Douglasville, GA – Although temperatures hovered in the 90’s Friday evening, it was once again kickoff time for high school football in the state of Georgia. The Hiram Hornets and their swarm of dedicated fans made the short trip down Hwy 92 to open their season against the Tigers of Douglas County. The Tigers were coming off a 5-5 season in 2010 while the Hornets made it two deep into the playoffs for the second year in a row, and were hoping to continue their winning ways. In a very close game that remained tied with less than 8 minutes remaining in the game, the Hornets pulled out a win on a 24-yard touchdown run by junior running back Kevin Mitchell to give the Hornets the narrow victory.

The first play from scrimmage had Hornet fans quickly silenced, however, as they watched talented Tiger quarterback #3 Ellis Richardson toss an 80-yard touchdown pass to receiver #11 Stacey Williams for a lightning-quick score to put the Tigers on top with just 10 ticks off the game clock. The Hornets responded five minutes later when Hiram quarterback #9 Roderick Harrison connected with senior back #31 Mike Wilson for 36 yards to tie the game at 7-7. After the ensuing kickoff, the Hornet defense quickly went to work forcing a fumble from speedy Tiger back #2 Caleb Clemmons. Hiram junior defensive back #15 Caeman Lockett came up with the fumble recovery at the Tiger 2 yard line and tumbled into the end zone to give the Hornets the lead 14-7. The Hornet defense showed its prowess once again late in the first half when Hiram cornerback #3 Cedric Lewis intercepted a Tiger pass on the Hiram 1 yd line to stop a late Tiger drive and protect Hiram’s 14-7 lead going into the half.

The second half of play remained 14-7 Hiram until the Tigers struck at the end of the third quarter on a 30-yard pass completion to receiver #28 Xavier Packer to knot the game 14-14 with one quarter left to play. The Hornets responded with a ground attack that penetrated the beef of the Tiger defense with freshman back #34 Chris Miller and junior back #41 Kevin Mitchell, and culminated with a 24 yard touchdown run by Mitchell to give the Hornets the lead 21-14. The Tigers quickly responded by moving the ball inside the Hornet 50 with 5 minutes left and were poised to strike back, but the Hornet defense had other plans. In a game-changing play, senior nose tackle Eddie Gipson came up with a huge first-down sack creating a loss of 8 yards for the Tigers and stalling their momentum. The Tigers followed with a run to the right side for no gain as a wall of Hornets in the form of seniors #44 Dorian Joseph, #27 Ladarius Stinson, and junior #23 Julian Dickens filled the gaps and again stalled the Tiger drive. One down and two penalties later, the Tigers faced a 4th and 28 and were unable to connect for the first down giving the Hornets the victory 21-14 as time ran out.

Hiram’s leading rushers of the night were #41 Kevin Mitchell with 74 yards on 11 carries and 1 TD, and #24 Jamal Hinds with 57 yards on 8 carries. Leading tacklers on the night for the Hornets were #2 Spencer Harris with 8, followed closely by #1 Devonair Mallory, #44 Dorian Joseph, and #47 Austin Post all with 6 tackles each. #47 Post and #55 Eddie Gipson both had key sacks on the night. Congratulations to the Hiram Hornets on their opening victory. The Hornets will host the Spartans of South Paulding Friday night with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Hiram, GA – Friday night the South Paulding Spartans proved too much to handle for the Hornets of Hiram as they defeated the Hornets 17-10 in front of a packed Hornet crowd. The Hornet offense struggled against the tough Spartan defense but led at the half 3-0 after a Trevor Wylie 31-yard FG. Spartan quarterback #13 Luke Norman finally connected on a 30 yard touchdown pass to TE #85 Tyler Cantrell in the fourth quarter to give them a 10-3 lead with 9:44 left in the game. The Spartans struck again on a 42 yard interception for a touchdown to extend their lead to 17-3 with 8:36 left. The Hornet defense came alive when Hornet senior linebacker #44 Dorian Joseph came up with a blocked punt and subsequent recovery in the end zone to bring the Hornets to within a touchdown 17-10 as time ran out.

