Battered Hornets playing homecoming tilt

By George L. Jones

The Selma Times-Journal

PLANTERSVILLE – There’s at least one person that would like to dispute the saying “Numbers never lie.”

Dallas County coach John Higgins sees a Bibb County team that is much better than its 56-28 loss to Demopolis Friday indicates.

Mistakes – namely turnovers that gave Demopolis a short field and easy points – cost Bibb County (5-1, 3-1 5A Region 3).

And the loss is probably going to be fresh on the team’s mind when it takes on DCHS for the Hornets’ homecoming this week.

“They’re tough, and they’re a very, very, very good team,” Higgins said. “They had a chance to win that game, and they’re probably going to want revenge against us. The final score was not indicative of the ball game.”

That could also be said of the shutout loss the Hornets (1-5, 1-3) took from Shelby County this past week.

DCHS was down by a manageable seven points with four minutes left in the first half, and the Wildcats were inside their own 5-yard line.

By halftime, Shelby County was ahead three touchdowns.

“We’re just not executing, period,” Higgins said. “We’re not executing offensively or defensively. We were playing very good football and we had them pinned back. But the last four minutes before halftime killed us. That hurts because we don’t have big-play capability.”

That’s mainly because the Hornets don’t have some of their biggest players.

The team took another injury blow when starting center/middle linebacker Jeremy Powers went out with an injury.

Running back/defensive back Anthony Caver is also still out of the lineup.

That leaves the team even thinner on both sides of the ball in what will remain a physically demanding schedule the rest of the way.

“We as a coaching staff are working hard the rest of the season, and hopefully the players pick up on that attitude,” Higgins said.