ADEL — The Cook Hornets will play a rare Thursday night game tonight when they visit the Dougherty Trojans at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany.

After two dominating home victories to start the season, the Hornets are looking for a similar result on the road against the Trojans.

“We don’t mind playing at other places,” Cook head coach Ken Cofer said. “Historically, Cook has always done good on the road, especially in playoff games. I kind of enjoy it. Hugh Mills (Stadium) isn’t too different. We’ve been there before, we played Albany two years ago. Now, Dougherty is a new opponent and has been pretty successful with a state championship. I don’t remember if it was the early or mid 90’s. But they had some athletes.”

Cook is the clear favorite in tonight’s game. The fourth-ranked Hornets cruised through their first two games, beating Worth County, 36-2, and Crisp County, 37-0.

Dougherty is 0-2 after losses to Lee County (49-32) and Westside (41-0).

“They’re giving up some points right now but they can throw ball, offensively,” said Cofer of the Trojans.

The Hornet defense has been exceptionally dominant this season. Through the first eight quarters of the regular season, the Hornets haven’t allowed a point on the defensive side of the football. In fact, the only points scored against Cook this year came on a safety against quarterback Ross Pickle in the first quarter against Worth County. Since the safety, Cook has outscored its opponents 73-0.

Despite his safety, Pickle has made the transition into Cook’s quarterback rather nicely after making the move from outside linebacker. In the two games this season, Pickle has tossed for 256 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 137 more with two scores. More impressively, Pickle has grabbed the reigns of the offense and has become a leader.

“(Pickle) is a leader by example,” said Cofer of his quarterback. “He has been playing on varsity since he was a sophomore. He is not very vocal. We have a lot better leadership group this year than last year. Those guys last year were quiet. But this year, we have some young guys stepping up as leaders. But yes, Pickle is definitely that leader they look to.”

Defensively, the Hornets are living up to their preseason publicity from Cofer, who told reporters and fans at South Georgia Media Day that he thought this year’s defense is the best they’ve had in Adel since 2010, when the Hornets finished 12-1 and appeared in the state quarterfinals.

“We are not as big (as 2010), but we have some speed,” Cofer said. “We are young — we have three sophomores at linebacker. We play with a lot of enthusiasm.

“I told someone the other day, ‘they have that swagger and that is what we want,’” Cofer continued. “They know they can be good. They take it to heart if someone moves the ball on them.”

Last week against Crisp County, the Hornets didn’t let up many yards, so their feelings weren’t hurt. The Cougars racked up just 66 yards of total offense. Tonight, the Hornets face the struggling Dougherty offense that couldn’t find the end zone last week against Westside.

“Offensively, they are a spread team that will line up in the quad occasionally, but mainly they are a spread,” Cofer said, “way more than us. We like to run the ball, but they are more of a passing team. They will throw it almost every down.”

If there is one thing that has driven Cofer over the edge through the first two weeks its penalties. The Hornets committed 17 penalties in the season opener against Worth County and then 10 penalties in last week’s win against Crisp. As Cofer explained, the among of penalties is because lack of experience and is something that will improve with more game experience.

“It is a combination of things, it’s discipline and inexperience,” Cofer said. “We have young kids this year that are not lining up right. Simple things — like not being on the line or moving when another guy is moving. We had two penalties against Worth County, in a row, where guys were moving and not lining up on the line, checking with the referee.

“They weren’t dirty penalties and I hesitate to get on those kids because they’re playing full speed,” Cofer continued. “It is just learning the game. We have to know the game and what is going on.”

Following tonight’s game in Albany, the Hornets will have a week off before jumping into region play with a game against Thomasville at Memorial Stadium. The game will be the start to a tough region season. Currently, four teams from Region 1-AA are ranked inside the top 10 in the state, including Brooks County (2) and Fitzgerald (3).

Right now, Cofer isn’t buying into the rankings.

“It is fun to look at, as far as the kids are concerned,” Cofer said. “Coaches can say what they want to say. It is a confidence thing. The problem is, we have to play two teams in those rankings that are ahead of us — someone has to lose. It matters when we get to those playoffs.

The Cook Hornets can be heard all season long on Talk 92.1 FM.  Tonight’s game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.