Wildcats rain on Aiken's parade, issue Hornets loss
9/27/2008 12:56 AM
By KENTON MAKIN
Staff writer
In three of its first four games, Aiken High School's football team showed true grit as it held off opponents in those contests by a combined 17 points.
Friday's region opener with Lexington High School brought some rain and a bruising front line, and despite a gritty effort from Aiken, the Hornets' dreams of going undefeated were trampled in the mud in a 22-19 loss at Hagood Stadium.
"They're a well-coached football team and their kids played hard," Aiken coach Carey Johnson said. "We have to start working hard on some things to correct for next week ... we have to do a better job."
"We had to control the football," Lexington coach Allen Sitterle said. "We came back with a lot of character (after a 56-14 loss at Dorman last week)."
As expected, both teams' running attacks figured to weigh heavily into Friday's equation. The Hornets nearly had a pair of 100-yard rushers in Aubrey Johnson (nine carries, 104 yards) and Cortez Abney (15 carries, 97 yards), which Lexington's Wildcats countered with a stout offensive line and the efforts of Anthony Carden (24 carries, 99 yards).
Johnson picked up 42 of those yards on Aiken's first drive, and 82 of those yards on his first few carries. Aiken's first drive was thwarted by an interception from Lexington's Jacob Spires, though, and the Hornets' desire to integrate the pass with its patented rushing attack backfired.
Hornet quarterback Kessler Scott was 2-of-15 on the night for 18 yards and an interception. The rain factored into the stat line, along with some tough drops and near-misses for big plays.
"We didn't make plays when we had the opportunity to make plays," Johnson said. "When you don't do that, and you let (good) teams hang around, they're going to catch up with you in the long run."
Aiken struck first in the contest; on its second drive of the game, Abney capped a five-play drive that started at its own 47 with a 9-yard touchdown run.
Lexington answered in the second quarter after it started a drive at the Aiken 26. Carden punctuated the drive with a 14-yard run.
The two defenses held, then Aiken found motivation from a key block during a Hornet punt return by Johnson, who offered a bone-rattling hit that fired up the Hornet sideline and faithful. Scott found Thomas Timmerman on a crucial third-and-9 play, then finished off the drive later with an 8-yard run right to give Aiken a 13-7 lead.
The missed extra point proved to be ominous as raindrops continued to fall on Aiken's special teams' heads. An errant snap slithered off the chest and hands of punter Greg Collins, and the Wildcats returned the mishap to the Aiken 11.
Aiken's defense offered a gutsy effort, though, to preserve the lead going into halftime. On fourth-and-1 from the 2-yard line, the Hornet defense closed in on Carden, who received the ball four times on the drive and only mustered nine yards.
Aiken couldn't capitalize on the momentum-changing play out of halftime, though, which opened the door for the first of two lengthy drives from Lexington.
The first, a 16-play, 80-yard drive, ended with a 3-yard run from Dexter Wells that gave Lexington its first lead of the game at 14-13.
After Aiken attempted to answer with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that stalled after the group fell short on a fourth-and-3 at the Lexington 5, the Hornets' fourth-down defense came up big again.
Inside its 15-yard line, Lexington attempted a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-inches instead of a punt. The coaching decision proved to be costly, as Johnson scored on a 14-yard dash on the ensuing play as Aiken regained the lead at 19-14.
Aiken's defense held in its 28-20 win over Berkmar (Ga.) High School, in a 14-7 win over Silver Bluff High School and in last week's 23-21 win over Boiling Springs High School.
The Wildcats (4-1, 1-0 Region 5-AAAA), who struggled in a 56-14 setback to Dorman High School last week, bucked the trend and pushed the Hornets past the brink with a 17-play drive.
On fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line, the Wildcats grabbed the lead for good with a pass from Trad Hunter to Reese Taylor. Taylor punched the ball in for the two-point conversion, and Aiken's comeback effort fizzled after four incomplete passes.
Aiken (4-1, 0-1 Region 5-AAAA) will look to avoid an 0-2 region start when it hosts Irmo High School next week.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
AIK -- Cortez Abney 9 run (Greg Collins kick)
SECOND QUARTER
LEX -- Anthony Carden 14 run (No. 44 kick)
AIK -- Kessler Scott 8 run (kick failed)
THIRD QUARTER
LEX -- Dexter Wells 3 run (No. 44 kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
AIKEN -- Aubrey Johnson 14 run (run failed)
LEX -- Reese Taylor 5 pass from Trad Hunter (Hunter run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Lexington -- Anthony Carden 24-99, Trad Hunter 18-38, Dexter Wells 4-4. Aiken -- Aubrey Johnson 9-104, Cortez Abney 15-97, Hunter Scott 3-13, Demetrius Washington 3-13, Marquiez Garvin 2-4, Kessler Scott 2-4, Jeremy Robinson 2-(-5).
PASSING
Lexington -- Hunter 8-16-1 70. Aiken -- K. Scott 2-15-1 18.
RECEIVING
Lexington -- Adrian Wigfall 4-42, Reese Taylor 4-28. Aiken -- Thomas Timmerman 1-15, Hunter Scott 1-3.
