By Bart Moss for the FCT

There were not a lot of things that went Tharptown’s way Friday night in a lopsided loss to the Hatton Hornets. With a depleted roster, Wildcat coach Jason Murray tried to find the bright spots.

“I am really proud of the guys who competed and gave their best,” said Murray. “It is certainly not the outcome we would have liked, but the guys we had on the field played their hearts out and never gave up. We have struggled, and we are closing out the season with some of the best teams in the state. It would be easy for our kids to fold and give up, but we are not going to do that. We are going to keep fighting and keep building.”

Murray emphasized the growth of the young players and how they were helping build a program.

“When you are trying to build a program, you are going to take your lumps,” said Murray.  “I’ve been on both sides of games like this, and this side is not fun. We had a lot of young guys out on that field Friday night. They will learn and grow from this, and hopefully it will pay off in the future.”

Tharptown will host Red Bay Friday night. The Tigers are undefeated in the region and on the season.

“Red Bay is the best team in our region by far,” said Murray. “They are one of the best teams in the state. Coach Jackson has done a good job in building that program. We are going to compete and play the best we can, and we will not give up.”