The 6-2 Hornets went up against the 6-2 GCMS Falcons in one of their hardest matchups of the season. Against all odds, the Hornet's defense dominated the game in the second half winning 16-6. The game had a very rocky start for the Hornets, in which GCMS marched down the field and scored on their first drive in just four plays, but the first drive did not reflect the whole game. The Hornet's defense shut down the Falcons the rest of the game holding them to only 6 points that they got on their first drive. The Hornets scored 16 unanswered points putting another W in the win column, making the Hornets 7-2 on the season. This win also made history, this is only the second time in Heyworth football history that they became conference champions. They share the conference championship with Leroy and GCMS. Another thing this win did for the team was allow Heyworth to host a home playoff game in decades, and one of only a handful in Heyworth history. It's safe to say that the 2023 Heyworth Hornets are a very special team and will go down as one of the best teams in Heyworth's history.
Looking forward, the Hornets will host the 6-3 Calhoun/Brussels Warriors this Saturday (10/28) at 2 p.m. Calhoun is not a team to be overlooked as they are currently on a hot streak. In their last four games, they have shut out every opponent and put up over forty points on all of them. Their shutouts were not due to their schedule being easy, a notable opponent that they played was Camp Point Central, a number one seed in the Illinois 1A playoff bracket. Although they lost the game, it was close with a final score of 30-22. This was by far the closest game Camp Point had this season. After having a rocky 2-3 start to their season, Calhoun is hoping to use the momentum that they have gained over their four-game win streak and carry that into the playoffs.
Heyworth is going into this playoff game with a much different feeling than history would say. This team is firing on all cylinders and is looking to make a long playoff run, keeping their momentum going all the way to state. The Hornets continue to turn the program around and keep writing history for this team that has had little success in years prior. After coming off a big win against GCMS with an outstanding defensive performance, they are hoping to continue the stunning defense against Calhoun who has put up 186 unanswered points against their opponents in their past 4 games. If the Hornet’s defense is able to perform at the dominant level that we have seen from past games and they continue to execute their prolific offense, it is a very winnable game. The Hornet's offensive performance this year is nothing short of remarkable putting up 277 points this season. We interviewed one of Heyworth's star running backs Cooper Johnson who has largely contributed to this season’s success. When asked the question what worked well this season Cooper responded by saying,” What worked well was we stuck to our bread and butter to open up our big plays like scissors.” This is a big game for the program that needs a lot of preparation so we asked Cooper how do you prepare for a game like this? Cooper stated,” I prepare for a game by just listening to music with the team and making sure to get locked in and fired up before we come out of that locker room.” This team has played this season differently like they have a chip on their shoulder to prove they are not just the same old team that maybe wins one game a year. So we asked Cooper what he thinks led his team to the playoffs this year. He replied,” I think us just making sure throughout the year to stay the course and work on the little things because then it would lead to our offense making big plays. But for defense, I think it was just finding the right people who know their job and swarm to the ball.” we also asked Cooper what he planned to do in preparation for such a big game. He answered with,” I'm planning on watching more films and making sure to not mess around in practice and pay attention so we can execute the game plan to the best of our ability. "
We hope to see you at Hornet Stadium on Saturday to come watch the boys continue to make history. Admission is $5 at the gate and no passes will be accepted.
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