BNI Newswire

COLUMBIANA – A strong defensive performance from the Shelby County Wildcat defense was enough to get head coach Ryan Herring a Gatorade shower and a sweet homecoming victory over the Dallas County Hornets, 33-0.

For the Hornets (1-5, 1-3 5A Region 3), it was another lost shot at a region win.

Coming off a stellar win over Calera, the Wildcats (4-2, 2-2) stepped back into region play to continue their trek to the postseason.

As the first quarter clicked away, a partially blocked punt by Wildcat linebacker Graham Davis put Shelby County in business at the Hornet 36-yard line.

Braten Dill connected with Landon Denney for a 23-yard toss and two plays later found the end zone with a 2-yard run and a 7-0 lead.

With halftime approaching, the Wildcats orchestrated an eight-play drive from their own 5-yard line set up by runs of 17 yards and 15 yards from Tyrone Buie. Buie got the Wildcats there, and Darion Sutton capped off the drive, rumbling in for a 12-yard touchdown run.

On the following Hornet possession, Davis pounced on the loose football to allow Sutton to hit the goal line for his third score of the half on a 5-yard run.

The Wildcats carried a 21-0 lead into the half.

Shelby County came out in the second half, picking up where they left off with Dill calling his own number on a 14-yard touchdown run and Buie hitting the end zone from 20 yards out.

Buie finished the night with 169 yards on the ground on 17 carries and Sutton added 111 yards on 18 carries.

A stingy Wildcat defense held the Hornets to 22 yards on the ground and 77 through the air to claim the shutout.