Congratulations to the South Paulding Spartans on their victory in a very close game. They will host the Wolfpack of North Paulding this week while Hiram will travel to Paulding County for the Battle of Paulding. Kickoff for both games is scheduled at 7:30 pm.

Dallas, Ga – The 13th annual “Battle of Paulding” kicked off Friday night in memory of former beloved Paulding County head coach Ken Phillips who passed away in 2005. Last year, the Hornets took home the trophy for the first time in their school’s history by defeating the Patriots at home. This year, the Hornets traveled to the Patriot’s stadium to try and repeat with another win. The Patriots are in a rebuilding year with their third head coach in as many years with a new but familiar head coach, Scott Hamilton at the helm. Hamilton coached the defense for the Patriots in 2010 and has coached at Woodland High School in Cartersville and Mt. Zion in Carroll County. The Hornets are also in a rebuilding year of sorts after losing 25 seniors to last year’s graduating class including their entire offensive backfield. By the end of the night it was the Hornets who were presented the trophy for a second year after they defeated the Patriots by a score of 32-6 pushing the Hornets to a 2-1 record and the Patriots to a 1-2 record on the season.

In a hard-fought game plagued by penalties, the first score came on a 7-yard interception for a touchdown by Hiram senior linebacker #44 Dorian Joseph to put the Hornets on top 6-0 early in the first. The Pats retaliated with a strong drive and scoring on a 9-yard pass completion for a touchdown by senior running back #8 Antonio Lester to tie the score at 6-6 with 2:33 left in the first quarter. That would be the last score of the night for the Patriots as the Hornets were able to tack on four more scores by the end of the game. Scores came on a 25-yard pass to sophomore Hiram receiver #12 Eli Saucier in the 2nd, a 4-yard TD run by back #41 Kevin Mitchell and a 22-yard run by freshman #34 Chris Miller in the 3rd, and an 8-yard run by quarterback #9 Roderick Harrison with 7:40 left in the game to give the Hornets the victory. There were five turnovers in the game, with Hiram giving the ball up three times and the Pats twice. It was the second year in a row that the Hornets scored 5 touchdowns in each game by 5 different players against the Patriots.

The end of the game was complemented by the presentation of the “Battle of Paulding” trophy in honor of the late Ken Phillips and an MVP selection from both schools. Hiram was presented the trophy for the second year in a row by Mrs. Annelle Phillips and daughter Kannelle Gresham, while the MVP selection for the Patriots was presented to senior guard #50 Bronson Phillips and to senior offensive lineman #75 Austin Kastl for the Hornets. Congratulations to both MVP’s, to the Hiram Hornets on their victory, and to the Patriots on a hard-fought game. The Hornets will host the Osborne Cardinals this Friday night for their homecoming game while the Patriots will host the Panthers of Chapel Hill at home. Kickoff for both games is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Hiram, GA – Friday night there was a hint of fall in the air as the temperatures hovered in the 60’s, and that meant another great night of football in North Georgia. This week also marked the beginning of region play and pitted the Hiram Hornets against the Osborne Cardinals in what turned out to be a good game in front of a packed homecoming Hornet crowd. By the end of the night, the Hornet defense stood tall and the offense tacked on two scores in the second half to defeat the Cardinals 17-7 and carry the Hornets to a 3-1 record on the season and drop the Cardinals to 1-3.

The first score of the night came after an 8-play drive by the Hornets and ended with a 25 yard field goal by Hiram kicker #22 Trevor Wiley in the first quarter to give the Hornets the lead 3-0. In the following quarter with 5:40 left in the first half, the Cardinals scored on a 13 yard run to give them the lead 7-3 going into the second half of play. The second half, however, was all Hiram as they came through in the third and fourth quarters with two long drives that resulted in touchdown runs of 1 and 2 yards by junior Hornet quarterback #9 Roderick Harrison to put the Hornets on top for good 17-7. The final touchdown for the Hornets began on their own 6 yard line and resulted in an incredible 20-play drive that took 8:43 off the game clock and kept the improved Osborne offense off the field. The Hornets once again played solid defense allowing only 109 yards of total offense by the Cardinals and a single touchdown. Junior defensive back #1 Devonair Mallory came up with a fumble and an interception for the Hornets, while the leading tacklers on the night were sophomore defensive lineman #92 Dakota Adair and senior defensive back #2 Spencer Harris with 5 tackles each. In the last two games the Hornets have only allowed a total of 13 points to be scored against them.

