It’s not that Hough was expected to beat Mooresville in last week’s showdown for second place in the I-Meck Conference. But considering how well the season had been going for the Huskies and how the teams had fared against common opponents, the game figured to at least be competitive.

By the end of the night, however, Mooresville had a 31-0 victory, and few could have imagined some of the numbers from a demoralizing Huskies loss.

Hough’s offense had one of its worst outings and actually began the night with more yardage than it ended with. That is, no yardage would have been better than the minus-5 yards the Huskies totaled.

Hough’s longest play of the night went for 12 yards, when quarterback Josh Stilley hit Sanders Poff with a pass on the Huskies’ third play. But that provided one of just two first downs Hough earned all night.

The other, in the second quarter, came via a personal foul penalty on the Blue Devils.

Mooresville, which drove 60 yards for a score in the game’s first three minutes, had more first downs (3) on its opening drive and outgained Hough (4-5 overall, 3-2 I-Meck) by 381 yards.

Trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, Hough had a 35-yard gain called back for an illegal shift penalty. Attempting some trickery, Hough was penalized for making two forward passes.

Hough’s leading rusher was Jackson Campbell — with eight yards. Stilley struggled throughout, having nine straight incompletions at one point and completing 4-of-18 attempts for 17 yards. He was under constant pressure and sacked five times for minus-22 yards.

Two-headed monster

The tandem of Mooresville quarterback Deonte Black and running back Dee Tomlin has wreaked havoc on many I-Meck defenses this year, and Hough’s solid unit was no different.

The two combined for 278 yards and three rushing scores, including a 57-yard Black run in the second quarter, which gave Mooresville (7-2, 4-1) a 14-0 lead at the break. Black, who is listed at 5- foot-8, 150 pounds, surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. He said Mooresville had a simple game plan.

“Just run, run, run until they stop it,” said Black.

Hough coach Bobby Collins said it’s tough for defenders to find Black behind Mooresville’s large front line.

Black and Tomlin were involved in a third-quarter sequence that summed up the night for both teams. After Tomlin ran for 10 and 36 yards on consecutive plays, the Blue Devils had first-and-goal from the Hough 3. But Mooresville’s Justin Jones was cut off on an end-around play, and instead of taking a short loss, he reversed field in the slim hope of making something out of nothing. The result was a 19-yard loss. But after a 3-yard Tomlin gain on second down, Black threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Lester to put Mooresville up 28-0 and effectively put Hough away. Lester, a basketball standout on his way to UNC Charlotte’s program next year, made a one-handed catch in the end zone.

Another big game

Hough still has a lot to play for heading into this week’s game with Lake Norman. While second place is now occupied by Mooresville, Hough is alone in third, one game ahead of four teams tied for fourth with 2-3 records. One of those teams is Lake Norman.

“We’re in a must-win situation with Lake Norman,” said Collins.

The Huskies, who close the regular season against Mallard Creek next week, beat fourth-place teams West Charlotte and Vance, but lost to Hopewell, the fourth team in the I-Meck logjam. Hopewell and Vance play Friday, while West Charlotte hosts Mallard Creek.

Young guns get time

Huskies Tylan Murrell and Mark Fields have some things in common. Both are defensive backs and both are sons of former NFL players. Tylan’s dad, Adrian Murrell, was a running back with multiple NFL teams, while Fields’ father of the same name was a Carolina Panthers linebacker.

And now, Murrell and Fields, a sophomore and freshman, respectively, are playing significant time on Friday nights. Both are being used at cornerback, especially when the Huskies are in their nickel package.

Collins said they are getting better.

“Those guys are our future,” he said. “They’re great players.”

Murrell is also Hough’s kick returner. His best against Mooresville went for 28 yards.

PATs

Michael Ramirez had a sack against Mooresville. … Though it made little difference, Hough won the penalty battle. The Blue Devils were flagged eight times for 65 yards. Hough committed seven penalties for 52 yards.