45-16 Hornet win. Dominant game by the Hornets in almost every facet. The Hornets jumped on the Bears early and didn't let them off the mat as the Go-Go offense came to life as 602 total yards were racked up. Most impressive was the defensive performance that made UCA earn every yard and point the hard way.
Offense was humming along pretty well. Cardell Williams (15/20, 252 yds, 1 TD, 8 car, 61 yds, 2 TD) continues to impress with his decision making on the RPO. He also made some good reads and throws in critical situations to move the sticks. Still a few kinks to work out (late pitch on an option, throwing deep balls into coverage) but this offense is getting better and better as the weeks progress. Damian Henderson II (15 car, 137 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec 19 yds) continues to have a breakout season and gashed UCA on a big 85 yard touchdown run that blew the game wide open. Rodney Hammond Jr (8 car, 40 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec, 41 yds) was a nice supplement to the running game as well. Well rounded performance in the passing game as well as Jordan Anderson (3 rec, 98 yds) led the way and Ernest Campbell (3 rec 61 yds, 1 TD) had another long scoring strike. Kudos to the offensive line for having their best performance of the season.
Defensively was the most impressive aspect of this game IMO. The Hornes bottled up the Bears offense and kept them off of the scoreboard until the closing seconds of the 1st half. While UCA made a couple of big plays here and there, the Hornets gave up very few chunk plays and kept everything in front of them. There were tremendous plays made on the edge against the RPO and the open field talking was the best seen all season. What really caught my attention was the stand made following the fumbled kick return. The Hornet defense had a short field and forced a negative drive and a field goal. Had the Hornets given up a touchdown, things could have gotten a little interesting in the 4th quarter. While the Hornet defense didn't force any turnovers, they beat the UCA front soundly for 8 sacks on the game. Oscar Moore (7 tak, 1 TFL) led the Hornet defense in tackles while defensive lineman Dylan Hampsten (5 tak, 3.5 TFL, 2.5 sac) and Jayland McGlothen (5 tak, 3 TFL, 2 sac) were disruptions in the backfield.
Special teams had some issues. Tim Conerly put the ball on the ground twice during kick returns. Kick off coverage was solid and kicker Grant Meadors (1/1 FG, 6/6 PAT) was perfect on the night.
Solid performance all around as this was nearly a complete game. If the Hornets play like this every game then we'll see a lot more wins. If the Hornets maintain this level of performance and clean up the ball control and penalties then I can see this team running the table in the regular season. Lots of momentum for this Hornet program heading into the final season of Big Sky play.
Stingers Up!
