Harrell brothers, Athens run away from Ferris

By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports

The Ferris Yellowjackets ran into a Hornet buzzsaw Friday night in Athens.

Athens carried a 26-17 lead into the halftime locker room and then held Ferris to one touchdown and a pair of field goals in the second half for the 52-29 victory.

The Hornets are led by first-year head coach Zac Harrell, who served as the offensive coordinator in Waxahachie this past year and is an Ennis graduate. He is also the son of hall-of-fame head coach Sam Harrell, as well as the elder brother of Athens offensive coordinator, Clark.

Ferris junior quarterback Nate Aguinaga completed 9-of-his-29 passing attempts for 175 yards and two touchdowns to one interception.

Senior tight end Matthew Nunez was on the receiving end of both passing scores, hauling in five passes for 112 yards and two scores. Brendon Winsor (3-55) and Demarcus Rankin (1-8) also caught passes from Aguinaga.

Jeremiah Harrison led the Yellowjackets on the ground with 20 carries for 121 yards and one touchdown. Aguinaga added 12 carries for 34 yards, while Ivan Garcia (5-9) and Nunez (3-6) also contributed to the ground attack.

The loss dropped Ferris to 1-3 on the season, with all four games coming during non-district play.

The Yellowjackets will now turn their focus to undefeated (4-0) Mabank for a 7:30 p.m. road tilt Friday.

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Travis M. Smith, @Travis5mith

tsmith@kbec.com