Student in the Stands: Hornets Stumble Again at Home

Coming off a 24 point second half meltdown last Friday, the stumbled again at home tonight, losing to the Peachtree Ridge Lions by a score of 31-2 and remain winless this season.

Peachtree Ridge exploded onto the scoreboard early in the first quarter with a 61 yard touchdown pass to Lion’s wide receiver Joe Horn. After sacking Hornet Junior quarterback Ryan Monty on consecutive plays, Peachtree Ridge punt returner Ahmad Harris scored on a 42-yard punt return, Harris had an earlier punt return touchdown called back due to a penalty. A 29-yard run last in the second quarter by Lion’s running back Diandre Atwater set up a one yard touchdown by quarterback Billy Best, making the score 24-0 with the Lions leading at halftime.

Roswell’s lone two points of the night came off a botched snap by Lions quarterback Billy Best that resulted in a safety.

Roswell’s offensive woes Friday night begin and end with the offensive and defensive line. The graduation of three offensive linemen, Joe Turner, Ryan McDonald and Wilson Heres and two defensive linemen, Julian Boyd and Reggie Love Jr., earlier this spring has significantly hindered the Hornets on both sides of the ball early on in the season.

After allowing an over 200 rushing yards against the Eagles last Friday, the Hornets could not contain Peachtree Ridge's running attack, especially junior running back Diandre Atwater. The Hornets also failed to provide consistent pressure on the Lions offensive line and quarterback Billy Best. While the defensive line did not play particularly well, the secondary and passing defensive was greatly improved from last week. After an ineffective first half defensively, the Hornet defense held the Lions to only seven points in the last 24 minutes of play.

While the defense surrendered 31 points, the game was truly decided by poor play from the Hornet’s offensive unit. The offense scored no points throughout the game and only entered Lions territory three times throughout the entirety of the game.

Ultimately, the insignificant play of the offensive line hampered the Hornets offense for the majority of the game.

Junior quarterback Ryan Monty was sacked over half a dozen times and was passing under pressure or on the run, he was however effective when protected. Recently productive junior running back Andrew Kwateng had a bleak performance out of the backfield, only breaking a run over five yards once. Kwateng’s ineffectiveness is more to blame on the dominance of Peachtree Ridge’s defensive line over Roswell’s offensive line.

Although there may have been signs of improvement from last week’s loss to Collins Hill, the Hornet’s remain winless after two discouraging home loses. One astonishing statistic stands out two games into the season: the Hornets have been outscored over six quarters by a collective score of 55-2.  

Wow.

"Student in the Stands" gives a recap of local footbal games from a student's point of view.