MINFORD — Missed opportunities and mistakes worked against Coal Grove down the stretch as the Hornets dropped a hard-fought game to the Minford Falcons Friday Night, 13-0.

Both teams had long, time-consuming drives, but in the end, it was Minford (4-0) who finally took advantage of their good fortune.

Coal Grove began the game on their own 22 after the opening kickoff and proceeded to march 71 yards in four plays, all the way to the Minford seven-yard line. After two tough runs from Frank Delawder, Coal Grove found themselves at the Minford one-yard line on third down.

A five-yard penalty moved the ball back to the six-yard line. After a 3-yard run by Delawader, it was fourth and goal from the three. The Hornets went for the touchdown, but Delawder was stopped at the one-yard line and Coal Grove turned it over on downs with 7:12 to go in the opening quarter.

“Our kids really played hard. It was a dogfight. I was really pleased with how hard our kids played,” said Hornets coach Dave Lucas.

“Our defense played really well. We moved the ball at times on offense, we just had some unfortunate incidents that we had to overcome.”

After the teams exchanged one fruitless drive apiece, Minford got the ball with 1:02 left in the first quarter at their own 14-yard line. Led by the hard running of Mark Slone and the cunning play of quarterback Aaron Oesch the Falcons marched down the field and had a first down at the Hornet 17, but an Aaron Dickess’ sack of Oesch hampered the drive and Minford settled for an 27-yard Evan Price field goal.

The Hornets embarked on a long, time-devouring drive that gave the Hornets a second and goal at the Minford nine-yard line.

Delawder got the ball again and pushed the ball inside the 5-yard line, but Sparks was forced to spike the ball a second time on third down with about 25 seconds left in the half. A fourth down pass fell incomplete and Minford had a 3-0 halftime lead.

Coal Grove had a drive stall at the Falcons’ 44 and they took advantage of their good field position by marching 54 yards in eight plays capped by Mark Slone’s a 12-yard gallop with 3:01 lefy in the third quarter.

Coal Grove got the ball back on its own 26, but fumbled on the second play and the Falcons recovered at the Hornet 17.

The Falcons were only able to gain 3 yards on the drive, but Price nailed a 32-yard field goal to extend the lead to 13-0.

Coal Grove (1-3) had one more golden opportunity to score on a drive that began with 11:50 remaining in the game, but the drive stalled on the Minford 18. During the fourth quarter, the Hornets were badly hampered by penalties, racking up five penalties worth 55 yards.

Leading the way for the Hornets on offense was Oakie Haynes, who had a total of 129 yards of offense.

For Coal Grove, the loss marked the third straight against Minford. The Hornets’ 1-3 start is their worst since the 2003 season.

Coal Grove 0 0 0 0 = 0

Minford 0 3 7 3 = 13

First Quarter

Min – Evan Price 27 field goal 5:24

Third Quarter

Min – Mark Slone 12 run (Price kick) 3:01

Fourth Quarter

Min – Evan Price 32 field goal 11:55

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CG Min

First downs 15 12

Rushes-yards 43-191 38-156

Passing yards 74 40

Total yards 265 196

Cmp-Att-Int 5-14-0 2-4-0

Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0

Penalties-yards 8-95 NA

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING–Coal Grove: Frank Delawder 18-74, Oakie Haynes 10-68, Chris Brammer 9-29, Wayne Sparks 6-20. Minford: Mark Slone 17-66, Brandon McCormick 6-36, Aaron Oesch 12-44, Ray Bryan 5-10.

PASSING–Coal Grove: Wayne Sparks 5-14-0 74. Minford: Aaron Oesch 2-4-0 40.

RECEIVING–Coal Grove: Oakie Haynes 3-61, Chris Brammer 2-13. Minford: Cory McKnight 2-40.