Friday, March 29, 2024

Hornets wrap up preseason prep, focus on Ducks

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Gatesville and Fairfield were roughly two-series into their scrimmage when it was called due to lightning, forcing the Hornets to abruptly turn their attention to this Friday’s regular season opener at Taylor.

The matchup is a compelling one as it features two programs well on their way to potential glory of years past.

The Ducks were a playoff team each year from 2011-2018 but went winless in 2019 and 2020 before hiring Brandon Houston as head coach in 2020.

Houston moved to Taylor after three seasons at Buffalo, where he finished with a 32-6 overall record and took the Bison to their first-ever regional finals appearance in 2020.

He previously served as a passing game coordinator at Grapevine High School (1999-2004) before holding the offensive coordinator positions at Belton (2005-2007), Lorena (2008-2014), and Rockdale (2016-2017). In his final season at Rockdale, he helped the Tigers to the 3A Division 1 state title while averaging 41 points per game.

In his first game as the Ducks head coach, they snapped their 20-game losing streak with a win against Robinson. They raced out to 3-1 record before dropping six straight to end the season – including all five of their district contests.

This season, Houston will rely on six returning starters on offense including quarterback Josh Mikulencak (1,122 yards, 11 TDS passing) and wide receiver Jarvis Anderson. Defensively, Taylor returns five led by defensive back Ryan Valdez and linebacker Jackson Meller.

In 2021, the Ducks and Hornets faced three common opponents: Robinson, Lampasas and Salado.

The Hornets defeated Robinson 37-20 and lost to Lampasas (41-33) and Salado (42-6) while the Ducks also took down the Rockets (32-13) then lost to Salado (52-6) and Lampasas (70-20) in back-to-back weeks.

Kickoff is set for Friday at 7:30 at Taylor Stadium. The Hornets will play their home opener against Glen Rose at McKamie Stadium on Sept. 2