Longhorns use 394-yard ground game to make easy work of Senators
The Longhorn senior class has its eyes set on another trip to Troy—they’ve been every year of their high school career thus far—and if Friday’s 42-6 victory is any indication, they’ll be back this year looking to seal the deal on a state championship.
The ‘Horns hosted Morgan Academy Friday and made quick and easy work of a Senator team who just last week shut out the reigning state champ, Edgewood Academy, by a final of 46-0.
“It’s big for us getting our identity,” Longhorn head coach Webb Tutt said of his team’s victory.
“We came out a little soft at times, but we came out and finished drives when we needed to, converted some third-and-longs and some fourth downs that really kept drives going.”
Coming as somewhat of a shock was a new face at quarterback. Senior Robert Tutt, who called the shots last year, moved over to tailback and was replaced by junior Jacob Beck.
“We looked at everybody at tailback and [Robert] was our best shot, and Jacob does a good job running the offense in the Wing-T,” said Tutt.
The Longhorns struck first at the 2:57 mark when Weldon Aydelott punched it in from 2-yards out. The Hayden Megginson PAT was good, making it 7-0. Aydelott would go on to score twice in the third quarter with runs of 5 and 4-yards, respectively.
A Morgan fumble on the ensuing possession was recovered by Daniel McCray and set the ‘Horns up first-and-10 from the Senator 34-yard line. Aydelott took it 33 yards, followed by a 1-yard rush from quarterback Jacob Beck to add another touchdown with 1:34 to go in the first period of play. Megginson’s PAT put Marengo up 14-0.
48 of Gavin Tate’s 64 yards rushing came with 3:13 remaining in the first half when he found the end zone. The Megginson PAT made it 21-0.
The Senators’ only score of the night came on special teams when they returned the kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, but Marengo would have no part of allowing a PAT, so the Senators went to the locker room trailing 21-6.
The second half saw a more defined Longhorn team come out and post three more touchdowns before rounding out the night with 42 on the board. The final score of the contest was delivered by Hayden Megginson on a 5-yard run.
“We have a lot to work on. We made a lot of mistakes, and a lot of mental mistakes, and that’s on me,” said Tutt. “I’m proud for the kids now, big win for us, but we’ve got a tough one next week. It’s Monroe, and they’re really good.”
The Longhorns put up 454 yards of total offense to Morgan’s 155. 394 of those yards came on the ground, with another 60 through the air. Aydelott, who has seamlessly filled the role vacated by alum Hayden Huckabee, lead the MA ground attack by posting 161 yards of his own.
“He hasn’t missed a beat,” Tutt said of Aydelott’s work. “We’re not as explosive offensively, putting it in the end zone as quick as we can, but he’s a force. We’ll keep pounding.”
Marengo’s Beck completed 2 of 4 with no interceptions, finding Landon Houlditch on both completions.
The Longhorns were forced to punt twice in the contest with Tutt averaging 43.5 yards per.
Robert Tutt lead the defensive unit with seven tackles, an assist and a forced fumble.
The Longhorns travel to Monroeville next week to face Monroe Academy (1-1). Monroe lost to Bessemer Academy to open the season, 21-7, and beat Lee-Scott Academy tonight, 21-14. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.