Bobcats fall to Eagles in tough fought battle at home

The Thermopolis Bobcats ran into a tough opponent this past Friday night at LeRoy Hayes Field. The 2-2 Lyman Eagles were in town, and had, purposefully, come to play, leaving the Cats with a 38 -12 loss, when the action was over.

What began as a sunny evening, with the home team taking the field in their gray uniforms and purple helmets, soon became a rather gray affair overall as the weather became chilly, and the fortunes of the Cats became decidedly frosty.

The two teams put on a defensive battle in the first quarter which ended with only one score - a touchdown put up by the Eagles, with a 2 point conversion, leaving the score Thermopolis 0 and Lyman 8 by quarter's end.

In the second quarter, the Eagles put additional points up on the board and threw in a surprise on-side kick to make things interesting. The Bobcats scored a touchdown, on a long pass from quarterback, Armani Dukes, to older brother, Del Dukes, with 1:10 left in the half, and the score was now Thermopolis 6, Lyman 32.

The second half of the game reflected a better outcome for the Bobcats, with Thermopolis holding possession of the ball for much of the third quarter. The Cats scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter, on a two yard rush by running back, Zane Stam. The Eagles, however, were not yet finished scoring, and tallied a defensive touchdown to bring the final score to Thermopolis 12, Lyman 38.

Interviewed after the game, Head Coach Boone Bowker stated, "We expected Lyman to be physical, and they certainly were. We just fell off of our assignments far too much."

He added, "The on-side kick was a tactic the Eagles like to use, and we just need to be ready for that at any time – whether they are ahead or behind in the scoring."

Looking ahead to this week at Cokeville, Coach Bowker said the Panthers like to utilize an old school power-T offense, and feels the Bobcat defense will match up well to that approach.

The varsity Bobcats are up at Cokeville this Friday with kick off at 2 p.m.

The Junior Varsity Bobcat football team wrapped up their season last week with a win against Greybull, 46-12.