QC unable to overcome big plays, falls to Hooks 40-9

By Adam Pettit

The Queen City Bulldogs were on the road last Friday to take on the Hooks Hornets in their first district match. The Bulldogs looked to bounce back from a loss at Chisum the previous week, and Hooks also lost at the hands of Hughes Springs.
Queen City jumped out to a small lead, but Hooks scored shortly after and never looked back en route to a 40-9 win.  
The Bulldogs won the coin toss and elected to make a change from their usual decision to defer possession. William Harris received the opening kickoff for QC and returned the ball to the 34. Queen City started quickly on offense. 
Quarterback Josh Henry ran consecutive quarterback sneaks to start the game and advanced the Bulldogs to the QC 45. QC continued to run the ball for positive yardage by utilizing the quarterback sneak. 
On third and six from Hooks’ 24 yard line, Henry pitched the ball to James Williams for a 20 yard pickup. After a penalty backed Queen City up to their nine yard line, Williams took another handoff and picked up eight yards. 
On fourth-and-goal, the Bulldogs sent kicker Josue Rea on for a successful 24 yard field goal. QC led 3-0 with 3:48 remaining in the first quarter.
Hooks wasted little time in responding on its first offensive possession. On second and six from the Hornets’ 39 yard line, the Hooks running back took the ball down the right side of the field for a 61 yard touchdown. The PAT was successful and the Hornets led seven to three with 1:39 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs were forced to turn the ball over on downs on their next possession. After a failed fake punt attempt, Hooks took possession of the ball on the QC 41. The first play from scrimmage resulted in a 51 yard touchdown. 
Early in the second quarter the Hornets led by 11.
The teams traded possessions until later in the half. On a fourth and long situation from the QC 19, Rea booted a 50 yard punt that put gave the Hornets the ball on their own 31 yard line. 
The first play from scrimmage resulted in another long touchdown run for Hooks, this time from 69 yards out. The Hornets led 20 to three going into the half.
Hooks began the second half on offense but was forced to fumble two plays into the drive. Tyler Adcock pounced on the ball for Queen City deep in Hooks’ territory. 
After a couple of nice runs by Henry, the Bulldogs’ quarterback faked the handoff and bounced outside and dove into the end zone for the first QC touchdown. The PAT was wide right and the Bulldogs cut the lead to 11 with 8:48 left in the third quarter.
On Hooks’ next drive, the Hornets continued to make big plays that resulted in touchdowns. On the first play from scrimmage, the Hornets snapped the ball directly to their running back for a 65 yard touchdown run. 
This touchdown pushed the lead to 19. The Hornets went on to score two more touchdowns in the quarter. That would be the end of the scoring for both teams as they traded possession in the final quarter. 
The game ended with a final score of Queen City 9 and Hooks 40.
The Bulldogs are off this week and will return to the field for Homecoming against Ore City on Oct. 5.  
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.