9/27/2008 12:56 AM
By KENTON MAKIN
Staff writer
In three of its first four games, Aiken High School's football team showed true grit as it held off opponents in those contests by a combined 17 points.
Friday's region opener with Lexington High School brought some rain and a bruising front line, and despite a gritty effort from Aiken, the Hornets' dreams of going undefeated were trampled in the mud in a 22-19 loss at Hagood Stadium.
"They're a well-coached football team and their kids played hard," Aiken coach Carey Johnson said. "We have to start working hard on some things to correct for next week ... we have to do a better job."
"We had to control the football," Lexington coach Allen Sitterle said. "We came back with a lot of character (after a 56-14 loss at Dorman last week)."
As expected, both teams' running attacks figured to weigh heavily into Friday's equation. The Hornets nearly had a pair of 100-yard rushers in Aubrey Johnson (nine carries, 104 yards) and Cortez Abney (15 carries, 97 yards), which Lexington's Wildcats countered with a stout offensive line and the efforts of Anthony Carden (24 carries, 99 yards).
Johnson picked up 42 of those yards on Aiken's first drive, and 82 of those yards on his first few carries. Aiken's first drive was thwarted by an interception from Lexington's Jacob Spires, though, and the Hornets' desire to integrate the pass with its patented rushing attack backfired.
Hornet quarterback Kessler Scott was 2-of-15 on the night for 18 yards and an interception. The rain factored into the stat line, along with some tough drops and near-misses for big plays.
"We didn't make plays when we had the opportunity to make plays," Johnson said. "When you don't do that, and you let (good) teams hang around, they're going to catch up with you in the long run."
Aiken struck first in the contest; on its second drive of the game, Abney capped a five-play drive that started at its own 47 with a 9-yard touchdown run.
Lexington answered in the second quarter after it started a drive at the Aiken 26. Carden punctuated the drive with a 14-yard run.
The two defenses held, then Aiken found motivation from a key block during a Hornet punt return by Johnson, who offered a bone-rattling hit that fired up the Hornet sideline and faithful. Scott found Thomas Timmerman on a crucial third-and-9 play, then finished off the drive later with an 8-yard run right to give Aiken a 13-7 lead.
The missed extra point proved to be ominous as raindrops continued to fall on Aiken's special teams' heads. An errant snap slithered off the chest and hands of punter Greg Collins, and the Wildcats returned the mishap to the Aiken 11.
Aiken's defense offered a gutsy effort, though, to preserve the lead going into halftime. On fourth-and-1 from the 2-yard line, the Hornet defense closed in on Carden, who received the ball four times on the drive and only mustered nine yards.
Aiken couldn't capitalize on the momentum-changing play out of halftime, though, which opened the door for the first of two lengthy drives from Lexington.
The first, a 16-play, 80-yard drive, ended with a 3-yard run from Dexter Wells that gave Lexington its first lead of the game at 14-13.
After Aiken attempted to answer with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that stalled after the group fell short on a fourth-and-3 at the Lexington 5, the Hornets' fourth-down defense came up big again.
Inside its 15-yard line, Lexington attempted a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-inches instead of a punt. The coaching decision proved to be costly, as Johnson scored on a 14-yard dash on the ensuing play as Aiken regained the lead at 19-14.
Aiken's defense held in its 28-20 win over Berkmar (Ga.) High School, in a 14-7 win over Silver Bluff High School and in last week's 23-21 win over Boiling Springs High School.
The Wildcats (4-1, 1-0 Region 5-AAAA), who struggled in a 56-14 setback to Dorman High School last week, bucked the trend and pushed the Hornets past the brink with a 17-play drive.
On fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line, the Wildcats grabbed the lead for good with a pass from Trad Hunter to Reese Taylor. Taylor punched the ball in for the two-point conversion, and Aiken's comeback effort fizzled after four incomplete passes.
Aiken (4-1, 0-1 Region 5-AAAA) will look to avoid an 0-2 region start when it hosts Irmo High School next week.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
AIK -- Cortez Abney 9 run (Greg Collins kick)
SECOND QUARTER
LEX -- Anthony Carden 14 run (No. 44 kick)
AIK -- Kessler Scott 8 run (kick failed)
THIRD QUARTER
LEX -- Dexter Wells 3 run (No. 44 kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
AIKEN -- Aubrey Johnson 14 run (run failed)
LEX -- Reese Taylor 5 pass from Trad Hunter (Hunter run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Lexington -- Anthony Carden 24-99, Trad Hunter 18-38, Dexter Wells 4-4. Aiken -- Aubrey Johnson 9-104, Cortez Abney 15-97, Hunter Scott 3-13, Demetrius Washington 3-13, Marquiez Garvin 2-4, Kessler Scott 2-4, Jeremy Robinson 2-(-5).
PASSING
Lexington -- Hunter 8-16-1 70. Aiken -- K. Scott 2-15-1 18.
RECEIVING
Lexington -- Adrian Wigfall 4-42, Reese Taylor 4-28. Aiken -- Thomas Timmerman 1-15, Hunter Scott 1-3.
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