Sherbeck Field was full of energy and excitement, fueled by an alumni event that brought out crowds of eager fans well before kickoff. However, that energy could not translate to success for the fifth ranked Hornets, as they fell to the unranked Cougars 29-13 Saturday night.
On the opening drive of the game, sophomore quarterback Tobey Schmidt led his team to an early lead, thanks to his 16-yard touchdown scamper to cap off an opening 8-play drive in the first quarter.
However, the Cougars countered swiftly, as sophomore defensive back Dylan Flowers intercepted a pass on Hornet’s second drive, and ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown. After freshman kicker Luis Rodriguez’s extra point, the score was evened out at 7-7.
As the Hornet offense stalled out, Cougars freshman quarterback Brady Welch struck quickly, when he threw a touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Chaz Hilst. That was the start of an onslaught of points from Canyons.
The Cougars scored 26 unanswered points in total before the Hornets added a late touchdown in garbage time on a 9-yard pass from freshman quarterback Max Martin to sophomore running back Jared Peters.
Fullerton’s defense played a solid brand of football against the Cougars by holding them to 96 passing yards and 45 rushing yards. However, their major challenge was the offense kept putting them at a disadvantage in the field position battle.
This allowed the Cougars to take advantage of several opportunities and eventually secure the win, including Rodriguez knocking through five field goals.
“We needed this loss from the coaching staff all the way down to the players. We got too high on our horse after an easy win and may have taken them lightly,” said Co-Head Coach Phil Austin.
He added that experiencing a loss early in the season can be helpful, and it’s important to regroup and take it back to square one.
