By Kelsey Prose
In a Class 2A Region 7 battle for the ages, the Ider Hornets made a last-minute stand to keep the Section Lions from scoring a two-point conversion in an attempt to steal the victory. Ider led at halftime 27-20 and held onto the lead to seal the 41-40 region win.
Ider got on the board first and padded a 14-0 lead before Section’s Drake McCutchen found the endzone from 3-yards out, but the extra two points failed. Before the frame ended, Ider extended the lead to 21-6. During the second quarter, Hunter Robinson recovered a Section fumble and gave the Hornets prime field position. Still, the Lions answered back when Dominik Blair picked off a Hornet pass which set up Cameron Summerford for a 30-yard rushing touchdown. Buddy Jr. Walker’s two-point conversion was successful and cut the Lions deficit to 21-14. Ider’s Luke Hannah blocked a punt during the second quarter that set up a 6-yard rushing touchdown, but the PAT was no good and kept the Hornets at 27-14. Section got the ball back with under one minute left in the half, and with a big kickoff return, Jacob Cooper threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Blair that closed the gap to 27-20 at the break.
The second half started with a Section rally when Summerford got the Lions down to the red zone, and Walker punched in a 6-yard rushing touchdown plus the PAT to knot the game at 27-all. The fourth quarter started in a tie at 34-all, but Ider pulled ahead on a 15-yard rushing touchdown. Both teams fought to maintain possession of the ball and fumbled the ball away. Section got the ball back with five minutes remaining in the game and set up the final scoring drive that took over three minutes off the clock. Blair scored a 7-yard rushing touchdown that brought the Lions to within one point, but the Lions went for the win, and the two-point conversion failed. Section attempted an onside kick, but the Hornets recovered and held onto the ball as the clock ran down.
Section’s McCutchen earned 153 rushing yards with two touchdowns, while Ider’s Robinson recorded 186 yards with four rushing touchdowns. Matt Norman rushed for 82 yards with one touchdown, and Benjamin Smith punched in a rushing touchdown for the Hornets as well.
Section drops to 2-3 overall and 0-3 in Class 2A Region 7 play. This Friday night, the Ider Hornets (3-2, 2-1) host Valley Head for a non-region matchup.
