Greenville High School Hornets seniors ended their football careers on a down note Thursday with a 56-16 loss to the Ridgeland Titans.
An obvious advantage with their speed catapulted Titans ball carriers past the Hornets' defense as they consistently found open field, amassing chunks of yardage all evening.
Midway through the second quarter, the Hornets found themselves on the downside of 20-0 score.
Greenville High’s first scoring drive of the game covered a little more than 60 yards in three plays. Senior quarterback Ladarius Adkins hit junior wide receiver Caleb Titus with a 32-yard gain, moving the ball inside the Titans' 15-yard line. Adkins punctuated the drive with a short touchdown throw to Zaden Merrill, who spiked the ball in jubilation. The two-point conversion pulled the Hornets to a 20-8 deficit.
The Titans responded on their next possession with a kickoff return that placed the ball in Hornets territory. The visitors scored a rushing touchdown and added a two-point conversion to open the score back up to 28-8.
A Hornets player tried to lateral the ball to a teammate on the ensuing kickoff, but the ball fell to the grass, and a Titans player recovered it at the Hornets' 30-yard line. The Titans capitalized three plays later with a five-yard rushing touchdown and an extra point, making the score 35-8.
Ridgeland completed the game with its reserves, who picked up where the starters left off. The Titans' second unit scored twice in the second half.
Atkinson found Jayden Brooks on a 20-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, and the two-point conversion made the score 50-16.
“Great job…Our guys kept fighting. I’m proud of you for that. Don’t take this as an opportunity for moral victory,” said Hornets head coach George Richardson in his final post-game huddle of the season. “But we didn’t quit in the second half even though we had a running clock.”
Richardson has quite a bit of talent returning for the 2026 campaign. He’s optimistic about the Hornets going forward because they beat the teams they were supposed to beat and were competitive in all but two of their 2025 contests.
“This is my third season and we’re headed in the right direction,” Richardson said. “My assistant coaches have been doing a great job of game planning and teaching techniques. And the players have bought into what we’re doing.”
Senior defensive back Keontay Winder had an interception in his final game as a Hornet.
