Dragons make costly errors against Hornets
CAMDEN HARMONY GROVE 34, JUNCTION CITY 28
HARMONY GROVE — A pair of early mistakes proved fatal on Friday for Junction City, which fell to Camden Harmony Grove 34-28 in its football season opener. The Dragons scored with 49 seconds left, but the Hornets recovered the onside kick and took a knee twice to run out the clock.
Harmony Grove jumped on top early, taking advantage of a pair of Junction City miscues. A high snap on a punt attempt gave the Hornets a first down at the 25, and they scored from there on a swing pass for a 6-0 lead with 8:17 left in the first.
The Dragons tied the game on Brady Penister’s 1-yard run with 9:56 left in the second. Dominique Grimes hauled in a 31-yard reception from Lamontra Hankton, who scrambled to the 1-yard line to set up Penister’s touchdown.
Harmony Grove answered with a 55-yard drive, culminating in a 1-yard touchdown and a 12-6 lead with 8:23 left in the second. The Hornets then forced a punt and returned it for a score and a 20-6 cushion with 5:20 left in the half.
The Dragons mounted a drive to close the half. Grimes had a reception to the Harmony Grove 3-yard line. On the final play, Penister took the snap and lobbed a pass into the end zone to Hankton, who leaped over a defender for a 4-yard touchdown reception. Hankton hooked up with Devonte Grimes for the 2-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 20-14 at the half.
Junction City, which lost two fumbles in the first quarter, turned the ball over again on a Hankton fumble after a long scramble. The Hornets scored on a long touchdown pass to push the lead to 2814 with 25 seconds left in the third.
Harmony Grove then kicked the ball off to Dominique Grimes, who returned the kickoff for a touchdown with nine seconds left in the third, cutting the deficit to 28-22.
The Hornets added a touchdown for a 12-point lead with 1:16 left in the game. Dominique Grimes took a short pass from Hankton and turned it into a 46-yard touchdown reception with 49 seconds left to play. But the Dragons couldn’t get the onside kick and the Hornets ran out the clock.