Hornets Fall to Harper Woods in Battle of State Powerhouses

The eyes of the state were on Hornet Stadium Friday night when the Hornets hosted Harper Woods in a battle of highly ranked teams.

The Hornets entered the night ranked third in D1 and Harper Woods was the top-ranked team in D4 and the teams put on an epic battle that went down to the wire.

Saline battled from behind but could not overcome a first-half deficit and fell to the Pioneers 41-32 to fall to 6-1 overall on the season.

Carson Cherry put Saline on top with a six-yard TD run, but the Pioneers returned the ensuing kickoff for a score to tie the game at 7-7.

Saline went back on top with a field goal, but Harper Woods rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 21-10 lead at the break.

Harper Woods struck early in the third with a 54-yard scoring pass to push the lead to 28-10, but Saline did not quit.

Tommy Carr hit Lincoln Keys for a 77-yard TD pass and Carr ran in the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 28-18.

The Saline defense forced a punt and Carr then hit Keyes with a 14-yard scoring strike to make it 28-25 with two minutes left in the third.

The Pioneers answered with a five-yard TD pass to push it back the lead back to 34-25 after a missed extra point.

With just over six minutes left the Hornets struck again when Carr scrambled in from 25-yards out to cut the lead to 34-32.

Saline attempted an onside kick, but did not convert giving the Pioneers a short field.

Harper Woods drove deep in to Saline territory and converted a fourth down pass for a touchdown to seal the win at 41-32.

The Hornets will host Bedford for a chance to clinch the outright SEC Red title Friday night.