Huss offense sputters in loss to Tuscola

GASTONIA — A week away from an offensive rout against Bessemer City, Hunter Huss’ offense sputtered on Friday night and, with a couple of costly turnovers, the Huskies came up short against visiting Tuscola, 13-10.

After Cody Jones connected on a 39-yard field goal on their opening drive, the Huskies appeared to have some life offensively. However, on their next possession, starting quarterback Dontrae Meeks threw an interception to Dennis Butler who returned the pick nine yards for a touchdown. On the following drive, Meeks was replaced by Jaylen Burris and the passing game never clicked for the Hunter Huss.

While Meeks was relieved of his quarterback duties, he still made the most of his opportunities on defense by stopping a Tuscola threat when he picked off a pass from Rob Howard in the end zone and returned it 20 yards early in the fourth quarter. On the following play, freshman running back Kerrion Moore exploded for a 56-yard run to put the Huskies in a threatening position and give them a burst of momentum. After a 15-minute injury delay for Hunter Huss’ starting center Melvin Brown (neck), Moore found the end zone on a five yard scamper to bring the Huskies within three points.

Hunter Huss was given one last chance when they got the ball on their own 15 yard-line with just under four minutes to play. But the Huskies squandered the opportunity when Burris fumbled and lost the ball on third down.

“It’s real frustrating, especially when you have a chance to win,” said Hunter Huss coach Steve Gardner. “It just seemed like every time we turned it over it was a crucial time.”

The Huskies were led once again by Moore, who finished the game with 144 rushing yards, when the team tallied just 179 yards total offensive yards. Hunter Huss (1-2) will seek to add balance to their offense next week as they travel to Concord.

Said Gardner, “I think after three weeks No. 4 (Moore) is a ballplayer. But some of these other guys are going to have to step it up.”