HARPURSVILLE – The Harpursville-Afton varsity football team – one of Section IV's prize gems, siting at eighth in the state with a 7-1 record – will now be put on ice following their latest dominating win over Walton.
The Section IV Class D quarterfinal matchup last weekend, on Saturday, Oct. 22, featured the Hornets hosting the visiting Walton Warriors – to which Hapursville-Afton ran away with the game.
Notably, the Hornets had been coming off a huge 23-0 upset loss to Greene, where they lost the division title to the Trojans. However, a rebound game against Walton where they dominated from start to finish, winning 53-8 truly was a statement win.
The Hornets amassed 46 unanswered points in the playoff game last Saturday before Walton was able to find the end zone for the first, and subsequently the last time.
In the dominating win, the Hornets racked up 421 yards rushing – Mitch Weist, 14 carries for 147 yards, two touchdowns; Josh Wilson eight carries for 90 yards, and two touchdowns; Madison Hoover 10 carries for 75 yards, and one touchdown; Slater Collins six carries for 58 yards, and one touchdown; Tyler King four carries for 47 yards, and one touchdown; and Kevin Hubbard six carries for 14 yards.
This massive number dwarfed the total net yards for the Warriors who could only manage 168 yards on the ground and no passing yardage in the game.
In what seemed to the general public to be a return to form following their crushing 53-8 win – after their loss to Greene last week – the Hornets were blindsided by controversy within Section IV regarding their eligibility, during the day on Oct. 27, just two days before they were ready to take to the field for their semifinal matchup.
Harpursville-Afton was scheduled to advance to the Section IV Class D semifinals this Saturday, Oct. 29, the heavy favorites to defeat Sidney (5-3 overall).
However, according to Hornet head coach Tim Petras, the team may be required to forfeit their season and semifinal game against Sidney, due to said ineligible player – who has not been named.
