Bobcats struggle with Piedmont

The Woodland Bobcats were no match for 3A powerhouse Piedmont in a 28-0 drubbing in Woodland Friday night.

Piedmont did everything Woodland could not do—score and stop scores.

“We basically got beat in the kicking game, offense and defense,” Woodland head coach Larry Strain said. “We just got whipped.”

Woodland struggled to get anything going on offense with only 95 rushing yards and 90 passing yards against a brick-wall Piedmont defense. Piedmont, on the other hand, was able to roll up 393 rushing yards and 80 passing yards in downing the Bobcats.

“They were able to stop us and we weren’t able to stop them,” Strain said. “We were beat in every phase of the game.”

Strain said Piedmont was easily one of the toughest teams the Bobcats have played this season, no small feat considering Woodland sits in arguably the most competitive regions in class 2A.

“They’ve really got a chance to compete for it all,” Strain said.

Piedmont’s first score came on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 7:56 left in the first quarter.

A 30-yard touchdown run with 0:36 left in the first quarter gave Piedmont a 12-0 lead and left Woodland scratching to find a way to stop Piedmont’s offense.

Piedmont continued to dominate with a 68-yard touchdown run with 6:50 left in the second quarter.

Then a 26-yard field goal with 0:41 left in the second quarter gave Piedmont a 21-0 lead going into halftime.

Piedmont’s final score came on a 4-yard touchdown run with 7:47 left in the third quarter. The point-after made the final of 28-0.

Strain said the Woodland offense wasn’t completely shut down, but still was unable to get over the hump.

“We did OK at times,” Strain said. “We still made mistakes, but that had a lot to do with who we were playing.”

Turnovers proved to be a major thorn in Woodland’s side with a pair of interceptions and a fumble that worked against the Bobcats.

“We still turned the ball over some, then the penalties and we made a lot of mental mistakes,” Strain said. “We are working diligently this week to correct those areas.”

Regardless of the tough loss, Strain said playing such a difficult schedule will only help Woodland in the next phase of the 2009 campaign—the playoffs.

“We feel like playing these folks will help us in the playoffs,” Strain said.

Woodland’s third-place region seeding will force the Bobcats to travel to Westbrook Christian in the first round of the playoffs.

Strain said Westbrook uses a potent spread offense to score on its opponents, and Woodland will have to do several things to stop it.

“They run the spread and they’re in the shotgun every snap,” Strain said. “They have a big, physical quarterback that runs and throws very well. They have two good receivers that can go up and catch the ball. We have to control those receivers and get pressure on the quarterback.”

Offensively, Strain said he believes Woodland’s strength in the passing game may work to the Bobcats’ advantage.

“They’re used to playing in a region with a lot of Wing-T and run-heavy offenses,” Strain said. “We’re going to have to get a running game going to compliment our passing game, though.”