ARAB, Ala. – The Arab Knights took on Locust Fork in a “no record” game Friday night for homecoming due to a forfeit win over Pell City. A huge first half by the Knights saw them taking the game over the Hornets, 49-27.
The Knights’ defense forced the Hornets to punt on their opening possession, but the punter got tackled before he could get the kick off, putting Arab in excellent position at the 26-yard line. On just the second play of the series, Aidan Cox found Wes Johnson for a 23-yard touchdown to put the Knights on the board first. Matthew Turnage dominated the second series for Arab, gaining 83 out of the 90 yards during the drive, and he caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cox to make it 14-0.
After recovering the kickoff at the 28, Cox went 4/4 for 37 yards helping the Knights drive down the field before Turnage finished it off with a 1-yard run making it 21-0 with 11:17 remaining in the first half. The Hornets found the end zone on just four plays as an 11-yard touchdown run cut the Knights’ lead to 21-7. But some big passes by Cox to Johnson and Dakota NeSmith helped them get the series to a strong start, and Turnage got the final 39 yards on the drive, including a 9-yard touchdown run, to increase the lead to 28-7.
Hayden O’Reilly picked off a Locust Fork pass on the first play of the next drive, and the Knights made it a 35-7 advantage on Turnage’s 40-yard run, his third touchdown of the first half. O’Reilly picked off another Hornets’ pass and returned it 99 yards for the score. Later on, Cox found Spencer Strickland for a 17-yard touchdown strike to put the score at 49-7 at the half.
The second half saw Arab play most of its younger players to get them some playing time. Locust Fork put up a pair of scores in the third quarter and added another one in the fourth, but the deficit proved to be too much, and the Knights took the win, 49-27.
Cox finished 12/17 for 126 yards and three touchdowns for Arab, while Turnage added 163 yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns, plus one receiving touchdown. O’Reilly ended up with two interceptions, including one that went for a 99-yard score.
Even though the game didn’t count record-wise, Arab coach Lee Ozmint said he saw some things that the Knights need to work on before next week and told them one simple thing before the game started.
“It was homecoming and it’s a good environment,” Ozmint said. “I told the kids before the game to go out and have fun and play it like we used to play in the backyard. It wasn’t one of those games that counted, and I think both teams kind of let their hair down and played a little bit. We made some stupid mistakes in the game. You know, one thing you hate about these games is that you can put up 49 points and play terrible. We didn’t really play very well, but I think if we can learn from our mistakes, I think we can play better.”
Now it’s on to next week for Ozmint and company, when they’ll travel to take on Oxford in what will be a huge region game for the Knights (4-3).
“There’s nothing you can do to prepare for Oxford,” Ozmint said. “They’re a good football team. They’re a heck of a football team. We are going to work. We got to tackle better. We got to do those little things and hope we can get on the field and play with them.”
Copyright 2020 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
