Hornet homecoming - Azle ready to celebrate under Friday night lights

AZLE — If the past reflects the future, expect the Marching Green Pride to play music that will make you want to stand up and dance.

Flags will wave. Pom poms will shake. Dancers will swirl. Old friends will hug. And someone’s head will be crowned as the new queen.

Amid all the hoopla, the Azle Hornets football team will challenge a formidable foe in front of a packed stadium on homecoming night with the playoffs at stake.

Sounds like a party.

The Hornets need to win four more games most likely to qualify for the playoffs. Five games remain on the schedule. That makes this week’s game against Northwest pressure-packed if not must-win, and winning won’t come easy.

On Sept. 15, the Northwest Texans beat the Brewer Bears 45-7. A week later, on Sept. 22, Brewer beat Azle 30-13. Azle ran more plays, logged more yardage, and made more first downs than the Bears but struggled on the scoreboard. Turnovers and a 33% success rate on third downs diminished the Hornets’ chances.

“Overall, we made too many mistakes to win the football game,” said head coach Devon Dorris. “The effort is good. We just need to have better focus and attention to detail for the whole game.”

Quarterback Austin May was 9-24 for 83 passing yards and rushed 13 times for 79 yards and a TD. Cash Moore caught a 40-yard pass.

On defense, Cale Cohen, Tyler Ulrich, Conner Merrill, and Josh Montelongo led the team in tackles. Garrin Graves added a sack.

The Hornets hope to bounce back, continue to concentrate amid the hoopla, whip the Texans of Justin, and turn around their season.

“Homecoming is always an exciting game no matter who we play,” Dorris said. “We will need to eliminate the distractions and focus on the task ahead of us.”

Azle (1-4) will play Northwest (3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept 29, at Hornet Stadium.