Bobcats head to football playoff against Mountain View

The Hot Springs County High School Football team had a difficult time against Newcastle last weekend, losing to the Dogies 48-12.

Coach Matt McPhie said the boys didn’t play great, but did do some things well. He noted Jon Harvey played well in his second game starting as quarterback, and Noah Schwalbe performed well on offense as well as defense, with nine assisted tackles, two unassisted and four tackles for loss.

The offense had a total 23 rushes for 91 yards. They had a total 93 yards passing, with eight of 18 passes completed. Scoring touchdowns for the Bobcats were Logan Cole and Dustin Harvey.

The team didn’t finish some drives and missed some key plays, McPhie said, and he was proud of the boys for playing hard.

As for Newcastle, McPhie said he was impressed with the energy the Dogies had when they came out, though the Bobcats couldn’t match it and found themselves in a hole they couldn’t get out of.

This week, the Bobcats travel to Mountain View to take on the Buffaloes on Friday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. in the first round of playoffs. While McPhie wanted to see a home playoff game, he noted the Bobcats are “in the dance,” which is what they wanted and he’s excited to see them compete in the playoffs.

Thermopolis, McPhie noted, has taken on teams similar to Mountain View and he thinks it will be a tight game though the boys will have to step up a bit to match the Buffaloes.

McPhie said at practice the coaches are always trying to provide opportunities for the boys to find success — so it’s not the same routine day in and day out — and they have always stepped up to meet the challenge. He reminded them everyone is 0-0 going into the playoffs.