Turnovers send Hebron Christian football to its first loss of the season
DACULA, Ga. – Missed opportunities in the first half were the difference Friday night at home for Hebron Christian Academy.
The Lions turned the ball over on four of their first seven drives, including three times inside the 10-yard line and Monroe Area capitalized.
The Purple Hurricanes built a 14-point halftime lead and never looked back en route to a dominant 41-7 victory over the host Lions, who suffered their first loss of the 2022 season.
Hebron Christian quarterback Gavin Hall, who is enjoying a big year, saw some early offensive success on Friday, sabotaged by turnovers, allowing Monroe Area to seize the momentum and dominate in a 41-7 victory by the host Purple Hurricanes.
Photo by Colin Hubbard
First-year Lions (6-1, 1-1) head coach Jonathan Gess said it was just one of those nights where nothing went his team’s way.
“I’ve coached long enough to know that some nights, it just ain’t going to go your way,” Gess said. “We’ll learn from it and get better. The kids have had a great season. Some nights, it’s just not your night and that was tonight.”
The game was ultimately won and lost in the first half.
On their first drive of the night, the Lions marched down to the Monroe Area 7-yard line and scored a touchdown on a Gavin Hall 7-yard pass to Justin Hornick, but it was taken off the board for an illegal man downfield penalty.
The Lions were later stopped on fourth down.
On their second drive, Hall and the Lions moved down the field again with relative ease and again came up empty. Hall connected with Carrington Coombs for a 38-yard catch-and-run down to the Monroe Area 9-yard line, but Hall later fumbled on a third-and-goal attempt.
Instead of leading 14-0 and in full control of the game, the Lions found themselves trailing 14-0 midway through the second quarter.
Monroe Area scored on its next possession following Hall’s fumble and scored again thanks to a short field following a Hebron three-and-out from deep inside its own territory.
The Lions bounced back with another long drive, but once again ran into a wall inside the 10-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 10, this time the Lions found the end zone thanks to a trick play.
Hall handed off to freshman Devon Caldwell, who then threw the ball to Jake Redman for the score to cut Monroe Area’s lead in half, 14-7 with 2:15 left in the half.
Needing a stop before halftime, the Lions were unable to get one. With 35 seconds remaining, Monroe Area faced a fourth-and-9 from the Hebron 31. They elected to go for it and it quickly proved to be the right decision after quarterback Mason Byron called his own number and raced 31 yards for a touchdown.
Any momentum Hebron had gained went back into the hands of Monroe Area, who with the score took a 21-7 lead into halftime.
“I think that turned the game a little bit,” Gess said of the first half. “It just changes the momentum and the energy. We scored and then it got called back. We were down there again and didn’t score.”
Hebron started the second half with a quick three-and-out and Monroe Area added to its lead with five consecutive runs.
Trailing 27-7, Hall and the Lions got back into the red zone and once again failed to come away with points. This time, Hall was intercepted on fourth-and-goal and Monroe Area nearly returned it for a touchdown.
Setting up shop at the Hebron 29, Monroe Area needed just three plays to score again. Leading the Lions 34-7 with 4:34 left in the third quarter, that proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Lions.
Monroe Area tacked on one last touchdown in the fourth quarter and held the Lions scoreless in the second half for the first time this season.
Facing off against a Monroe Area team that came into play Friday night in desperate need of a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive, Gess said they struggled to match their intensity and their drive to win.
“These guys came in here and had to win tonight,” Gess said. “It’s not that we didn’t take them seriously. We knew that they were great. It’s just hard and it’s a learning experience for our team. You have to be able to match that intensity. They’re fighting for their life. I think Monroe Area is really good. They have really good athletes and we didn’t really match up well with them. They just had better athletes than us. But I love the way our kids fought and we’ll learn from it and try to get better next week.”
Hall, who entered play Friday night averaging 218.8 rushing yards per game, finished his night with 158 on the ground before exiting with an injury in the closing minutes.
