PHOTOS: Bishop Moore falls 37-7 to Jones -- Observer Preps

It was a long night for the Hornets (3-2, 0-1) who kicked off district plays with a 37-7 thumping from Jones (4-1, 1-0).

Right out of the gate, in the first seven minutes of play, the Hornets found themselves down 14-0 after two long touchdown catches from Tigers' senior receiver Jequan Burton.

The first quarter would also see the Hornets struggle to get any kind of offensive rhythm, as turnovers and a speedy Tigers' defense quelled any chance of going down field.

It just seemed as though everything was going in Jones' favor, and there wasn't a lot to stop that momentum.

"We didn't do a good job in space with tackling, which created huge plays for them and tremendous momentum," said Hornets Head Coach Matt Hedrick. "So they have all this energy and juice, and we were discouraged – it's a game of momentum, it's a game of concentration, and some of those things we just didn't do very well." 

Thirteen seconds into the second quarter the Tigers would strike for a third time, as receiver Roddrick Henry dashed down the left side of the field. An extra point later and it was 21-0.

The woes offensively would continue for the Hornets, as on their first drive of the second quarter Hornets' receiver Dylan Brazil was picked off on a trick play.

After a fumble by Jones, and another difficult possession for the Hornets, the Tigers capitalized with a Jadan Robinson punt return for a touchdown of over 80 yards. The extra point would make it 27-0 – which is where the score would hold until halftime.

The second half would see the same routine play out as it did in the first – no real offensive momentum and a defense that was gassed by a quick Tigers' offense.

Scoring for the Tigers would continue in the fourth quarter as kicker Daniel Alves drilled a 47-yard field goal to give the home side a 30-0 lead.

About midway through the quarter, the Hornets were finally able to put a solid drive together to find their way to the endzone. By this time backup quarterback Dale Thomas replaced Keanu Kong.

"He's worked his butt off... and we thought we would give him a shot the first series to see how he did," Hedrick said. "There was no reason to put our starter back in there at that point in the game anyway, we felt like Dale deserved to play a little bit, so we felt he deserved to play a little bit."

From the one-yard line, the Hornets finally found a positive note on the night as Trilion Coles crashed through the line and scored the Hornets their long touchdown of the night. The extra point would make it 30-7.

After a successful onside kick was recovered by the Hornets, the series stalled out before a failed fake punt turned the ball over to the Tigers. 

Not too long after, the ball found its way into the waiting hands of Dacarri Allen-Johnson who went for a long 55-yard touchdown to cap off the night and seal up the 37-7 win.

"We have to go back to fundamentals – I mean obviously we didn't block very well against a very good defense and we didn't tackle well at all," Hedrick said. "We have to do better and we have to get back to work."

The Hornets will be looking to rebound next week in an away game at Melbourne Central Catholic (2-1).