Hornets hit wall, visitors run wild

GARY -- You had to feel sorry for the three girls who were all primed to sing the national anthem before Friday's Lew Wallace matchup against Arrowhead (Wis.)

There they were, DonTaysha, Sharita and Shalanda, doing a couple of practice runs and actually singing well enough for "American Idol" consideration until the curtain came up -- and their microphone stopped working.

And then it got worse for the Lew Wallace football team.

Arrowhead defeated Wallace handily in a game that may have been the first ever in which a 55-0 loser was credited with a moral victory.

"I thought Wallace was tremendous. They competed hard, played well, and took us to our limits," said Arrowhead coach Tom Taraska. "We're very proud of them."

Blowing smoke, you say?

Before you go there, consider this: Arrowhead (2-0) is the defending Division I state champs, its fourth title and eighth finals apperance in the past 13 years. They're also the top ranked team in Wisconsin and no less an expert than ESPN has them ranked 31st in the nation.

At least two of their players, quarterback Tom Parish and kicker Jeff Budzien, have been looked at by Division I colleges.

The Hornets' take on all of this: that's nice but spare us the consolation prize talk.

"We just beat ourselves today," said Hornets quarterback Andrew Bodie. "If we would have cut the mental mistakes than we could have had a better effort on offense and defense."

Point well taken.

The Warhawks barely picked up 150 yards total offense for the game but still put double nickels on Wallace thanks to six Hornets turnovers, all but one coming within the Wallace 20.

With the exception of a 69-yard kick return by Conner Maurice and a 23-yard TD run by Parish, every other Arrowhead score came from 9 yards or closer.

For the game, the Hornets picked up only two first downs.

"We did OK for them to be ranked No. 1 but we could have won if we would have played a little harder," said Wallace running back Darrell Purdiman. "We didn't play with heart today and we got what we deserved. We can bounce back but everyone has to come to practice and play hard."

Next up for the Hornets is a date with West Side where the Hornets may have to go without one of their better players. Wide receiver Andrew Titus left the game on a stretcher after suffering a leg injury while returning a kick in the third quarter.