Hornets hit stride on opening drive, capture unique season opener with dominant effort

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — The oddity of starting the high school football season one night earlier than nearly every other team in the state seemed to fade once kickoff neared.

“It was a little bit weird,” Brown County senior wingback Cole Behymer said. “Overall, it kind of felt the same to me whenever I was on the field. I really didn’t notice it that much. But it’s a lot weirder to play on a Thursday and not a Friday.”

That will truly hit home when the Hornets have to get up and go to school Friday morning.

“That’s the worst part about it,” Behymer said.

At least they’ll be heading to class undefeated.

The Hornets churned out a seven-minute drive to open the game, capping it with Colby Wort’s 10-yard touchdown run, and rode the momentum to a 40-22 victory over Calhoun on Thursday night in front of a sizable crowd.

“Our guys played with great energy,” Brown County coach Tom Little said. “They were cheering for each other, showing excitement for each other when they did make a big play. The energy our kids brought got our crowd into it. That opening drive, they really wanted to make sure they put that in the end zone.”

More importantly, the Hornets stonewalled the Warriors on their ensuing possession and scored three minutes into the second quarter to make it a two-possession game.

“It’s really hard for an offense that is run-heavy to overcome stuff like that,” Little said.

It added to the Hornets’ confidence.

“It gave us a bunch of energy,” Behymer said of the first defensive stop. “It made them lower their heads a little bit. So, yeah, it was really important.”

The big plays offensively were critical.

Wort’s opening touchdown was set up by a 23-yard pass play in which quarterback Angel Duarte got the ball to Tyce Fullerton in the right flat and watched him dance up the right side into the red zone.

Behymer’s touchdown on a 37-yard run gave the Hornets a 14-0 edge with 9:19 to go in the first half, and Duarte connected with Behymer on an 8-yard touchdown pass to make it a 20-0 halftime advantage.

After Calhoun scored on the opening possession of the second half, Wort followed a 12-yard run with a 40-yard burst right through the heart of the Warriors’ defense for a touchdown and a 26-7 lead with 8:09 remaining in the third quarter.

A Fullerton 40-yard touchdown reception and a Behymer 37-yard run put the game out of reach.

But the energy and enthusiasm was established on the first drive of the game.

“It was really important for us,” Behymer said. “We had to let everybody know that we weren’t going to give up and we were going to give it our all from the get-go. It was really important that we went down and scored on that first drive.”

Wort led the Hornets with 127 yards on 17 carries, while Behymer had nine carries and 117 yards.

“Their leadership was really, really big for some of our younger guys,” Little said.

That made it feel like a normal football night, even if the Hornets and the coaches know they’ll wake up to it still being a school day.

“Friday morning I’ll notice it more,” Little said. “Usually, you kind of wake up and shower and you don’t really worry about what your hair looks like and just throw a hat on. As I’m sitting here, I’m realizing I have to have the locker room cleaned out to have students in here tomorrow morning. That was always stuff you could kind of put on the backburner until the next morning. 

“It’s different doing it this way. It was great and it was fun to do, but it’s not something I’d want to do every week. I think Friday Night Lights is a much better thing for the kids and community, but for us coaches, too.”