The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

On Thursday, the OJH Bobcats were looking to have a big night; kicking off their Homecoming week with three games against the Silsbee Tigers. The team started off the festivities quickly but soon fizzled out losing 30-0. It was a tough night for these Bobcats, but they never gave up and fought hard until the end. There were a few bright spots on the offensive side of the ball, as Seth Smith took control of the football and showed off his arm with a 30-yard pass to Devin Flory. Emmanuel Zepeda ran between the tackles for close to 50 yards to cap off the night. The 7th grade A team was next to try their luck and see if they could have a better showing, and they did just that, capitalizing on punishing runs from Carson Gonzales. Gonzales led the team in rushing with well over 100 yards and four touchdowns. Elijah Jones had one of the best runs of the night showing off his speed and moves, breaking tackle after tackle on a 71-yard touchdown scamper. Cylan Granger and Kale Spears each chipped in two-point conversions to help seal the 36-14 victory for the Bobcats. After a few masterful adjustments, the defensive unit stepped up and made big hits that stopped the Silsbee Tiger ball carriers in their tracks. The secondary took care of business on the back end, led by Kade Canizaro, Jack Luker, Cole Sanches, and Kessler Briggs. Plenty of big tackles were made by the likes of Adam Myers, Rylan Agerton, and Gunnar Griffin, but the hit of the night belongs to Tyler Harvey who leveled the running back nearly knocking the ball free. After all the excitement from the previous game, the 8th graders were ready to take on a much different-looking Tiger team from last year. The first two drives proved to set the tone for the game as the Tigers quickly marched down the field to score on a reverse, and the Bobcats answered with their own long run from Mason Manning. Manning led the backfield, lowering his head and earning every yard of the 103 that he gained on the night. Carson Worthy had another great game under center making multiple smart throws; one of which was a 32 yarder to Rylan McAlpin that set up a short touchdown for Manning. Coach Legate and Coach Wilbur decided to dip into their bag of tricks and onside kick right before the half. Ashton Sumrall, in his first game back for the Bobcats, executed it to perfection with a recovery made by Griffin Thomas. After halftime, Kyler Green flashed his speed around the end allowing another Bobcat back to total over 100 yards. Defensively the unit held their own, containing the speed and size of the Tigers, only breaking down on two plays to allow scores. Late in the game, when it mattered most, the Cats made the plays and shot down any hopes of a Silsbee Tiger comeback. The whole defensive unit played extremely well, led by Matthew Johnson, Easton Sprayberry, Kaleb Menard, Kim Tsan, Layne Reynolds, and Michael Fenner. The hit of the night came when Coach Ragsdale dialed up a fire blitz, giving Logan Trero the opportunity to make a game-ending tackle on Silsbee's quarterback in the fourth quarter, which put the Tigers well out of scoring range. The Bobcats have a quick turnaround on a short week, as they will travel to Vidor on Tuesday to take on the Pirates.