tonight and are coming back. The future is bright. Now, this is hard, it's hard to lose and it's hard when you lose like that," Southern said.
While the loss was disappointing, there was more meaning to this game.
The Hornets returned to the Class 5A, Division II playoffs after a year hiatus and got several members of its youth team playing time in this important game.
Huntsville suited up over 69 members in this game and nearly all of them got a play.
The Hornets season was based on solely their sophomores this year, now they have plenty of experience.
"Anytime you put a young guy in a game, whether it is against the starters or their backups, it's play time and playoff experience," Southern said. "The opportunity to get to play in a playoff game is a growing thing we can use for next year."
Now, the Hornets will head into the off-season where they can focus on strength and growing as a team.
