Patriots pick up win on homecoming
HOMEWOOD – It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win.
On Friday night, the Class 6A No. 8 Homewood High School football team struggled to move the football, but emerged with a 24-0 victory over Center Point.
“We have never struggled that much to score 24 points,” said Homewood head coach Ben Berguson. “Give Center Point a lot of credit, their defensive line whipped our offensive line all night long.”
Homewood (4-1) rushed for just 57 yards on the night, as Center Point — which has improved greatly under first-year coach George Bates — neutralized what is normally a strength for the Patriots offense.
Luckily for the Patriots, their defense was up to the task. Homewood limited Center Point to 97 total yards for the contest, with much of that coming on a couple chunk plays in the second half.
“Our defense, they’re our glue,” Berguson said. “They always play well.”
Center Point’s (2-3) only scoring threat of the evening came after a Patriots gift, as Homewood muffed a punt at its own 20-yard line. The Eagles advanced to the 1-yard line, but fumbled a fourth-down snap and turned the ball over.
Berguson said his team handled the open week last week well, but added that the distractions of homecoming may have played a part in Homewood’s struggles.
“I wanted to pick up where we left off with Helena tonight,” said Berguson, referring to the Patriots’ 48-6 thrashing of the Huskies two weeks ago. “I’m really disappointed in that. It could be the open date and the week with homecoming, but we’ll get things back together.”
Homewood’s offense started out on a strong note, marching 67 yards on 11 plays to score on its initial possession. The drive was capped off by Larkin Williams’ rollout pass to Marcus McGhee, who scored from 11 yards out to make it 7-0.
The Patriots blocked Center Point’s punt early in the second quarter, but turned the ball over on downs after four plays. They salvaged points two drives later, as Lane Gilchrist knocked home a 23-yard field goal to give Homewood a 10-0 lead at the half.
Center Point helped Homewood with a special teams mistake in the third quarter, muffing a punt and giving Homewood a short field at the 14-yard line. The Patriots went up 17-0 after Williams dumped a short screen pass to Wilson McCraw, who reached the end zone on the 6-yard reception.
Williams finished the evening completing 14-of-22 passes for 125 yards and two scores. He completed 11 of his first 12 but misfired on six straight after that. McGhee caught five balls for 33 yards and Trae Ausmer picked up 37 yards receiving on four grabs.
KeOnte Davis scored a 9-yard touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter to score the game’s final points. He led the Patriots on the ground with 27 yards on 12 carries.
Homewood gets back into Class 6A, Region 5 play next week, as the Patriots host Minor and first-year coach Adrian Abrams. Center Point will travel to Springville.
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