BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
BEAUREGARD — A young and relatively untested Beauregard High School team must return to the drawing board after losing 27-0 to Reeltown High School at Hornets Stadium on Aug. 21.
The Hornets’ (0-1) home opener against the Rebels (1-0) was cut short after lightning and rain forced game officials to call the game several plays into the second quarter.
The Rebels, who entered last Friday as the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s No. 4-ranked team in Class 2A, quickly took control of the game and never looked back.
Alijah Woods was the point man for Reeltown, scoring three of the Rebels’ four touchdowns. Woods found paydirt on an 80-yard punt return, a 24-yard reception and a 22-yard reception.
Jaiden Gordon also scored on a 46-yard punt return and caught two passes for 81 yards, while JaMarkius Smith finished 4-for-5 for 115 yards and a TD for Reeltown.
Beauregard finished with seven total yards of offense.
The fact the game was shortened due to severe weather conditions was perhaps merciful for the Hornets.
According to first-year Beauregard head coach Seneric McCurdy, 28 of his 40 players are either ninth- or 10th-graders, and only four had played in a varsity game before last Friday’s game.
Throw in the Rebels being the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s preseason No. 4-ranked team in Class 2A, and there was a perfect storm of circumstances to deal with.
“To be honest with you, I don’t really think I learned anything. It just confirmed some things I already thought: that we’re super young,” McCurdy said. “Reeltown has a veteran team. They’ve made it to the semi-finals and won a state championship within the last two years. So I kind of knew there were going to be some bumps in the road for us with that being our first competition since I’ve gotten here.”
Although the result wasn’t what McCurdy would have hoped for as a competitor, the Beauregard alumnus was shocked and heartened by the reception his team received from the home crowd.
“It’s an awesome feeling being back in Hornet Stadium, and there were a lot of fans in the stands,” McCurdy said. “It was really shocking and surprising. I was kind of nervous about how many people would show up, but this community is resilient. They showed up, showed it out and stayed the entire time. They were hanging out to see if the weather would pass by, and they were ready to go back in the game. So it was exciting, fun and a great atmosphere.”
The Hornets will now turn their attention to a road trip to LaFayette, where they will face LaFayette High School in Bulldog Stadium on Friday, Aug. 28.
The Bulldogs are coming off a physical 47-31 road loss to Beulah High School and are expected to be fired up for their home opener with first-year head coach and LaFayette alumnus Douglas Jones Jr. at the helm.
It will also be a second consecutive week where Beauregard (Class 4A) takes on a smaller school, with the Bulldogs moving down to Class 1A following the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s classification overhaul earlier this year.
“I’m just looking for our kids to come out and be ready to play. We should have the first-game jitters out,” McCurdy said. “But it’ll still be a tall task because LaFayette has a lot of talent and speed on the field. They’ll be eager to try to redeem themselves, and it’ll be our kids’ first time going on the road this season, so it’ll be a tough challenge. I just want to see our kids improve each week and try to build on that throughout the season.”