Congratulations to the Hiram Hornets on their victory, but perhaps their real test will come this week when they will travel to Marietta Friday night to face the 2-2 Kell Longhorns who were shut out 34-0 by the region-leading Raiders of East Paulding last week. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm. Go Hornets!

Marietta, GA - Friday night the Hiram Hornets took off to Marietta to face the 2010 Region Champion Kell Longhorns in what turned out to be their toughest battle of the year and ended with about the wildest finish you would ever witness at a football game. Last year the Longhorns dominated the Hornets and defeated them handily by a score of 30-7, but this year the teams were more equally matched although both struggled on offense, particularly inside the red zone. After four quarters of play, neither team ever made a trip into the end zone, and by the end of the night the Longhorns held on after blocking a last second field goal attempt by Hiram with seconds left to end the game 6-3 Kell.

The Longhorns struck first with a 32 yard field goal after returning the opening kickoff to the Hiram 14 on their opening possession. The Hornets scored 8 minutes later on a 35 yard field goal by #22 Trevor Wiley to tie the game 3-3 where the score remained through the first half of play. In the second half, the Longhorns scored on a 22 yard field goal by Kell kicker #16 Tyler Prince with 2:40 left in the third quarter in what would turn out to be the last score of the game for either team and give Kell the lead 6-3. The Longhorns attempted another FG with 6:17 left in the game, but it was blocked by senior Hiram defensive back #2 Spencer Harris to stop the Longhorns and give Hiram good field position. The Hornets took possession from their own 46 but were unable to convert and turned the ball back over on downs to the Longhorns with 2 minutes left in the game. After spending two of their three timeouts, the Hornet defense lined up on a 3rd and 11 by the Longhorns with 1:30 left in the game. Incredibly, the Longhorns faltered when a high snap by their center resulted in a turnover that was recovered by the quick hustle of Hiram back #23 Julian Dickens on the Kell 25 yard line to give the Hornets a new set of downs and another chance to score. Hiram then converted on a 3rd and 9 pass to back #34 Chris Miller to get the first down to the Kell 10 with 48 seconds left on the clock. Then, in another twist of football fate, the Hornets bobbled a snap on a 2nd and goal and found themselves facing a 4th and goal with just 18 seconds left after quarterback #9 Roderick Harrison spiked the ball on 3rd and goal to stop the clock. Hiram kicker #22 Trevor Wiley then lined up for a 26 yard attempt to tie the game but the kick was blocked by the Longhorns as time ran out.

Despite the loss, the Hornet defense played exceptionally well, generating 7 tackles for loss, recovering two critical fumbles, blocking a field goal, and breaking up an impressive 7 passes including 3 that could have led to Longhorn touchdowns. Leading tacklers on the night for the Hornets were senior #27 Ladarius Stinson with 8 tackles, followed closely by junior linebacker #47 Austin Post with 7. Exceptional play in the backfield came from backs #27 Ladarius Stinson and #1 Devonair Mallory who broke up an end zone pass , #3 Cedric Lewis who broke up two passes including an end zone pass, #55 Eddie Gipson with another end zone breakup, and #2 Spencer Harris who nearly came up with two interceptions during the game. Much credit also goes to the defensive line and line backing crew who put good pressure on the Longhorn quarterbacks all night. Leading rushers in the game were back #41 Kevin Mitchell, quarterback #9 Roderick Harrison, and freshman back #34 Chris Miller. Mitchell led the offense with 54 yards on 9 carries.

