Bowdon outpaces Bobcats in second half
The Woodland Bobcats couldn’t hold on after playing an excellent first half, falling to Bowdon, 32-14.
The Bobcats’ primary goal against Bowdon was to contain the speed in the Bowdon backfield, led by Maricio Askew. And for the first half that’s exactly what they did.
“We did an excellent job containing the Askew kid in the first half,” Woodland head coach Larry Strain said. “He had a couple big runs later.
Bowdon controlled the ground game in the second half, giving the Red Devils a total of 254 yards rushing against Woodland’s 119 rushing yards.
In the air, Woodland gained 91 yards while Bowdon put up 79 yards.
Bowdon got the first score on an 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and with the point after, held a 7-0 lead through the end of the first.
Woodland tied the game with a 26-yard touchdown pass form quarterback Zach Barron to Colton McManus with 7:32 left in the second quarter. The point after was good.
Bowdon pulled ahead with a 59-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter. The extra point put the Red Devils on top 14-7, a lead that Woodland couldn’t come back from.
Bowdon went on to score three more touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. Woodland’s only other score was an 8-yard touchdown pass from Barron to Tyler Rollins with 2:24 left in the game. McManus was good on the extra point again to make the final of 32-14.
“Fatigue became a factor later because we have so many young kids,” Strain said. “When you’re tired you’re not in the right technique. When you play a team like Bowdon you have to be in the right place.”
Strain said the Bobcats played better defense in the first half, but better offense in the second half.
“We actually moved the ball better in the second half than in the first,” Strain said. “We had more trouble moving the ball than we thought we would. The defense actually did a little better.”
Woodland was able to move the chains in spurts, but couldn’t maintain any momentum.
“We were able to run the ball and get first downs, but we couldn’t keep anything going,” Strain said. “Zach made some excellent throws. They played us in press coverage so our receivers weren’t open a lot.”
Michael Howard led the Woodland offensive rushing attack with 55 yards on 15 carries while Colby Spears rushed for 46 yards on eight carries.
McManus led the receivers with 42 yards on three catches while Kurt Brown had one catch for 24 yards and Rollins had one catch for 8 yards.
Woodland will have to put the disappointing loss behind it quickly as region play awaits this week with Horseshoe Bend being the first opponent.
After having a chance to watch Horseshoe Bend against Wadley, Strain said he still wasn’t sure what to expect out of the Generals.
“They have some offensive threats,” Strain said. “They’ll spread it around and run some screens. We’re excited to get into region play. What we do now will affect us down the road.”
