9-28-2024 1:25am

FOOTBALL: 10 Things to Know About Saline's Win at Huron

Lincoln Keyes crosses the goal line with the ball for the second time of the night.

It took Saline two possessions to right the ship before the Hornets sailed to a 48-0 win at Huron. Saline improved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 atop the SEC Red.

Saline hosts Bedford for Hornet homecoming game next Friday. Bedford is 3-1 in the SEC Red with a 59-13 loss to Dexter.

Friday at Huron, the Hornets failed to click on their first drive. The River Rats did manage some yardage on their first drive - but Saline stopped them just past midfield. Saline turned the ball over on a reverse. This time the River Rats had even better field position, but the Hornets defense began swarming, and they just got stronger as the game went.

Tommy Carr completed 10-of-12 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns against no interceptions. Two of those touchdowns were of the long variety to Matthew Bachran and Cruz Hanson. Lincoln Keyes also had two TD receptions.

James Rush led the team with 12 rushes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Isaiah Harris ran three times for 27 yards and a touchdown.

10 Things on Saline Football's Win at Huron

10: Undefeated

Saline is undefeated in the SEC Red and overall. Bedford, if this was a traditional Bedford team, would be the toughest team on the conference schedule - and they probably still are. Coach Kyle Short and his crew won't let Hornets take anyone lightly.

9. Highlights

8. Bachran in the Saddle

Senior Matthew Bachran has emerged as a key piece of the Hornet attack. He caught two passes for 63 yards, including a 40-yard TD reception on a dart from Tommy Carr. His other catch put the Hornets within about five yards of the end zone.

7. Next Man Up

Football can often seem like a battle of attrition with all the injuries. The motto around just about every team is "next man up." It looks like sophomore Patrick Williams stepped into a bigger role at DB. We've seen Cole Creuzer as a TE/Receiver and Friday we saw the senior take a lot of snaps on the DL.

6. Ayden and Princeton

LB Ayden Burton has developed a nose for loose footballs. He picked up a fumble on the Huron kickoff return after Saline's first TD.

DB Princeton Jones has been making stop after stop after stop in recent weeks. Last week at Monroe, he delivered a hit that you could feel across the field. He had two tackles behind scrimmage at Huron, including the one above - and open-field tackle where he just got a piece of the jersey and dragged him down.

5. Oh Isaiah

DE Isaiah Harris spent the night matched up against a gargantuan opponent and still had a big night. Harris is a menace to every offense he faces. And he's scored a touchdown in consecutive games.

4. Gold Rush

RB/DB James Rush is playing both ways, offense and defense, in ways that we haven't seen very often in the last 14 years of Hornet football. And if the workload slows him down, you'd never know. Rush broke loose for a couple of big runs to set up Harris's TD, and scored two of his own. He's showing ability as a downhill runner and an elusive runner.

3. Tommy Gun and Tommy Run

When you think of Tommy Carr, the word "refined" comes to mind. The junior first-year starting QB shows so much poise, whether he's waiting in the pocket or scrambling for a second or third check-down before running for a first down. As was pointed out by another watcher Friday, he's a dangerous runner, but he's calmer. He's standing in longer. On one down Friday, he spun out of pressure and stayed in the pocket. More pressure came and he spun away, and looked downfield two more times before finding open space on the sideline for a first down. He makes passing look effortless, and almost always, he seems to make the right choice. He doesn't air out often - he doesn't need to - but when he does, like he did with Bachran, it's a thing of beauty.

2. Yards After the Catch

Three Saline touchdowns came on passes by Carr underneath coverage. Cruz Hanson caught the ball, turned on the jets, and raced up field, getting a great block by Austin Abbatte to set up the straight away. What was kind of surprising was the elusiveness shown by Lincoln Keyes on both of his touchdowns. He'd already shown us that he can power through a tackler to score, but his longer TD, in particular, was was way too elusive for a guy his size.

1. Shutout!

For the second time in three weeks, the Hornets D came up with the shutout. Huron QB Lawrence Wells is no joke. He's also got some big linemen and some talented skill guys. Saline gave the Rats two possessions with any movement - the first one, as the Hornets settled in, and the last one, as Saline let their reserves soak up the experience. Impressively, the defense might give up 10-15 yards to Wells every so often, but the Hornets found the ball and never let 15-yard plays turn into 45-yard plays.