Senior quarterback Seth Farmer sacrificed his body on offense and defense in an fourth quarter heroic effort to help the Loyd Star Hornets capture their first win of the season with a stunning 13-12 victory over the Prentiss Bulldogs Friday night at William E. “Sambo” Smith Field.

“This was a big victory for us,” said Loyd Star coach Randall Huffman. “The guys worked extremely hard defensively the entire game. I am very proud of their effort and for not giving up.”

The Hornets (1-1) and the Bulldogs (1-1) gave their fans plenty to cheer about as both teams came out strong and played smash mouth football from start to finish. After two quarters of action, the game remained scoreless at halftime.

In the second half, junior running back Deanyte Crockett managed to get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first as he powered through for a nine-yard touchdown run with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter. Prentiss was unsuccessful in the PAT.

In the fourth quarter, Prentiss punched in another scoring drive as senior fullback Dorryen Johnson barreled through for a five-yard touchdown run with 7:22 remaining. The Bulldogs attempted to run the two-point conversion but failed.

Loyd Star, refusing to give up, answered Prentiss challenge with two huge scoring drives in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Farmer helped the Hornets get on the board with 6:33 remaining, when he broke free from Prentiss’ tough defense and sprinted 14 yards to pay dirt. Farmer also perform all the kicking duties for the Hornets, finished one-of-two on extra points.

On the next possession, Loyd Star managed to recover a Prentiss fumble on the kickoff return as Hornets defender Dustin Hart fell on the ball.

With the momentum changing, Loyd Star rose to the occasion and worked their way down the field to score the potential winning touchdown on a Farmer one-yard quarterback sneak with 2:05 left.

Prentiss, a Region 3A opponent, managed to hold onto the ball on the following kickoff and had a good return to midfield.

On the Bulldogs’ first play on offense, quarterback Donte Ford’s pass was intercepted by Hornets’ defender Farmer to seal the victory.

After the game, the Hornets celebrated their big win with their faithful fans.

Offensively, Farmer was the offensive leader for the Hornets, completing one-of-four passes for 25 yards. He also had 21 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Peyton Flowers directed Loyd Star’s ground attack with 11 rushes for 43 yards. Ryan Nevels contributed 25 yards on four carries. Brent Calcote caught a pass for 25 yards.

Prentiss rolled up 310 total yards on offense. Ford paced the Bulldogs offense, completing three of six passes for 66 yards, and had 40 yards rushing on four carries.

Martez Brown led Prentiss on the ground with seven rushes for 69 yards. Johnson provided 51 yards on 12 carries.

Defensively, La’Treall Smith led the Hornets with 10 solo tackles. Flowers had eight solo stops and five assists. Calcote helped with five solo tackles and one assist.

Loyd Star will host their second game in a row as they prepare to battle the Springfield Bulldogs of Louisiana. Prentiss visit Region 2A powerhouse the Bassfield Yellowjackets, next Friday. Kickoff is 7 p.m.