Defense leads Hornets to lopsided win against Glendale

Trevor Vaughn runs in a crowd

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With so much of the chatter surrounding Hillcrest’s dynamic offense and star wide receiver, the Hornets defense gets lost in the mix. In Thursday night’s dominant performance at home against Glendale, it was the “D” which left the biggest impression. In the 35-8 win Hillcrest (4-1) forced five turnovers and held the Falcons (4-1) under 40 points for the first time in 2011. Junior Sheldon Moeller picked off two passes from Glendale QB Will Rogers and Austin Craven intercepted another, but it was the presence and push of Hillcrest’s defensive line which demanded attention. Quiandre Robinson, Cristian Antal, Clay Skidmore spent most of the night in the backfield harassing Rogers, and stopped Glendale for a loss or no gain 13 times (not including incomplete passes).

Quarterback Matt Futrell threw for 191 yards on offense and three touchdowns, while Dorial Green-Beckham was once again nothing short of impressive. His numbers weren’t as eye-popping as usual (10 catches, 129 yards, 2 TDs), but a handful of the plays he made were nothing short of spectacular — hurdling a defender in one instance, beating a defender to the pylon in another. Green-Beckham surpassed 5,000 yards for his career.

Other Impressions

• Glendale standout Trevor Vaughn didn’t play a down in the second half. He limped off the field, but under his own power, following a play late in the first half, and didn’t return. He caught the Falcons’ lone score (on a questionable no call — you decide if he pushed off enough), but was otherwise ineffective before the injury. Hillcrest kicked away from him and held him to just three yards on eight carries.
• The Falcons took a few shots deep to get Cameron Johnson, but he had just one catch (zero in the first half). If it’s not working deep, get him something quick to let him make a play. Especially without Vaughn in the second half. Johnson got an early interception as Hillcrest was threatening, but was otherwise forgotten throughout the night.
• Glendale had just five first downs that weren’t by penalty.
• Look out for Jonah Hill. Listed as a tight end for Hillcrest, he’s a big target with good hands, still working on running routes. From the sideline, you could hear DGB coaching Hill to run to a spot on a fade route … probably not a bad mentor.

Scoring Plays

First Quarter
Hillcrest: 6:58 — Green-Beckham 13 yard pass from Futrell (PAT good)
Hillcrest: 2:59 — Blocked Punt recovered by Tommy Blair (PAT good)
Second Quarter
Hillcrest: 11:39 — Green-Beckham 16 yard pass from Futrell (PAT good)
Glendale: 9:41 — Vaughn 21 yard pass from Rogers (2 pt run by Nolan Bettlach)
Third Quarter
Hillcrest: 7:45 — Futrell 1 yard run (PAT good)
Hillcrest: 1:38 — Hill 17 yard pass from Futrell (PAT good)

DGB hurdles a defender

Hillcrest defensive end Quiandre Robinson