DEMOPOLIS- The 1A John Essex Hornets played host to the visiting 4A Greensboro Raiders on Friday night. The Hornets were looking forward to playing the role of David vs. Goliath in this Black Belt showdown.

The Hornets took the early lead in the game on a four-yard rushing touchdown by Darnell Edwards with 4:23 left in the first quarter.

After Edwards ran in successfully for the two-point conversion, the Hornets jumped to an early 8-0 lead.

And the score remained the same going into halftime.

With 5:06 left in the third quarter, the Raiders’ Rashad Hobson connected with Kiara Paige for an 11-yard touchdown pass to cut into the lead, 8-6.

At the 7:56 mark in the fourth quarter, Greensboro’s Bruce Brown scored a touchdown to bring the Raiders lead to 12-8.

And the Raiders added their final score of the game when Brown swept left for a five-yard touchdown run to bring the lead to 18-8.

Though John Essex played a hard-fought game, they walked away with the loss.

But the playoffs are still on the lineup for the Hornets, as they hit the road next Friday to play Ariton.