Longhorns dominate Pickens Academy (Gallery Included)
CARROLLTON — It was no looking back for a Marengo Academy Longhorn team as they dominated the Pickens Academy Pirates Friday, 46-14.
“We came out, we had a great game plan, and our guys just executed it well,” said MA head coach Webb Tutt. “Obviously we didn’t plan to be up 40-0 at the half, but that sure was nice.”
The Longhorns came out strong scoring on their first possession on a 50-yard touchdown run by Andrew “Hawk” Martin at the 9:09 mark in the first quarter. A 37-yard pass from Robert Tutt to Cason Cook put the good guys up 12-0 as a two-point conversion attempt failed. Rounding out the first quarter of scoring, Weldon Aydelott punched it in from five yards out, giving the Longhorns a dominating 19-0 lead going into the second period.
Hayden Huckabee hit his stride in the second quarter as he found the end zone twice, once on a 37-yard run and once on a five-yard run. Martin scored his second touchdown of the night on a 36-yard run.
The second half saw the Longhorn starters come out for the opening possession, which was capped by a 56-yard Weldon Aydelott run good for six.
“It was nice to be able to get some younger guys in there in the second half and pull some of our starters out,” said Tutt.
Pickens’ only points of the night came against a second-string Longhorn defense. Quarterback Brant Criswell ran it in from 12 yards out with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter. A fourth quarter pass from Criswell to Grady McGlawn went 25-yards and would round out scoring for the Pirates.
The Longhorns amassed 264 yards of offense, 227 on the ground and 37 through the air. Andrew Martin led the rushing game with three carries for 86 yards, with Hayden Huckabee touching the ball 11 times for 83 yards.
A strong showing by the Longhorn defense held Pickens to 106 yards of offense, 58 through the air and 48 on the ground. Marengo committed two penalties costing them 10 yards while the Pirates were penalized four times for 25 yards.
“I really just can’t say enough about how proud I am of these guys,” said Tutt. “They’ve been through a lot this season, and to see them come out and play the way they did tonight just says a lot about their character and their resilience.”
Leading the Longhorns in tackles was D.J. Nettles with 7 solo tackles. Cason Cook had six solo tackles, three for a loss, and two sacks. Robert Tutt racked up five tackles, two of which were for a loss.
The Longhorns host Russell Christian next week for homecoming.
“It’s that time of the season where we’re a little banged up, but we’re tackling this next week just like any other. We’re focusing on us on Monday and working on Russell the rest of the week,” said Tutt, looking forward to next week’s game.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Linden.
