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Ider will make long road trip today

By Lew Gilliland
The Times-Journal

Published November 19, 2009

Ider will face more than one opponent today as it makes its first appearance in the state high school football quarterfinals.

The Hornets will also have to deal with a considerable road trip as they prepare to face No. 5 Lamar County in a Class 2A third-round game tonight at 7.

Ider will have to travel about 3 1/2 hours and 200 miles to reach George Bell Stadium in Vernon.

The Hornets are planning to leave at 9 this morning and drive for a couple of hours before stopping to eat and stretch their legs for about an hour.

Next up will be the remainder of the trip, and Tinker said the team plans to arrive in time to go through its usual pre-game routine.

“We’re going to try to do the best we can and stay in our normal routine and break up the trip to not be on the bus for a solid four hours,” Tinker said.

Ider (11-1) reached this point by downing Lineville 20-13 last week. Lamar County (12-0) advanced with a 28-27 victory over No. 7 Tanner in overtime.

Tonight’s winner advances to face the winner of another quarterfinal featuring No. 6 Clay County (11-1) at Winston County (10-2).

The Hornets would return home for the semifinal regardless of the opponent.

First up, however, Ider must get past the Bulldogs. Tinker hopes his team will stay focused despite the long road trip.

“You try to keep everything normal,” he said. “It is going to be something different, but I expect the team to respond the way they have all year. We’ve sat for an hour in a locker room, had delays because the officials were late and delays because of the weather.”

Ider is enjoying its best season in years after a decade of struggle that included three straight 3-7 seasons prior to the 2009 campaign. The Hornets went 9-1 in the regular season, shared a region championship and own playoff victories over Lanett and Lineville.

The team’s success has excited the community. In all, Ider plans to charter four busses to transport the team, cheerleaders, band and fans.

“Talking to people, I think we’re going to have a great crowd go to Lamar County,” Tinker said. “These people have been waiting on this for a lot of years.”

—Staff writer Mark Harrison contributed to this story.

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