The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Thursday night, the Shorthorns from Hamshire Fannett came to town to take on our Orangefield fighting Bobcats.

The 7th grade started the night off, looking for a spark to get them off of their current four-game losing streak. The offense took the field first and looked like they were going to start early, but soon found a tough defense waiting for them.

Carson Gonzales and Elijah Jones ran the ball hard, but they were never allowed to break free for any long runs. Cylan Granger got to tote the rock, lowering his head to chip in close to 45 yards.

Gonzales and Hayden Clark did their best to protect the Bobcat boundaries on defense, but the Longhorn speed was too much which led to a 30-0 loss for our Bobcats. Next, would be our undefeated 8th-grade group who were given the challenge before the game to shut out the Longhorns. This group rose to the occasion winning 32-0 which kept their winning streak alive!

The offense started early, scoring on their first possession with a touchdown by Mason Manning and a two-point conversion by Kyler Green. Several Bobcats, including Ashton Sumrall, Carson Worthy, and Easton Sprayberry took turns showing that they had bursts of speed to get around the edge. Manning lead the backfield with 214 rushing yards and added another touchdown before his night came to an end late in the third quarter.

The defense proved to be on point as the Shorthorns were not allowed within striking distance until the end of the game. Defensive standouts for this group included Matthew Johnson, Rylan McAlpin, Griffin Thomas, Layne Reynolds, Kim Tsan, and Michael Fenner.

Carson Worthy also recorded an interception, and Easton Sprayberry popped a ball loose which contributed to the defensive effort.

However, the hit of the night goes to Zeppelin Sullivan who worked down the line, crushing the ball carrier and causing a fumble which was nearly recovered by the Bobcats.

Next week, both of these groups will be heading to Hardin Jefferson to face off with the Hawks for their final game of the season.