It was the best of times and then the worst of times for the Pueblo County Hornets who lost their seventh straight Pigskin Classic Friday night to their arch rival’s the Pueblo West Cyclones by a score of 13-12.

Entering the fourth quarter, the game was tied at six a piece. It felt like the Hornets were in control and had all of the momentum, and they did, but only until the Cyclones’ senior punt returner, Travis Myers, had a 45 yard return for a touchdown which shifted all of the momentum and changed the game.

Even with the momentum in the Cyclones’ favor, the Hornets were able to maintain their poise and march down the field to score a touchdown on a five yard run by Joey Paradiso. Paradiso finished with six rushes for 26 yards and two touchdowns on the game.

The touchdown brought the Hornets within one, and instead of electing to kick the extra point, Pueblo County elected to go for the lead and went for two.

On the two point conversation, the Hornets drew up a quarterback draw for Troy Keys. Keys tried running up the middle, but Pueblo West’s defense was ready and tackled him at the line of scrimmage leaving the score at 13-12 in favor of the Cyclones with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter.

With very little time left in the game, the Hornets needed a defensive stop which they achieved. The Hornets got the ball back with two minutes left and showed some promise with solid runs by JJ Muniz and Mason Mooring who combined for 94 yards on 18 carries in the game, but with a minute and a half left Keys threw an interception into the hands of middle linebacker Brandon Summers, sealing the Cyclone’s seventh straight victory over the Hornets and keeping the Pigskin in Pueblo West.

While it was the Hornets’ seventh straight loss in the Pigskin classic and first loss of the season, both teams walked away with their heads held high and experience to build upon for both their respective seasons ahead.