Bobcats dive over West Morgan for win

The Woodland Bobcats faced some tough odds Friday night against the West Morgan Rebels in the first round of the 2A state playoffs.

Down 10-0 with about nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Woodland stared in the face of a heartbreaking first-round loss.

With two ace running backs, Kaleb Futral and Anthony Sims, nursing injuries that limited their offensive production, the Bobcats turned to Justin Heard to shoulder a nearly impossible load.

But in two drives of 80 and 79 yards, Heard and the Bobcats pulled out a 14-10 victory over West Morgan.

Heard totaled 131 yards rushing on 18 carries against West Morgan.

“He (Heard) took us on his back and drove us down the field,” Woodland head coach Larry Strain said. “He took it and it was the difference in the ball game.”

Woodland pulled to within three points of West Morgan after Drew Triplett’s 1-yard touchdown surge capped off an 80-yard drive with 8:30 to play in the game.

But at that point, it was up to the Woodland defense to step up and make some plays to put the ball back in Woodland’s hands.

After giving up one first down on that ensuing West Morgan possession, the Bobcats stopped the Rebels three times, forcing them to punt.

“Our defense really stood up and forced them to punt to give us a chance to win it,” Strain said.

With 4:30 to play in the game and 79 yards of green between the Bobcats and the end zone, Heard and the Woodland offense decided it wasn’t time for their season to end.

Facing a third-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Heard took the ball on a sweep play, dove and flipped into the end zone from 3-yards out, putting Woodland on top.

“We’re just fortunate to have come out with a win and we’re tickled to death,” Strain said.

Strain said West Morgan, the fourth-place team from 2A Region 8, gave Woodland one of the hardest nights they’ve had all year.

“They were a good football team,” Strain said. “Other than Maplesville, they were the best team we’ve played all year.”

West Morgan’s physical offense controlled the line of scrimmage for the first three quarters of play.

The Rebels scored first on a 19-yard field goal from Jared Spooner with 5:25 to play in the first quarter.

Then in the third quarter, a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Josh McAbee gave West Morgan the 10-0 lead they carried into the final stanza.

But Woodland’s been in a few big games before.

“It’s just a testament to our kids and their work ethic,” Strain said.

Defensively, the Bobcats were led by Futral, who tallied an astounding 15 tackles on the night, even with a minor knee injury. Heard accounted for 10 tackles, Zavier Hudson provided 9 tackles, Sims put up 8 tackles, Montana Costa had 7 tackles and AJ Stephens had 5 tackles and caused a fumble.

This week in the second round of the playoffs, Woodland will face a familiar opponent in Piedmont.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams in only two years. The last meeting, the season opener in Woodland, saw the Bobcats win over Piedmont, 20-7.

But Strain cautions this week’s Piedmont squad is highly improved from the team they saw on August 31.

“There are really very few changes on their team,” Strain said. “They just got better at what they do.”

Piedmont should come at Woodland with a lot of passing out of the shotgun formation.

“They have a very dangerous offense,” Strain said. “Their quarterback is going to run the ball a lot and they’re going to pass a lot.”

Strain said he feels confident about his defense’s abilities. It’s the offense that will have to overcome some challenges this week.

“I feel like our defense will play good enough to keep us in the game,” Strain said. “It’s going to be up to the offense to find a way to move the ball.”

And that in itself could prove to be challenging for a Bobcat offense with some pretty bad bumps and bruises. Futral and Sims will play, but Strain said they still aren’t quite 100 percent. And in addition to that, Heard suffered an injury on the last play of the West Morgan game that makes his status against Piedmont questionable.

But again, the Bobcats have been here before and found ways to win.

“We just have to mend them the best we can and go on out and play,” Strain said.