Friday Night Lights
Senior QB Mason Estes dropping back to throw for the Hornets. Picture by of Johnnie Tarter
By T.J. Morgan
Freelance Sports Writer
The Hornets have now completed their preseason exhibitions after hosting the Warren East Raiders Thursday night. Metcalfe showed moments of explosiveness two Fridays ago against Russell County in their first preseason scrimmage and again against Warren East last week. With the hill packed for Meet the Hornets, Senior Mason Estes found the end zone three times against the Lakers, once rushing and twice throwing. Overall, the Hornet offense and defense showed signs of promise in scrimmage environments.
Shifty Sophomore Andrew Hills appears to be the lightning to Senior running back C.T. Branstetter’s thunder. The dynamic backfield will look to keep defenses honest, opening up the field for the arm of Mason Estes as he looks to a plethora of receivers, from returning Hornet Zach Perdue to new faces like Ben Shirley and Byron Kirkland-Lundy. As the Hornet offensive line looks to mature quickly, Hornet fans will look for a traditional hardnosed Metcalfe defense to limit opposing offenses.
With preseason games complete, the Hornets can now look forward to Friday’s season opener against Barren County. Metcalfe was able to take the season opener last season at Barren 13-9. With home-field advantage this season the Hornets will look to start the season with a W, but there shouldn’t be any doubt that Friday night against the Trojans will be a brawl from opening kickoff to final buzzer. Metcalfe fans are expected to show up early and bring the energy to feed an electric Hornet team throughout the duration of Friday’s season opener.
C.T. Branstetter throws a Laker to the ground as he breaks the tackle. Photo by Johnnie Tarter
Ben Shirley going up to make the grab against the Laker secondary. Photo by Johnnie Tarter
