Charlie Wagner wraps up a Zephyr Bulldog runner. The Hornets must contend with an angry giant tonight.

One week after defeating Zephyr by eight points, 28-20, on the road, Lometa travels to Richland Springs where it will do battle with the state powerhouse.

Making matters worse, the Coyotes are coming off a 76-62 loss to a very talented Borden County squad.

After beginning the season as the No. 3 team in Division I, Richland Springs (1-1) has dropped to 15th in the state rankings, according to SixManFootball.com. With Lometa sitting in the 32nd slot, the Coyotes are favored by 24 points on their home field.

But the Hornets are used to adversity.

With a relatively young and inexperienced roster, Lometa opened its season with a pair of victories, including last week's win at Zephyr. The game was postponed until Saturday morning after rain showers rolled through the area last Friday night.

Once the action did get under way, it took awhile for either team to find the end zone.

The two teams went scoreless through the first quarter before Lometa took a 12-6 lead into halftime. The Hornets maintained the advantage in the third quarter as each team tacked on eight points.

Colter Burr heads downfield after catching a pass. In the final period, Lometa scored eight points to the Bulldogs' six and walked away with the victory despite being outplayed in several areas of the game.

Zephyr had more first downs (11) than Lometa (8) and finished with almost 200 more yards of total offense. The Hornets posted 305 yards (124 rushing, 181 passing), while Zephyr had 492 (253 rushing, 239 passing).

Lometa also punted four times while Zephyr never needed to.

Regardless of what the stat sheet shows, the Hornets won the only statistic that truly matters: the final score.

Lometa will need to improve overall, however, to contend with the Coyotes, but the Hornets have a powerful weapon in quarterback Dalton Parsons.

The junior was 14-of-27 passing for 181 yards and a touchdown against Zephyr, and he also accumulated 62 yards and two scores on nine carries. Cody Brister chipped in a team-high tying 62 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Dalton Parsons works to maintain control of the football in recent action against Zephyr. Scott Hernandez led the squad in receiving yards with 59 on four catches. He also scored a touchdown.

Parsons also kicked two field goals and finished the morning with nine tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery. Defensive end James Reyna posted 11 tackles, and Hernandez added nine.

Charlie Wagner plucked the team's only interception, to go along with six tackles.

The junior varsity Hornets team won its game against Zephyr as well. The squad hung 43 points on the board in the first three quarters en route to a 43-6 victory in Lometa.

Quarterback Hector Rivera went 4-of-5 passing for 62 yards and two touchdowns, both to Cody Hand.

On the ground, Lometa finished with 153 yards behind Chris Scarborough, Brandon Lilly and Kolby Hesbrook, who each found the end zone.

Lilly also added a 72-yard touchdown off a kickoff.

Hornet Scott Hernandez (7) tries to power down the sideline. Dispatch Record photos by Richard Akridge

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