Saturday sports: Southwind holds off Horn Lake in Saturday makeup game
Photo: Horn Lake football coach Dustin Hectorne watches the action from the sidelines during Saturday’s game against Southwind. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
There was a lot going into Saturday’s prep football meeting between Southwind (Memphis) and the Horn Lake Eagles.
It was supposed to be played at Southwind on Friday night, but Mother Nature and electricity got in the way. The storm system that went through the Mid-South Friday evening also hit the Southwind campus on Shelby Drive.
The teams were set to sit it out for a later start, but the storm caused the power to go out to the stadium lights and Southwind officials were informed electricity could not be restored until about 10:30 p.m.
That left the decision of playing or not playing and if playing, when, a decision that was to play Saturday morning.
There was a fly in this ointment, however. Tennessee officials could not be found to work the game at Southwind on a Saturday and wouldn’t be able to work the game at Horn Lake. So, a group of Mississippi officials were found late Friday night who would be able to officiate the contest Saturday morning in Horn Lake.
So, while the uniforms indicated a Southwind home game with the Eagles wearing their road white jerseys, everything else, including the location, said Horn Lake when the teams took the field.
It was a tough situation for both teams to handle, but Dustin Hectorne, in his first game as Horn Lake head coach, said his kids handled it well. Hectorne said it showed, even in what became a 35-28 Southwind victory.
“We challenged them this week about being physical and they showed up and they did that,” Hectorne said. “You know, this was a tough, very hard fought game.”
The Eagles opened the scoring quickly, taking the opening kickoff and putting a touchdown on the board when Floyd Sinegal found a hole and outraced the Jaguars’ defense for a 52-yard touchdown run just 51 seconds into the game.
Horn Lake would hold the lead until the 10 minute mark in the first half when Southwind answered with a one-yard run by Gary Greer. The extra-point try was no good, however and the Eagles held a 7-6 lead.
Five minutes later, the Jaguars took the lead with a four-yard scoring run by Roderick Jenkins Jr. for a 14-7 lead when the two-point run was successful. Another score on a pass play gave Southwind a 21-7 lead at halftime.
Sinegal made the first statement of the second half, scoring another long touchdown run to get the Eagles within 21-14. His 58 yard sprint to the end zone was one of two Horn Lake touchdowns in the third quarter that tied the game at 21-21 going into the final 12 minutes of the contest.
A quarterback keeper gave Southwind a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter but Demarkus Crain responded with a five yard scoring run at the seven minute mark of the final quarter to tie a score at 28-28.
Another short touchdown run became the winning points for Southwind at 35-28, but Horn Lake had one more chance to tie or win the game. However, on a fourth down play at the Southwind 19 yard line, quarterback Jason Edwards Jr. was caught in trouble and threw the ball away, resulting in an intentional grounding call against the Eagles and the Jaguars ran out the clock for the 35-28 victory.
Hectorne, an assistant coach at Horn Lake before taking the Lewisburg head coaching job three seasons ago, returned to Horn Lake this season to rebuild a program that has struggled under Brandon Jackson, whose teams won only once in two seasons and failed to win a region contest.
“If they get a little bit of that success and see it, you know, they’ll know what it feels like,” Hectorne said. “You know, success breeds success and although we didn’t come away with a win, I think there were a lot of successful things that happened here.”
Horn Lake, now 0-1 for the season, will travel to Oxford to play Lafayette on Friday, Sept. 6. Southwind, now 2-0 for the year, will host Center Hill that same evening.
Aug 31, 2024
Prep football
Southwind 35, Horn Lake 28
Prep swimming
DeSoto County Invitational
- Tupelo wins the boys division with Lewisburg second, DeSoto Central fifth and Southaven sixth.
- Tupelo also won the girls division with Lewisburg second, Olive Branch fourth, DeSoto Central sixth and Southaven eighth.
Prep volleyball
Hernando at Foley, Alabama Labor Day Fall Classic
- Saraland 2, Hernando 0 (25-15, 25-14)
- Gulf Breeze 2, Hernando 0 (25-12;25-13)
- Hernando 2, Orange Beach 1 (17-25, 28-26, 15-8)
- Hernando 2, Grace Christian Academy 1 (25-20, 25-27, 15-6)
- Spanish Fort, Ala. 2, Hernando 0 (25-22, 25-16)
- Hernando finished 12th out of 34 teams
Lake Cormorant at KSA Fall Classic at Orlando, Fla.
- Lake Cormorant 2, McKinney Christian, Texas 1 (25-15, 23-25, 18-16)
- All Saints, Texas 2, Lake Cormorant 0 (25-13, 25-19)
- Lake Cormorant finished second in the tournament
