HUNTSVILLE LIVING - FOOTBALL REVIEW | JANUARY 2025 | 13
After winning back-to-back games , the Hornets found themselves sitting pretty and needed to knock off a Lake Creek team that had one win in district play and was all but out of the postseason .
Then the Lions made a huge second-half comeback against the Hornets , who lost Taylor during the game , and suddenly Huntsville were the ones with their backs against the wall .
Huntsville was set to face one of the best teams in the state with a 14-year-old freshman who was about to make his first start as a quarterback .
“ You hate to ever see anybody get hurt , and Austin ’ s situation was tough on him and the football team ,” Southern said . “ The thing about Zay is , for a 14-year-old guy at that point , the moment wasn ’ t too big . I think that says a lot about him as a person . I think it says a lot about Coach Elliott and the offensive guys . He wasn ’ t stepping in cold , he had gotten quarterback reps and running back reps . At that point , you don ’ t give him too much he isn ’ t comfortable with .”
After a nearly three-hour bus trip , Huntsville had to win to keep its season alive . To open the game , Brown busted out a quick 38-yard run after senior Braylon Phelps started the game at the Huntsville 41-yard line . Adolphe and Brown switched off for 58 yards on the ground before the Hornets struck first .
The Bulldogs had gotten punched twice before getting into the endzone as Huntsville kept the decent cushion . Adolphe would throw the ball twice in that game completing both , with the dagger being a 39-yard throw to Savion Conteh that went for six and stretched the game back to 11 points .
Adolphe led the Hornets to a win with 153 yards on the ground and four touchdowns . From that point , the season was back on . Huntsville defeated Splendora and Montgomery defeated Nederland to close the season and vaulted the Hornets to the second seed and a home playoff game .
For the first time in school history , the Hornets held a playoff football game on campus .
“ We knew we wouldn ’ t have to get on a bus and do all the stuff we had done for the last nine and a half years . After the pregame meal we can do everything we need to do in our stadium and the weather won ’ t be a factor . All the little things made everything easier ,” Southern said . “ For this community to sit in their stadium on a Friday night , it ’ s hard to say what that factor is but there is a home yield advantage to the factor .”
The Hornets knocked off Whitehouse at home and set up the game of the century with South Oak Cliff in the area round . While it didn ’ t go in the favor of Huntsville , several seniors went along for this ride .
A key player is Shiloh Jones , the staple of the Huntsville defense . Jones was a four-year varsity member for the Hornets . Jones anchored the second level for the Hornets in the last two years and even took the field with a cast on his hand as a sophomore .
Jones made plays all over the field for Huntsville and played well with his fellow linebacker Mu ’ Koryc Norman over the last year . Norman stepped up big in his senior year and helped his team hold opponents all year .
Huntsville ’ s offensive line this season was built of a lot of seniors and was a pivotal part of getting things going up front . Between Brian Parker Jr . and Caleb Williams , the Hornets will have a few holes to fill . Luckily for them , they get both Eli and Caleb Cruz back on the field .
“ I told them I admired this group of seniors . There are years when you go through 16 weeks of football and you are in tough situations . You have grading periods , girlfriend problems and all sorts of factors that go into it . But this group of seniors , a lot started as sophomores , and having guys you admire the steps they have taken . This group was fun to coach and I enjoyed going to practice every day because they had something invested ,” Southern said . “ They transitioned us from where we were to today .”
Huntsville ’ s season ended before anybody hoped , but this class truly turned things around . With the senior class as freshmen , Huntsville missed the postseason and then as sophomores , they made it back in the postseason but got blown out in the bi-district round to Fort Bend Marshall .
But the junior year was the special run for the Hornets that landed them back at NRG Stadium and the fourth round of the playoffs .
Hornets
HUNTSVILLE LIVING - FOOTBALL REVIEW | JANUARY 2025 | 13