Congratulations to the Hornets on a very fine effort in a very close game that could have gone either way. The Hornets are home this week to host the North Paulding Wolfpack with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Hiram, GA – Friday night the Hiram Hornets were defeated at home by the North Paulding Wolfpack by a score of 34-18. North lit up the scoreboard early with a bit of trickery and a 77 yard touchdown pass to receiver #5 Joel Brooks on the first play from scrimmage to give the Pack the early lead 7-0. They tacked on another score with a minute left in the first quarter on a 9 yard pass to receiver #40 Matt Mixon to extend their lead 14-0. The Hornets scored in the second on a 25 yard run by running back #24 Jamal Hinds but missed the PAT narrowing North’s lead to 14-6 with 9:54 left in the first half. North added to their lead with 5 minutes left in the half on a 5 yard pass to #19 Marcus Anderson to widen their lead to 21-6. Hiram responded on a second touchdown run by #24 Hinds with 2:52 left in the half to close the gap to 21-12 going into the half.

The third quarter saw two more scores by the Wolfpack as they scored on a 60 yard scramble by quarterback #9 Zach Cummins and a 9 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown to extend the score to 34-12. The Hornets tacked on their final score of the night on a 7 yard run by freshman back #34 Chris Miller with 7:23 left in the game for a final score of 34-18. North quarterback Cummins was 14 of 17 and threw for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night and also rushed for a touchdown.

Congratulations to the Wolfpack on their victory. Both teams are now 3-3 in the sub-region and still fighting for a spot in the playoff picture. North is home against Pope while the Hornets will travel to face Sprayberry this Friday night. Kickoff is schedule for 7:30 pm.

Marietta, GA – Friday night the 3-3 Hiram Hornets traveled to Sprayberry to face the 2-3 Yellow Jackets for a possible spot in the playoffs in the 5N-AAAA sub region. The Jackets were sporting a new turf field but have struggled with consistency this year and were shut out by the Raiders last week 31-0, while the Hornets were coming off a 34-18 loss to the Wolfpack. This week would reveal a more favorable outcome for the Yellow Jackets, however, as they took care of the Hornets by a score of 34-6. The Hornets have been plagued with injuries this year including the loss of their starting quarterback #9 Roderick Harrsion who was out with a concussion from last week’s game against North.

The Jackets stung first on a fake punt when the ball was snapped to #17 Corbin Jackson for a 64 yard touchdown run to put the Jackets up 7-0 early in the first quarter. They tacked on another score towards the end of the first half on a 1 yard run by #7 Jacob Chesser to extend their lead 14-0. The Hornets scored on a 1 yard sneak by quarterback #22 Trevor Wiley after a 19 yard pass completion to #34 Chris Miller put the Hornets down on the goal line. The Hornets missed the PAT closing the gap to 14-6 Jackets going into the half.

The second half was all Jackets as they scored on a 10 yard option to #42 Corey Cooper in the third, a 12 yard pass to receiver #16 Trey Schultz in the fourth, and an 8 yard pass to receiver #86 Kegan Moore also in the fourth to give the Jackets the victory 34-6. The Jacket win gives them the edge ahead of the Hornets in the playoff picture although mathematically the Hornets still have a chance for one of the four playoff spots with some help. The Hornets face off this week at home against the undefeated and region-leading East Paulding Raiders. The Raider defense has four shutouts this year and allowed a total of 15 points to be scored against them all year, and currently ranked 4th in the state. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm in Hiram. Go Hornets!

Hiram, GA – The East Paulding Raiders maintained their perfect record as they defeated the Hiram Hornets Friday night by a score of 63-14. The 3-4 Hornets entered the game struggling with injuries and while they played valiantly with a lot of heart, they were no match for the red-hot Raiders who extended their season record to a perfect 7-0 and look to be the top seed in their region with two more games remaining before the playoff picture opens up.

Scoring by the Raiders included two reception touchdowns by #23 Andrej Suttles of 27 and 10 yards, two 35-yard reception touchdowns by FB #30 Kyle Neal, a 1 yard run by #28 Kamani Thomas, a 44 yard punt return by #3 Christian Browder, a 1 yard run by back #2 Terrell Hannah, a 5 yard sneak by QB #15 Mitchell Webb, and a 90 yard kickoff return by back #29 Marcus Gilbert. The Hornets claimed a small victory on the night when they managed to score two touchdowns against the stingy Raider defense, something no other team has been able to do this year. They came on an early 58 yard touchdown pass to freshman back #34 Chris Miller and a 23 yard run from scrimmage late in the game by back #41 Kevin Mitchell. The victory carried East to a perfect 7-0 record and dropped the Hornets to a 3-5 record and eliminated them from playoff contention. Raider quarterback Mitchell Webb was 9 of 10 for 182 yards and 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. The leading rusher on the night for the Raiders was #33 Thomas Wooley with a sole 52 yard touchdown run, and for the Hornets #41 Kevin Mitchell who carried the ball 17 times for 73 yards and 1 touchdown. The Hornets actually out-gained the Raiders on the ground with 159 yards to their 133, and they also led in time of possession by over 5 minutes. But it was the Raider passing attack and ability to score on all but two possessions that made the difference in the game, along with their excellent defensive play. Raider scoring was spread among 7 different offensive players.

