Patriots overwhelm Helena
HELENA -- The Homewood High School football team traveled to Helena on Friday night, but the Patriots felt right at home in all three phases of the game.
They routed the Huskies 48-6 for their second win in Class 6A, Region 5.
“Last week we took a step in the right direction, and we took another one tonight,” said Homewood head coach Ben Berguson.
The game could not have gotten off to a better start for the Patriots (3-1, 2-0 in region), who forced turnovers on two of Helena’s first three possessions and scored touchdowns on their first three drives.
On the game’s third play from scrimmage, Homewood senior linebacker Crawford Doyle intercepted quarterback Tyler Stephens’ first pass, giving the Patriots the ball at the Helena 20-yard line.
Three plays later, less than three minutes into the game, Homewood opened up the scoring on a 14-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Larkin Williams to junior receiver Trae Ausmer.
After a Helena (0-3, 0-1) punt, Williams and Ausmer connected again, this time on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 6:12 to go in the first quarter.
On the next Huskies possession, Doyle stepped in front of Zach Goodwin's pass for his second interception of the game. Homewood once again took advantage of the good field position, going on a four-play drive that ended on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Williams to junior running back KeOnte Davis.
Davis' touchdown gave Homewood a 21-0 lead with 3:28 to go in the first quarter.
Helena’s only score came in the first minutes of the second quarter. After starting at their own 1-yard line, the Huskies went on an eight-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that was highlighted by an 88-yard run from Marquis Johnson and concluded with a 4-yard jump pass from Goodwin.
After Helena’s score, the Patriots tacked on two field goals to take a 27-6 lead into halftime.
Even with the lead, Homewood’s offense showed no signs of slowing down, and its defense continued to frustrate the Helena offense.
The Patriots got the ball to start the second half and immediately went to work, taking the ball 75 yards on 12 plays and scoring on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Marcus McGhee. The drive that saw Homewood go up 34-6 with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter was Williams last drive, as he was relieved by Pate Owen for the duration of the game.
Williams finished with 15 completions on 23 passes for 183 yards and four touchdowns.
Homewood’s final offensive touchdown came in the opening minute of the fourth quarter when Owen found sophomore Len Irvine on a 4-yard pass into the end zone. The touchdown capped a 13-play, 74-yard drive with 11:31 to play.
The Patriots special teams then put the icing on the game. With 4:08 to play, Helena punted to Homewood’s Ausmer, who fielded the punt on one bounce, juked a few Husky defenders and returned the ball 90 yards for his third touchdown of the night. The touchdown capped the scoring and gave Homewood the final 48-6 lead.
“We’re just playing really well right now in every area of the game,” Berguson said. “You look at the scoreboard, 48-6, and what else can you say? Our guys are playing with a lot of focus and determination.”
Homewood finished the game with 143 yards on the ground and 216 through the air for 359 yards of total offense. The Patriots held the Huskies to 184 yards rushing and 50 yards passing for 234 total yards.
The Patriots will have a bye week next Friday before hosting Center Point on Sept. 28.
“We’re playing so well right now, I kind of wish we didn’t have that off week next week,” Berguson said. “But we’re going to be fine. We take it one game, one week at a time. I think we’re going to keep getting better and better.”
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