Hubbard, Tunstall look for revenge against Floyd County

DRY FORK — JaQuan Hubbard remembers the long bus ride to Floyd County last year. And Hubbard, Tunstall’s starting quarterback, remembers what seemed like an even longer and quieter ride back after the Trojans were hammered 41-0.

It was the first time Tunstall ever played at Floyd County and the team was unaware of its role as the Buffaloes’ homecoming opponent before stepping off the bus.

“We didn’t know at all,” Hubbard said Thursday night. “Some of us were kind of scared up there. It was a crazy experience.”

Tunstall, which at 3-2 has already matched its win total of a year ago, gets its shot at retribution tonight when undefeated Floyd County (4-0) visits Dry Fork for the Trojans’ homecoming. With it comes the opportunity for Tunstall to grab its fourth win of the season, a feat the team hasn’t accomplished since the 2003 season, and a much-needed boost in confidence heading into the bye week and the start of Piedmont District play.

“We stunk it up so badly up there, we couldn’t field a kickoff,” Tunstall coach Buddy Brown said, recalling his team’s blowout loss to the Buffaloes. “There’s not a lot to do in Floyd on a Friday night. … (The fans) were packed in there and they had it going on. Our kids, and I’ll take full responsibility, but I don’t think we were ready to play. They hit us in the mouth early and often and they didn’t let up till halftime and by then it was pretty much over.”

Brown and the Trojans hope things are different this time around.

Hubbard, who sat out last week’s game with a knee injury, returns to start at quarterback and in the secondary, as well. One of the team’s best athletes, Hubbard didn’t play on defense last year. Running back and defensive back C.J. McLaughlin, who hyperextended an elbow against Gretna two weeks ago, also returns for the Trojans.

They’ll need all the help in the secondary they can get, since Floyd County quarterback Luke Harris, who is back at the helm for his senior year, picked the Tunstall defense apart last season.

“I know the quarterback does (return), and that’s enough,” Brown said. “He is good. I don’t think he missed but one ball against us last year. And on one of the tapes we’ve got he was 14-for-18.”

Despite Tunstall’s relative early-season success, Brown said the Trojans have yet to play to their capabilities. Their losses have been against two very good football teams, Brookville and Gretna — “the No. 1 team in the state in Double-A and the No. 1 team in the state in Single-A,” Brown said, “but that doesn’t make it easier. You want to win them all.”

Complicating matters this week is what Hubbard referred to as “the homecoming situation.”

Brown is trying to keep his players focused on the game, no small feat with all the other distractions that homecoming brings. And while Brown looks forward to the bye week, which will allow his players to heal before district play begins, he is solely focused on Floyd County. He hopes his players are, too.

“After the homecoming pep rally and everything, my mind and the rest of my teammates are going to be focused on the game,” Hubbard said. “We’ve got to get this.”

The Trojans know the competition will be stiff.

“I’m glad they’re coming here,” Brown said. “At least they’ll have to take that long ride to here to play.”