Lometa opened district play with a loss over the weekend, a 74-49 defeat against the Jonesboro Eagles. The game was delayed after playing a quarter and a half on Friday, and it concluded in Priddy Saturday night.
Despite forcing four turnovers, Lometa’s defense came up short in the long run. The Hornet offense was able to find success throughout the game, but turnovers and missed opportunities kept the game out of reach.
Jonesboro opened the scoring after stopping the Hornets on their first drive to take an 8-0 lead. Lometa responded on the next possession. A pass from Jeremiah Torres to Carson Brister left the score 8-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The Hornets scored again after the break, with Stone Carr-Jones breaking free on a long run. Jonesboro recovered an onside kick and scoring once more to take a 22-14 lead a few minutes into the second quarter.
After the rain delay and venue change, play resumed Saturday with a Lometa turnover on downs that led to another Eagle touchdown, putting the opponents up 30-14. Jonesboro recovered another onside kick, but Carson Brister forced a fumble that Easton Hamilton scooped up for a score to cut the deficit to just 10 points.
The teams traded scores as the second quarter wound down, including Carr-Jones’ second rushing score of the night. At halftime, the score was 46-28 in favor of the Eagles.
Jonesboro did not slow down after the break, extending the lead to 26 points. The Hornets found ways to stay in the game, as Emmanuel Prado hit a seam for a long touchdown and made the score 54-34 heading to the final quarter.
Lometa struggled defensively in the fourth quarter, giving up touchdowns on back-to-back drives that extended the Eagle lead to 68-34 late in the game. The teams traded scores once again, with Lometa finding the end zone on a pass from Torres to Brister before an Eagle touchdown brought the tally to 74-41.
Carr-Jones hit paydirt one more time in the final minute, resulting in the final score of 74-49.
Lometa Head Coach Terrence Wadley said small errors led to crucial moments of the game and added that improved discipline will be a key to success in upcoming games.
“Our defense played hard, but we have to be disciplined in passing situations,” Wadley said. “Three of their scores were because we failed to cover receivers because we were too focused on stopping the run and failed to cover a receiver.
“Several times we played it perfectly, and we didn't finish the play,” he said. “In the next two games we have to be disciplined and finish plays, get off the field on fourth down and end offensive drives with touchdowns.”
Offensively, Lometa found success throughout the game, but miscues and unfinished drives hurt the team. Wadley noted the importance of cleaning up little mistakes and playing a nearperfect game heading into a contest against a top opponent.
“It's the little things that enabled us to finish drives,” the coach said. “We had a dropped pass on fourth down that could have potentially led to a score. There were times we slipped and fell on some run plays or mishandled some exchanges between the QB and running back. At one point our defense forced a turnover, and we fumbled the very next play. We have to take advantage of those situations when they present themselves.
“We're going to take it one game at a time, and May is up next,” Wadley said. “They have size and speed, but it's nothing that we haven't seen before. It's going to take a perfect game to beat a team like that in all three phases of the game. I believe we are capable of playing perfectly and giving them all we have.”
Lometa will travel to May on Halloween night to face the Tigers. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
