Hornets to keep growing against A&M Consolidated

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Growing on the fly is the phrase Huntsville will live by this season. And after the opening week, it showed just how young the Hornets are.

Huntsville saw seven underclassmen record a tackle in the season opener against No. 10 Brenham, with sophomore Bryson Johnson leading the team with nine. Brenham took the defense for 467 yards, with 317 yards coming on the ground.

Going into the second week, the same defense is going to be faced with an even taller task as the A&M Consolidated offense is going to be run-heavy with emphasis on the option game. The Huntsville front seven will be tasked with trying to stop the run game.

As the Hornet defense is still trying to gain varsity experience, the mark isn’t going to be easy as game reps and practice reps are not created equally. With the option attack worked into the Tiger offense, Huntsville will need to focus its eyes on the ball in order to keep the ball carrier to a minimum gain.

“It will be assignment football,” Huntsville head coach Todd Moebes said. “From the untrained eye, there may appear to be a guy unblocked and not tackling the football immediately, but that is by design. If they do tackle the football, or the running back when they are supposed to tackle the quarterback, then he can run for 30 yards. It’s assignment football. You have to keep your eyes on your guys.”

For the seven sophomores expected to play for the Hornets, this game is going to provide even more live reps that will help in the long run. On the front line, Huntsville will see two seniors line up with Wesley Heinemann and Ah Hao Vine. Vine recorded two sacks against Brenham and will need to see some more success in the second game.

In the middle of the field, junior Jarmiah Peterson-James comes in with the most experience after playing late last year. Peterson-James assisted on eight tackles against the Cubs, but will need to be an on-field leader this week, especially if junior quarterback Zay Adolphe remains on the sideline with an ankle injury.

Should Adolphe remain sidelined, senior safety Kadon Moebes will flip from the defensive end to quarterback, leaving the defense even more inexperienced. With Kadon on the offensive end, the Hornets would likely rely on Andrew Heinemann and Jaidyn Bennett on the back end of the field.

Heinemann played outside linebacker last year, while Bennett was the freshman quarterback.

“You go back to the experience part of it,” Todd said. “The two sophomores are still sophomores. Both of them didn’t play extensive amounts as freshmen. I thought those two guys played hard; it just goes back to the decision piece. The margin for error is a half a step. It’s not a lack of effort; they are tremendous kids; it was just a poor decision.”

While the defense enters this game needing to learn quickly, the offense is in a different boat. With Adolphe’s availability in question, Kadon could slip back into the quarterback role. Against Brenham, the Hornet offense erupted out of the gate, but stumbled after that.

The opening drive, which was set up from a kickoff return from Landon Fisher, saw the Hornets convert third downs and march down the field. After that, they weren’t so lucky. The Hornet offense mustered 200 yards in the opener, with Adolphe and senior running back Ja’Khavien Birks combining for 97 yards on the ground.

Birks led the rushing attempt with 65 yards on 118 carries, but if Adolphe remains out, the quarterback run game goes obsolete. Kadon completed 4 of his 14 attempts against Brenham and threw an interception in the end zone right before halftime to end any momentum.

While the Hornet offense may not be as explosive with Kadon, converting the third downs and grinding the ball downfield is something that will only improve that side of the ball as it needs to add points to the board.

“We were converting third downs to keep the drive alive. It gives the emotional sigh of relief that we had three more plays rather than get it on one,” Todd said. “It’s emotional balance. I thought our guys did a good job of grinding the football and not doing too much. Move the chains and scored.”

The Hornets will line up at 7 p.m. Friday at Huntsville ISD Stadium for the first time in the 2026 season. The game will be Teacher Appreciation and a camo out.

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