Bobcats Down Warriors To Go 2-0 (09/03 /18)

The Clarion Area Bobcat Football Team traveled to West Sunbury, on Friday (August, 31st) and came away with a  34-14 win. The victory wasn’t as easy as the final score would indicate, as the Warriors had a strong effort in the second half to make things interesting.

Cutter Boggess got the Cats on the board, at 5:40 in the first quarter, with a 68 yard touchdown run, down the right sideline. Archer Mills extra point attempt was good and the Bobcats led 7-0. Boggess had 103 yards on the night. The Clarion lead moved to 14-0 with 1:28 left in the first, with Mills hooking up with Sam Minich, on a 31 yard touchdown pass, their first of three touchdowns connections on the evening. The two just seemed to be really in sync on their hook-ups. Mills’ point after was good.

The second quarter saw the Cats score two more touchdowns. The first came at 4:17, with Mills hitting Minich with a 36 yard touchdown strike and with the kick, the score was Bobcats 21 – Warriors 0. Spreading it around, Mills hit Ethan Burford on a middle screen, at the 2:07 mark, which Burford took around left end for a 57 yard score. With the extra point, the Cats took a 28-0 lead into halftime.

The Warriors came back, with two touchdowns in the third. Going with a solid running game they were able to move the ball well. Their first score came at 7:20 on a 13 yard run by Nick Martino. Moniteau’s try for a two-point conversion failed and the Bobcat lead was now 28-6. Cody Wise ran the ball in from three yards out, with thirty-four seconds left in the quarter. Brady McClean caught a pass from Brady Thompson for the conversion moving the score to 28-14 Cats.

Mills and Minich hooked up with a 20 yard touchdown pass with 1:15 left in the game. The two point conversion failed and the final was set at 34-14.

Key Bobcat Stats:

Archer Mills: 9-for-14 passing, 179 yards, 4 touchdowns, 4-for-4 PATs, 11 tackles and 1 interception on defense; Sam Minich: 4 catches for 91 yards, 3 touchdowns, 5 carries 59 yards, 14 tackles; Cutter Boggess: 15 carries for 115 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 catch for 20 yards; Ethan Burdord: 2 catches, 63 yards and a touchdown; Tyler McCord-Wolbert: 8 tackles and a fumble recovery; Drew Wrhen: 9 tackles and an interception; Camden Boggess: 8 tackles.

CAT QUOTES

Coach Wiser: I am very proud of my TEAM! They went into a hostel environment against a good opponent and earned a win.

Like every game, there were some very good things taking place on the field to say the least Archer’s four touchdown passing game and some good TEAM play. The one thing as a TEAM we need to take away from this game is that each week will be a journey to strive to individually to get better as a Player and TEAM.

Great football TEAMS have a special desire to get better each week.

Cutter Boggess: The first half we were making plays offensively and defensively and with the goal line stop before the half we had some momentum.  The second half we started off coasting and let them score. We just have to keep our heads in the game and stop the mental errors.

Sam Minich: The first half we were shutting everything down defensively, and making plays on offense, and ended up with a big lead going into the half. We coasted too much in the second half. They were a hard hitting team, with some big boys up front and big running backs. Penalties killed us again and we need to keep working on the little things to become a better football team.

Archer Mills: We came out strong and ready to play, we have been really working hard at practice to strengthen our passing game, so we will be versatile in all game situations.  The connection with Sam and I goes back to third grade soccer; we just click.  When you have complete confidence in your team mates’ abilities, it just takes the pressure off your game.  The feeling is the same about the line, we know they will stay on their blocks and the holes will be there.  Every week we work on the little things to get better, and we have outstanding coaches that support us.

Tyler McCord-Wolbert: We knew coming in it was going to be a physical game and we knew we had to match their physicality. We faced some adversity in the second half and Jarod (Best) and Luca (Cherico) really stepped up there. On the defensive side of the ball, it’s just doing your assignments and filling your gaps.

The Bobcats will travel to Karns City on Friday (September, 7th), to take on the Gremlins. Kickoff is set for 7:00PM.

(Keep it going, Bobcats!!!!)