Hornets win over Dragons
A balanced offensive attack, stout defense, and good special teams play by the Penney High Hornets spelled trouble for the visiting Mid Buchanan Dragons who went down to defeat against Hamilton last Friday night, 35-13.
The Dragons, who came into the game with a 3-0 record, scored on their first possession of the game after forcing the Hornets to turn the ball over on downs at the Mid Buchanan 14 yard line. The first play from scrimmage by Penney was a 50 yard pass play from Jaran Richman to LaTroy Harper, but the drive ended with an incomplete pass on 4th down. Mid Buchanan drove the ball 86 yards for the first score of the game which culminated on a 58 yard pass from Braydn Kemper to James Dunn. Hayden Ellison's kick made it 7-0 just under 4 minutes into the game. Mason McFall returned the subsequent kickoff to the Hamilton 39.
The Hornets tied the score on a ten play drive with the final 19 yards coming on a pass from Richman to Korby Ford. Brock Swindler kicked the extra point to tie the score at 7-7 with 4:37 left in the opening quarter. During the Dragon's next possession, Mason McFall tackled the ball carrier for a 3 yard loss, followed by a joint tackle with Kenny Pulley for a 12 yard loss, which ultimately led to a Mid Buchanan punt. The first quarter ended with Penney facing a 3rd and 17 at their own 5 yard line.
The first play of the second quarter was a pass from Richman to Derek Dixon along the Mid Buchanan side line for a first down at the Dragon 41. Later in the drive on 3rd and 11, LaTroy Harper made one of the greatest one hand catches you will ever see in front of the Hamilton sideline for a first down at the Mid Buchanan 26. Three plays later T. C. East scored from the 3 yard line. Swindler's kick gave the Hornets the lead 14-7 two minutes 19 seconds into the quarter. The Dragons went 3 and out on their next possession. The next Penney High possession was all about the offensive line and running back T.C. East who carried the ball all 7 plays of the scoring drive, the last one for 3 yards and a TD. Swindler's kick upped the score to 21-7 with 4:23 left in the opening half. Three plays later, Kemper hit Hunter Scaggs for a 53 yard touchdown. The extra point try was wide left following a 10 yard penalty on Mid Buchanan during the first attempt which was successful, leaving the Dragons behind 21-13 and 2:58 on the clock until half time. The first half ended with Mid Buchanan looking at a 2nd and 7 at their own 7 yard line following an excellent punt by Jaran Richman inside the 5 yard line.
The Dragons received the second half kickoff and started at their own 29 yard line. On the first play, Mason McFall and Kenny Pulley tackled the ball carrier for a 4 yard loss. Mid Buchanan was soon forced to punt from their own 27, and Hamilton's LaTroy Harper fielded the punt on the Hornet 37 before running through the Dragon defenders for a 63 yard touchdown. The try for extra point was foiled by the snap, but Penney High was on top 27-13 just one minute 32 seconds into the second half. It took only 4 plays before the Hornets got the ball back when Mid Buchanan was forced to punt from their 26 yard line. Hamilton was able to move the ball to the Dragon 11 yard line when a 4th down pass fell incomplete giving Mid Buchanan the ball on downs. Again the Hornet defense limited the Dragons to three downs and forced a punt from the Mid Buchanan 15. LaTroy Harper returned the punt to the Dragon 37. This Penney drive ended in a 25 yard touchdown pass from Richman to Korby Ford with 2:15 left in the 3rd period. The 2-point conversion pass from Richman to LaTroy Harper made it 35-13.
The 4th quarter started with Mid Buchanan at the Hamilton 25 for a 3rd and 8 play. A 5 yard Dragon penalty and an incomplete pass gave the Hornets the ball at their own 31. Unable to record a first down, McFall booted the ball to Mid Buchanan where Penney was called for a running into the Dragon player who had called for a fair catch. The visitors started on their own 49. However, a 4th and 10 pass fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the Hornets on downs at the original line of scrimmage. Four plays later, Richman punted the ball inside the Mid Buchanan 15 yard line. After a first down by the Dragons to their own 49 yard line, Hamilton's Kyle Elliott sacked the quarterback for a 3 yard loss. Mid Buchanan punted the ball back to the Hornets who ran out the clock for the KCI victory.
Jaran Richman threw for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns plus ran the ball for another 23 yards. T.C. East ran the ball for 113 yards and 2 TDs on 17 carries, Korby Ford caught 2 passes for 44 yards and 2 scores and rushed for 26 yards, LaTroy Harper snagged 3 passes for 88 yards, Derek Dixon caught 1 ball for 54 yards, and Telly Harper recorded 15 yards on 1 catch. Penney registered 387 total yards, 201 in the air and 186 on the ground with 17 first downs. Kenny Pulley's kickoffs were well placed and effective. Defensively, the leading tackler was Kyle Elliott with 18 total tackles (1 sack and 1 tackle for loss), followed by 6 for LaTroy Harper, Kenny Pulley (1 sack and 1 tackle for loss), and Tyler Trosper. 5 tackles were made by Garrett Trosper and Jaran Richman. Derek Dixon, T.C. East, Korby Ford, and Mason McFall (2 for lose) each had 3 tackles. Wyatt Gregory made 2 tackles, and Cale Whitt, Caden Brown, Jacob Roberts, and Telly Harper each had 1.
Hornet head coach Caleb Obert was obviously very pleased with the overall performance of his team. "This was our most complete game in all phases; offense, defense, and special teams." Obert continued, "It was the most balanced we have been offensively thus far this year. Except for a couple of break downs on pass coverage, our defense played very well." Coach went on to remark," Our special teams gave us good field position most of the night and the punt return for a touchdown was big." Lastly Obert said about the next opponent, "Plattsburg runs a spread offense with big play potential." Hamilton hosts the Tigers this Friday night for Homecoming as the Hornets attempt to go 4-1, 3-0 in the KCI.
