WEEK ZERO = THE LIGHTNING ROUND

I have a history with the Highland Hornets and lightning. A couple of years ago Ira and Highland had very talented teams. I made my way to Highland to watch them square off. Without either team even so much as taking the field to loosen up before the big game, it was over. LIGHTNING defeated the Hornets and Bulldogs that night around 8:45PM. Nothing but lightning. Not a drop of rain.

Fast forward if you will to last night and the opening game of the 4th Annual Trent Gorillas’ RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE. The participants last night were the Bryson Cowboys and the Highland Hornets. As I drove out to the game I knew there had been some rain in the area. It is always a good thing around here when there is rain in the area!

This game was set to start at 7:00 PM. I was excited to get the new season underway. The game started promptly at 7:00PM. THAT was a good thing. I soon got a tweet from @sixmanguru who was at Zephyr watching a Jonesboro team defeat Rochelle 50 to zip. Things did not improve for him as the second game he watched ended with Zephyr defeating Woodson 48-0 at the half. The game is Six-Man football and on the average, 50% of the games end as a result of the “Mercy Rule”. Not my game in Trent.

Highland received the opening kickoff, ran four plays and Bryson took over on their own 39. Nine plays later from the 6 yard line, Kirby Hefner runs it in, Bryson with a PAT leads 8-0 3:39 left in the first.

Highland came back with an impressive six play drive covering 84 yards culminating with a 3yard TD run by Tyler Falcon. PAT good and it was tied up 8-8 with 1:32 left in the first quarter of play. The quarter ended in a tie score. Bryson would score on a 27 yard pass play with 7:21 left in the first half and the PAT made it Bryson 16 Highland 8. That was the halftime score. Bryson ran 31 offensive plays to 16 by Highland according to my stats.

With the clock counting down the halftime break, at around 3:00 minutes, BAM!!! Not thunder but thunder’s friend LIGHTNING makes is first appearance of the night. DELAY is in order.

The third quarter gets underway and on their second possession of the second half Bryson scores again with a PAT lead 24-8 with 7:21 left in the third. It would wind up being the final score. With 2:15 left in the third BAM2!!! Not thunder. You guessed it. LIGHTNING, round two and a 30 minute delay.

In the 4th quarter turnovers made this long and low scoring Six-Man game get a little ugly. As Coach Joe Helms of Bryson said after the game, “It was a win and it was ugly. Week 8 when we look back, it is still going to be a win”.

It appeared to me in the second half that Highland was playing better football but in the end a couple of Hornet turnovers kept them from at least getting the score closer if not perhaps winning the game. And so went WEEK ZERO. In fairness to both teams the lightning delays made it hard to get or keep momentum on their side.