Congratulations to the Raiders on another impressive victory. The Hornets are off this week while the Raiders are home against the 2nd place 6-1 Pope Greyhounds who are coming off a huge late game comeback win last week to defeat Sprayberry 27-21. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30.

Marietta, GA – The Pope Greyhounds clinched the 5N-AAAA sub-region championship against the Hiram Hornets Friday night when they defeated the Hornets at home by a score of 27-6. They will move on to play the 4-5 Alexander Cougars at home for the 5-AAAA region championship this Friday night.

The Hornets took the early lead against the Greyhounds on their first possession with a 10-play drive that started on their own 38 yard line and culminated with a 19 yard pass to back #24 Jamal Hinds for the touchdown. They missed the PAT and Hiram led 6-0 with 7 minutes left in the first. That was to be the last score of the game for the Hornets, however, as the Greyhounds took control of the game from there. Pope quarterback #16 Holland Frost connected with receiver #2 Everett Myles on a 2 yard score in the first to put the Hounds on top 7-6. In the second, Frost hit receiver #18 Murphy Davis on an 8 yard touchdown to extend Pope’s lead 14-6 at the half. The Hounds’ defense came up with a blocked punt by lineman #47 Harrison Holmes in the third and scored from 19 yards out when Pope running back #21 Jake Henson fell on the ball in the Hornet end zone to add the lead 20-6. The Greyhounds then intercepted Hiram quarterback #22 Trevor Wiley in the fourth and took the ball to the Hiram 29. Five plays later the Hounds scored on a 1 yard run by back #37 Sean Hatcher to seal the game and claim the sub-region championship by a score of 27-6.

Congratulations to the Pope Greyhounds on their victory. The Hornets will face the 2-7 Paulding County Patriots at home Friday night for their final play-in game with kickoff scheduled for 7:30.

Hiram, GA – The Paulding County Patriots traveled to Hiram this week to face the Hornets for the second time this year in their final game of regular season play. This week was also senior night at Hiram and the Hornets came through for their seniors with their fourth win of the year defeating the Pats 23-0 at home. Hiram finished their season with a 4-6 record while Paulding managed a 2-8 record under first-year head coach Scott Hamilton. Neither team will be playing in the post season this year.

Scoring began when junior Hornet back #41 Kevin Mitchell picked up his fourth touchdown of the year on an 8 yard run with 1:40 left in the first quarter. Junior defensive back #15 Caeman Lockett came up big in the second quarter when he sacked senior Paulding quarterback #7 Trey Pittman for a safety. Hiram Junior running back #24 Jamal Hinds extended the Hornet lead on a 4 yard scamper to extend Hiram’s lead to 16-0 going into the half. The last score of the night came on the legs of junior back #23 Julian Dickens on a 20 yard run to complete the shutout 23-0.

Congratulations to the Hornets on their win and to the Patriots on a well-played game. This is the first year since 2008 that the Hornets haven’t made post-season play. The North division teams of the 5-AAAA Region all came away with play-in victories Friday night and cleared up the first round play-off picture for the region. The Region 5-AAAA champion Pope Greyhounds will host Mays in the first round while the second seed East Paulding Raiders will host SW Dekalb at the Boneyard. Third seed Kell will travel to face Marist and fourth seed Sprayberry will travel to face the 10-0 Region 6 champion Tucker Tigers. The Tigers are currently ranked number one in the state in AAAA. Kickoff for all games is scheduled for 7:30 pm.