As Dallas County High School head football coach Rick Bush roamed the sidelines Thursday night, he jotted down notes on a manila folder.

Bush said the Hornets have plenty of questions to answer and holes to fill following their preseason jamboree against the West Blocton Tigers at Dallas County High School.

The Dallas County junior varsity squad came away with a 12-0 decision over West Blocton in the first half, while the Hornets’ varsity team surrendered a late touchdown and settled for a 14-14 tie with the varsity Tigers.

“We did a lot of good things,” Bush said after the game. “But we did some bad things, too. We’re replacing 17 starters from last year’s team. When you do that, you’re going to have some early problems.”

The junior varsity Hornets had little problem solving the West Blocton defense, as junior running back Desmond Martin carried the ball twice for 76 yards, including a 47-yard romp down the hosts’ sideline to give the Hornets a 6-0 lead with 4:47 left in the opening period.

Dallas County struck again in the second quarter when freshman quarter Jacob Paxton connected with junior receiver Kenyatta McDonald on a 41-yard scoring toss to give the Hornets a 12-0 lead 7:33 before halftime.

“I liked the way we ran the ball,” Bush said. “The receivers caught the ball well. I liked the way the offensive line blocked.”

What disappointed the Hornets’ coach was the occasional breakdown by both the junior varsity and varsity defenses, which were flagged for a combined four encroachment penalties.

“We lost seven guys on defense from last year,” Bush said. “I mean seven quality guys.

The varsity defense got off to a rough start in the third quarter as the Tigers marched on an 8-play, 53-yard drive culminated by a 9-yard run around the right end by quarterback Adam Carroll that gave the West Blocton varsity troop a 7-0 lead with the extra point.

The Hornets’ offense also looked stale early on, as junior quarterback Derrick McGhee was sacked for a 6-yard loss.

“Our interior guys have to learn to sustain their blocks better,” Bush said.

However, the game quickly turned around when McGhee found senior tight end Michael Johnson on a 31-yard pass play on third down to keep the drive alive.

Seven plays

later, McGhee scored on a 2-yard run and Teravious Mitchell added the PAT to tie the game at 7 with 2:31 remaining in the third period.

Dallas County struck quickly on its ensuing drive. Rafel Miller gave the Hornets the lead when he rumbled for a 46-yard scoring run on the team’s third play of the drive. Mitchell added the PAT and Dallas County led 14-7 with 11:31 to go.

The Hornets appeared in control when they drove the ball into West Blocton territory with under five minutes to go. But the drive stalled on downs and the Tigers took possession with 4:37 left.

West Blocton found itself against the wall on a fourth-down play with 2:44 left. But after a Tigers’ timeout, fullback Steven Motley galloped 17 yards on fourth-and-five to keep the drive alive at the Dallas County 43.

Three plays later, Motley scored on a 7-yard run with eight seconds left. The PAT tied the game at 14.