MAPLESVILLE – Defense was the name of the game for the Dallas County Hornets as they defeated the Maplesville Red Devils, 20-6, in a hard-hitting contest Friday night.

“We told our kids that they would have to step up, and they did,” Dallas County head coach Rick Bush said after the Hornets beat the Red Devils for the third year in a row. “They showed a lot of heart.”

Maplesville failed to score twice in the first quarter after reaching the Hornet 1-yard line both times.

“Our team must learn to score in the red zone,” Red Devils’ first-year head coach Brent Hubbard said. “We missed some good chances.”

In the opening drive of the game DC lost the ball on a fumble on its own 1-yard line. Maplesville failed to push the ball across the goal line and was also penalized twice in the process.

On the Hornets’ next possession, quarterback Derick McGhee connected with Michael Johnson on a 90-yard touchdown pass. The extra point try failed.

On the Red Devils’ next drive, quarterback John Andrews guided his team from its own 21, and with the help of a 27-yard pass, moved to the Hornets’ 1-yard line using more than seven minutes off the clock.

However, penalties and lost yardage put Maplesville back to Dallas County 27-yard line.

The next play resulted in an interception by Walter Hunter, who scampered 81 yards for the score to put the Hornets up 12-0 with 52 seconds left in the first quarter.

Both defenses prevailed in the second quarter as the half ended with a 12-0 score.

Dallas County reached the end zone four minutes into the third quarter on a 33-yard run down the sidelines by Rafel Miller. After making the 2-point conversion, the Hornets lead stretched their lead to 20 – 0.

Maplesville moved to the Hornets’ 7-yard line on its next possession on a 41-yard sprint by Rod Nicks. But a quarterback sack resulting in a 14-yard loss diminished the Red Devils’ scoring opportunity.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Red Devils’ defense recovered a fumble that led to a 23-yard scoring pass from Andrews that got Maplesville on the board and closed the gap to 20-6 after a failed PAT try.