Bobcats win thriller football game in Lyman

The Bobcat varsity football team loaded on the bus early last Friday, October 11 for a four plus hour ride to the Bridger Valley of Wyoming. The team was set to play the Lyman Eagles that afternoon, in what coach Boone Bowker had called a “must win game.”

While the Eagles sit in last place in the West Conference, they are in no way a team to be overlooked. And, it was a good thing the Cats went into the game with that thought in mind.

Before the game, coach Bowker had said the team needed to come away with a win in Lyman to have any shot at making the play-offs. “We need to take control of our own destiny. The Eagles play power football - we need to shut them down to win.”

Getting off to the right start, the Bobcats took the opening kick, on their own 26 yard line, and went 72 yards on a touchdown pass from quarterback, Armani Dukes, to Zane Stam, to open the scoring. With the PAT being successful, the Cats were up seven to zero, right off the bat. That score held through the rest of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, a face mask penalty on the Cats left the Eagles at the 12 yard line. A sneaky reverse, for which the Bobcats were unprepared, gave a touch-down to Lyman. The 2-point conversion attempt, however, fell short, as the pass attempt was intercepted by the skillful Bobcat defense.

With just 23 seconds remaining in the half, Lyman was moving the ball well when a very timely interception by Dell Dukes found the Cats with the ball on the Lyman 35. The Bobcats then put up another touch-down on a 27 yard pass to Ryan Arends. A successful PAT, brought the half-time score to 14 to 6, Cats.

In the first half, the Cats held the Eagles to just 97 rushing yards, together with a measly 5 yards through the air. By contrast, on his own, Bobcat Zane Stam had 123 yards on 9 carries in the half.

The Eagles put up a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half – missing the 2-point conversion attempt – leaving the score in favor of the Cats at 14 to 12. Following an Eagles interception, Lyman put up another touch-down in the third quarter, and took their first lead of the game by a score of 20 to 14.

In the fourth quarter, the Bobcats came right back with a run up the middle by Zane Stam to add another six points to their total. A missed 2-point conversion left the score tied at 20 at games end.

Overtime ensued with each team being given four downs to score from the ten yard line. The Cats got the ball first, and proceeded to score a touch-down, and a successful PAT – to bring the score to 27 to 20, Cats.

Taking their turn from the ten, Lyman had a no gain run on 1st down, thanks to a trip tackle by Armani Dukes. On 2nd down, the Eagles gained 3 yards on the ground, but were stopped by a great tackle by Logan Dafoe and Chris Arends. The Eagles again gained 3 yards on their 3rd down attempt, but were once again short of the goal line. On 4th down, Lyman attempted one of their few passing plays, which was timely tipped away by Chris Arends – leaving the Bobcats with a much earned, and hard fought win on the road.

While holding the Eagles to just 182 combined yards, the Cats had 207 yards on the ground, with three touch-downs, and 66 yards through the air, with another touch-down. Zane Stam had a phenomenal game – gaining 179 yards rushing, with two touch-downs.

Commenting after the game, coach Bowker stated, “The defense played well, like they have all season, and we had the triple option really clicking. Chris Arends played great on defense, and Ryan Arends played excellent on offense. Everyone believed in themselves, and did their job. It was a well-played, complete game. I am really proud of the way the team pushed each other on the field to be their best. This is, definitely, a player led team.”

This week the Bobcats will play host to first place Mountain View on Friday, October 18. The game will be at 3 p.m. at Leroy Hayes Field. Mountain View is undefeated this year – giving the Cats an opportunity to play the spoiler on their attempt at a perfect season.