WALTON – Playing what many deemed to be a lopsided affair this past Saturday, the Hornets of Harpursville-Afton struggled to find their groove in what proved to be just a 14-8 win on the road.
A stalemated first half – and I mean stalemated. Neither the Hornets of the home Walton Warriors proved worth enough of moving the ball much or scoring in the first two quarters of play – resulting in a 0-0 halftime score.
At this point, it was anyone’s game. However, sometimes a halftime break, a chance to regroup, really does do a team justice. And with some added emotions off a possible speech from a motivated coach like Harpursville-Afton head coach Tim Petras – anything is possible.
Regardless of who said what – or maybe no one said anything – something clicked for the Hornets, who erupted from the halftime break for 14 unanswered third quarter points.
The first score of the opening second half quarter came on the very first play – as Harpursville-Afton’s Josh Wilson received the kickoff and proceeded to fly down the field for an 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, coming with 11:47 still on the clock. Tyler King made good on an extra point kick and the game was now in favor of the visitors at 7-0.
Ever heard of Tyler King before? Well he kicks his own extra points after ripping off 50-yard touchdown runs – enough said.
About halfway through the third quarter, with 7:07 reading on the clock, King took a run to the house with a 50-yard skip and a step, finding the end zone for the Hornets, and adding the extra point for the 14-0 lead.
The WaltonWarriros bit back with a one-yard punch in from Dylan Jacobs with 10:23 left in the fourth quarter – the two-point conversion was good. Despite the late push from Walton, it was simply not enough, as Harpursville-Afton held on for the final 10 minutes to escape with a tight 14-8 win.
Leading the charge for the Hornets – who passed just twice and one went for an interception – was Tyler King with his 85 rushing yards on nine carries with one touchdown. Josh Wilson added 11 carries for 48 yards on the ground – with Talon Rezucha and Greg Akulis pitching in for a few odd yards. Catching Akulis’s lone completed pass was King who managed to grab 12 receiving yards – ending him with 97 combined offensive yards.
