Bobcats use strong defense, potent rushing attack to top Haleyville
HALEYVILLE — The Phil Campbell offense made what could have been a costly mistake early in the first quarter of its fall jamboree game at Haleyville Thursday, but the defense stood its ground, sparking the Bobcats to a 17-10 victory.
On its first possession Phil Campbell faced a fourth-and-two situation on its own 28-yard line and coach Bo Culver wanted to try to draw the Haleyville defenders offside. Instead of calling a timeout when the defense did not move, the Bobcats snapped the ball and failed to pick up the first down.
“We had every intention of punting,” Culver said. “Obviously we are not going to go for it inside our own 20.”
The Phil Campbell defenders responded well to the adversity by not allowing the Haleyville offense to drive any closer than the 14-yard line and forcing the Lions to settle for a 3-0 lead.
Neither team put up much of a threat of scoring for most of the first half, but with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter Phil Campbell’s offense seized the momentum.
Opening the drive on the Bobcat 39-yard line, quarterback Corey Alexander failed to gain on the first play. He broke lose for a 19-yard run on the second play.
Craig Saint gave the Bobcats the lead on the third play of the drive with a 42-yard touchdown run.
“We were down and we needed a big score,” Saint said. “The O-line made big blocks to open the hole and I found myself one-on-one with the safety. I shook him and ran to the end zone.”
Saint kicked the extra point to give Phil Campbell a 7-3 lead.
The score energized the Bobcats and the defense forced a Haleyville fumble on the Lions’ first play of the ensuing possession. Derek Duncan recovered the ball for Phil Campbell at the Haleyville 25-yard line.
The offense wasted no time extending the lead when Alexander found Dylan Rice with a 25-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive. Saint added another extra point to extend the lead to 14-3.
The Phil Campbell defense then forced a three-and-out to give the Bobcats one more shot at the end zone before halftime. Saint added a 35-yard field goal to round out Phil Campbell’s scoring. It was the longest field goal attempt of Saint’s career.
Culver was pleased with the play of his offensive line in the first half.
“We had 115 rushing yards in the first half,” Culver said. “We rarely had 100 yards total in a game last year.”
Both teams had one possession to start the second half and Haleyville took advantage with a 70-yard touchdown drive. The score came on a fourth-and-goal play from the Phil Campbell 4-yard line.
Phil Campbell fumbled on the first play of its possession to end varsity action. The B-teams for both schools then took the field for one quarter of play.
The Phil Campbell offense did not have much success moving the ball, but fumble recoveries by Jamie Dorroh and Corey Potter helped preserve the win for Phil Campbell.
Junior high falls 18-6
Haleyville’s offense was able to put together three scoring drives against Phil Campbell to earn the win.
The Bobcats avoided the shutout when quarterback Jacob Hamilton scrambled 35 yards for a touchdown as time expired.
