Wednesday, April 24, 2024
After notching a 7-3 regular season record in Aaron Hunter’s first season as their head football coach, the Gatesville Hornets will open the playoffs on Friday against Smithville in Hutto in the bi-district round.
For Hunter and his team, it’s also known as “gold football season” as the Hornets will look to hoist their first golden playoff trophy since 2015 with a win over the Tigers.
Smithville finished with a 4-6 regular-season record and were the runners-up in District 12-4A – a district won by the Cuero Gobblers, the state’s No. 3-ranked team. Their 3-2 district record left them tied with La Grange, but Smithville snagged the runner-up spot by virtue of its 14-10 win over the Leopards.
Gatesville and Smithville shared one common opponent this season – the Taylor Ducks. Gatesville topped Taylor 22-21 in the season opener while Smithville fell to the Ducks 40-35 in week 4. The loss dropped the Tigers to 1-3 on the season before going 3-3 over their last six games.
The Tigers’ offense – led by quarterback Derrick Roberson, wide receiver/quarterback Tyson Hancock, and wide receiver Jackson Hancock – averaged just over 24 points per game on the season. Their defense allowed 29.5 points per game.
In comparison, the Hornets averaged 31.5 points per game while giving up an average of 28.9 per game.
A win over Smithville would mean the Hornets’ first playoff win since a 17-14 decision over La Vernia in 2015. That season the Hornets went 1-4 in non-district play before finishing with a 3-2 district mark, then upset Taylor 51-25 in the bi-district round, topped La Vernia in the area round, but fell to then-district rival China Spring 21-14 in the regional quarterfinals.
The Hornets have qualified for the playoffs three times since their last playoff win but have yet to advance past bi-district.
After missing the postseason in 2016, the Hornets ripped off seven consecutive wins to start the 2017 season before finishing the regular season 7-3. In the bi-district round that year, they fell to Canyon Lake.
After they missed the postseason in former head coach Kyle Cooper’s last season in 2018 and Luke Howard’s first season in 2019, the Hornets qualified for the playoffs again in 2020.
That 2020 playoff game was canceled due to COVID-19 but the Hornets qualified again in 2021, eliminated by Carthage in the bi-district round, 35-0.
A win in bi-district would likely mean an area-round matchup against Silsbee, which finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in the Class 4A Division II rankings.
Kickoff for the Hornets’ bi-district game will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at Hutto High School.
Pending UIL approval, the game will be broadcast by Lee Jaynes and Josh Godfrey on www.hornet-radio.com.
