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Hermleigh’s Chase Carr scores on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Sorrells in the third quarter. -
Eli Garza attempts to get away from Brenden Fisk of Motley County. The Cardinals lost to Motley County 34-23 in Saturday’s season opener.
JAYTON — Hermleigh preferred to start the season with a win, but new head coach Derek Ahearn liked what his team showed during Saturday's 34-23 loss to Motley County at the Jayton Gridiron Classic.
The Cardinals trailed 26-7 early in the third quarter before scoring touchdowns on consecutive series. Motley County put the game away with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
“I saw the small things, like fumbles and dropped passes, but we will correct those mistakes,” Ahearn said. “The players did a great job of battling and never gave up. We dropped passes, but we made good catches, too. We need to clean up the little things and focus on Highland.”
Dylan Sorrells and Eli Garza played like experienced players. Sorrells completed 12-of-21 passes for 189 yards and rushed for 54 yards with one touchdown. Garza caught three passes for 70 yards and one touchdown.
Ahearn said Luis Gonzalez played well for Hermleigh.
“Luis is a good player, moves well and makes good decisions,” Ahearn said. “He has a good future.”
Motley County took an early lead by driving 59 yards on seven plays capped by Brenden Fisk’s 18-yard touchdown pass from Cade Drum with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
A Hermleigh turnover set up Motley County’s second score. With 8:28 left in the first half, Kyler Degan scored on a 1-yard run to give Motley County a 12-0 lead.
Hermleigh responded with a seven-play, 42-yard drive to cut the deficit to 12-7. Sorrells hit Garza for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 4:51 to go in the first half. Caden Cornutt caught a pass from Matt Gonzales for the one-point conversion.
Motley County benefitted from a fumble recovery at the Cardinal 22 to score before halftime. Degan scored on the next play to increase the lead to 18-7.
Midway through the third quarter, Fisk scored on a 6-yard run and made the conversion kick to increase the lead to 26-7.
Hermleigh answered by scoring two touchdowns before the end of the quarter. Sorrells scored on a 43-yard run and completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Chase Carr. Justin Wilson made both conversion kicks as Hermleigh trailed 26-23 going into the fourth quarter.
Motley County recovered an onside kick and Degan capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 8:42 left in the game.
Later in the game, an interception at the Motley County 4 ended a Hermleigh scoring opportunity.
The Cardinals will host Highland at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“We don't have time to dwell on the loss,” Ahearn said. “We made some good decisions on the field against Motley County. We could have blocked better and given our quarterback more time. The defense started the game strong, but we need to develop depth on defense to give players who are playing both ways a break.”
Hermleigh 0 7 16 0—23
Motley County 6 12 8 8—34
HHS MC
First Downs 9 11
Total yards 218 288
Rushes-yards 15-19 38-249
Passing-yards 199 39
Comp-Att-Int 14-25-1 6-8-0
Punts 0-0 0-0
Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-1
Penalties-yards 8-65 4-50
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Motley County — Brenden Fisk 18 pass from Cade Drum (kick failed), 2:43
Second Quarter
Motley County — Kyler Degan 1 run (kick failed), 8:23
Hermleigh— Eli Garza 45 pass from Dylan Sorrells (Caden Cornutt pass from Matt Gonzales), 4:51
Motley County — Degan 22 run (pass failed), :36
Third Quarter
Motley County — Fisk 6 run (Fisk kick), 7:56
Hermleigh— Dylan Sorrells 45 run (Justin Wilson kick), 7:42
Hermleigh— Chase Carr 7 pass from Sorrells (Wilson kick), 1:43
Fourth Quarter
Motley County — Degan 4 run (Fisk kick), 8:42
Individual Statistics
RUSHING —Hermleigh, Dylan Sorrells 5-54, Luis Gonzalez 1-4, Matt Gonzales 1-1, Eli Garza 6-minus 5, Team 2-minus 34. Motley County, Kyler Degan 20-189, Mickey Clary 6-26, Eli Marshall 4-17, Brenden Fisk 7-16, Cade Drum 1-1.
PASSING — Sorrells 12-21-1 for 189 yards; Garza 1-2-0 for minus 4 yards; Luis Gonzalez 1-2-0 for 14 yards. Motley County, Drum 6-8-0 for 39 yards.
RECEIVING — Hermleigh, Chase Carr 5-90, Garza 3,-70, Tucker Barton 2-26, Matt Gonzales 1-7; Luis Gonzalez 1-6, Geronimo Lara 1-4, Sorrells 1-minus 4. Motley County, Degan 5-21, Fisk 1-18.