By Rick Lanier
PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES / THE OBSERVER

For the Observer

            It had been 11 years (2010) since the Tallassee Tigers came to Beauregard and departed Richard L. Brown Field with a football victory, but after Friday night’s 35-7 regional win over the Hornets, the drought is over.

With the loss, the Hornets drop to an overall record of 2-5, 1-3 in regional play, with only three games remaining in the regular season.

Although Beauregard’s offense struggled somewhat against the big Tiger front for most of the game, it managed to drive the ball well enough to create some good red-zone scoring chances. Frustratingly, however, the Hornets were unable to capitalize on those opportunities and came away empty on each occasion.  Even so, the Hornets managed to hammer out 262 total yards (127 pass/135 rush) on the night which was highlighted by a 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brayden Blackmon to wide receiver Chris Gamble in the first quarter.

The Hornet defense also found themselves with the formidable task of finding an effective way of working against the stout, well-seasoned Tiger offensive unit. The Hornet’s defense played well in spurts, but more missed assignments and untimely penalties resulted in a lack of consistency — and Tiger touchdowns. Do-it-all defensive player Frankquon Bridges provided the Hornet’s defensive play of the night when he stepped in front of and picked-off a Tiger pass right before the end of the first half.      

The rest of the game was tough sledding. While this year’s Hornet team is relatively young and inexperienced, have a lack of depth at some key positions, have been hit by the injury bug and are trying to adapt to a new coaching philosophy and implement new offensive and defensive schemes, the harsh reality is that after Friday night’s loss, Beauregard finds itself in the unenviable position of having a few more questions than answers right now.

Even to the casual observer, it is apparent the Hornets have made some significant strides in the betterment of the football program this season — things are headed in the right direction. It is also apparent that head coach Justin Jones and his staff are still working overtime on possibly the biggest stride of them all, an overarching culture change.     

            In his brief post-game remark to the Hornet radio broadcast team, a frustrated Jones stated “I’ll tell everybody that’s listening – until we become more upset about losing than we are excited about winning, we can’t get to where we want to be.”

The Hornets are back on the road this Friday, Oct. 8, as they travel to Sylacauga to take on the Aggies (4-2/2-1) in a regional showdown beginning at 7 p.m. CST. Sylacauga High School is located at 701 N. Broadway Ave., Sylacauga, Alabama 35150.