PHOTO BY CHERI JAY-WIENECKE Coach Wendell Bradley and Hornet Brandon Faubion take a breather during Lometa's recent loss. Nothing hurts worse than a self-inflicted wound.

Just ask Lometa Hornets varsity football coach Wendell Bradley.

The Hornets lost three of four fumbles, committed seven penalties -- including a pair of critical 15-yarders -- and had all six of their extra points blocked in a 38- 36 loss to Cherokee.

"If you shoot yourself in the foot enough, eventually you are going to shoot all your toes off, and you won't have anything to stand up on," Bradley said. "That's basically what happened."

Despite the outcome, Lometa played a solid game, racking up 387 total yards of offense to Cherokee's 376 and finished with five more first downs than the Indians.

Dalton Parsons led the way offensively, completing eight-of- 11 passes for 125 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 95 yards on 11 carries. Brandon Faubion ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Bubba Salinas was the top tackler on defense, recording 15 stops.

Nevertheless, the only stat that really matters is the final score.

Cherokee (1-2) jumped out to a 14-6 lead after the first quarter, but the Hornets scored 12 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a four-point lead into halftime.

Both teams posted six points in the third quarter, but Lometa (2- 2) owned a 10-point lead in the final period before the Indians came storming back to take control of the game.

The Hornets never gave up, however, and had an opportunity to tie the contest after scoring a touchdown with seven seconds remaining, but the following kick was blocked and Cherokee secured the victory.

"It's our fault. We just overlooked them," Bradley said. "We knew we had a tough one before and a tough one after them, and we knew we were supposed to beat these guys.

"We looked at it as an easy week, and they didn't look at it that way."

Lometa came into the game on the heels of its first loss of the season after falling to defending state champion Richland Springs 62-14.

Next week the Hornets host No. 15 May (3-1) who was edged out by Throckmorton 102-100 in six overtimes last week. It was the highest-scoring football game ever played in the state of Texas.

"That was pretty crazy," Bradley said. "It was fantastic."

Lometa will look to slow down the game against May and limit the scoring opportunities, while also eliminating mistakes like the ones that cost the Hornets the game against Cherokee.

"As long as we play error-free football, we're a pretty decent team, and we can play with just about anybody," the coach said. "We have a hard time overcoming adversity that comes with penalties and turnovers."

The junior varsity squad fared much better in its game against Heritage, winning 41-0.

"We had to work to keep from getting to the 45-point rule because we wanted to stay and play," Bradley said. "You don't get any better riding the bus home."