Tuesday, April 16, 2024
There are two questions that start every postgame conversation with the Gatesville Hornets coaching staff: “What did you like? What did you not like?”
“I love the score. I don’t love the drive home,” offensive coordinator Jacob Hunter said.
Certainly no one was looking forward to the late-night, 83-mile drive from Mexia back to Gatesville but those rides are likely a lot more fun when you can spend them reflecting on the 43-14 thrashing you and your team dealt the Black Cats on their home turf.
“Kidding aside. They played four quarters put together finally,” Hunter said. “So the first three weeks were missing all four quarters strung together. And tonight was the first time offense and defense together put four quarters together with similar results.”
The Hornets (3-1) led 15-0 after the opening quarter and 36-0 at halftime. They stretched the lead to 43-0 after three quarters before the offense let off the gas.
The Hornets punted on their first possession but quickly got the ball back when Corey Burns recovered a fumble at Mexia’s 26-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Jacob Newkirk hit Tyler Shea over the middle for a TD and a quick 6-0 lead.
Newkirk had attempted to hit Shea (also a Hornet basketball standout) down the field twice on the prior possession – part of the Hornets’ attempt to start doing damage quicker on offense.
“If you want to start fast you have to be a little bit more aggressive,” Jacob Hunter said, “So the first three weeks have been very conservative. Tonight, it was kind of like, ‘nope, so we're gonna try to push the ball downfield vertically.’ It helps when you have a 6’5” target out there.”
Newkirk said that the effort to start faster was a point of focus during their week preparing for Mexia.
“I think what the biggest deal with us starting faster is how we practice. We had a great week of practice and we were prepared,” he said.
Following Shea’s touchdown catch, Rayshon Smith punched in a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. The Hornets extended their lead to 15-0 on their next possession when Newkirk hit Kyle Shafer for a 25-yard touchdown pass as Shafer bounced off one Mexia defender and then outran two others to the end zone.
Offensively, the two first-quarter touchdowns were the first points the Hornets have scored in an opening quarter this season.
On their final first-quarter possession, Newkirk was intercepted in the end zone trying to connect with Trevor Smith. But he bounced back on the first possession of the second quarter as he passed to Smith for 45 yards. Two plays later, Newkirk snuck into the end zone for a 22-0 lead.
Following the interception, Hunter wasn’t hesitant to put the ball back in the hands of his junior signal-caller.
“We told him…with aggressive play-calling to push the ball downfield, there's gonna be times they're gonna get one. So don't be scared to come back … we'll push it back down the field. And see if they can stop it again,” he said.
Newkirk finished the game 20 passing 27 for 287 yards with three touchdowns. He also ran for a pair of scores.
Later in the second quarter, Rayshon Smith scored from six yards out to make it 29-0. Then, just before half, Newkirk found Shafer again from six yards out to give the Hornets a 36-0 halftime lead.
It would not be incorrect to assume that the Hornets offensive game plan might have been “throw the ball to someone with the last name that starts with S” as Newkirk hit five different receivers on the night - three Smiths, a Shafer, and a Shea.
Shafer had five receptions for 62 yards and Shea finished with three for 38 yards. Adrian Smith caught five passes for 20 yards and led the team in rushing, while Rayshon Smith caught four passes.
Not-at-all forgotten was another career night for Trevor Smith. Two weeks after a nine-catch, 110-yard performance against Glen Rose, the senior tallied 139 yards on just three catches against Mexia. He has 303 yards through four games and is averaging almost 16 yards per catch.
It was his 80-yard reception – 10 yards of pass and 70 yards of sprint — in the third quarter that set up the Hornets’ final score, a two-yard run from Newkirk that made it a 43-0 Gatesville lead.
Defensively the Hornets were led by Lawson Mooney with 20 tackles – one for a loss — in just three quarters of work. He also had one reception for 30 yards on a fake punt that set up the Hornets’ second score. He, along with the majority of the Hornets’ defensive starters, watched the fourth quarter from the sidelines.
Mason Mooney had 11 tackles while Thiele Alvarado had nine. Tommy Aaron, Ayden Necessary and Lucas Garcia each had eight, and Aaron broke up one pass. Kason Herbelin picked off his third pass in the last two games and Sean Aguilar snagged his first interception of the year.
Outside of giving up 49 points to Glen Rose in a week-two loss, coach Jose Aguirre’s defense is allowing just 18 points per game. For Aguirre, it’s a matter of faithfulness to the little things.
“If you look at really good defenses they don't do anything spectacular. What makes them special is that they are very disciplined,” Aguirre said. “So the stress across the board from the coaches down to the kids is ‘doing your job’. You have to have faith in your teammates, you have faith in your coaching, faith in your work, and faith in your abilities. And they’ve bought in.”
Aguirre and his defense will get a test in their next game as Godley comes to town fresh off a 64-54 win over Ponder. The Wildcats are 2-2 and average 32 points per game while giving up 38.5 per game.
For the Hornets, they’ll look to continue what they are building – on the field and in the locker room.
