Game Report from 9/28/07
Tom Bean- 7; Callisburg- 44
Cats Finally Strike, but Lose
in District Opener
It’s what Coach Sanders believes to be the critical part of the football season. This is where regional rivals clash and playoff dreams are made. This is district, and for the Cats it was a chance to put all of the past performances behind them. New starting QB sophomore Hunter Hendry was given the task of leading a, so far, scoreless offense. Would that streak last yet another game for the Tomcats?
It was the defense who got started first after the Cats got the game under way, and what a start it was. Callisburg was held to a punt by our often stingy defense. Now came the real test. How would the offense perform after having 2 weeks off to improve? I say they passed with flying colors. Senior running back Drew Hodge started with an 11 yard run for a first down, followed with a massive 27 yard sprint to put the ball at the Cats’ 44 yard line. Sadly, the elation ended there after Hendry spilled the ball. Callisburg recovered the fumble, and scored a touch down a few plays later. It was 7-0 Wildcats at the end of the first quarter.
The second didn’t start much better for Tom Bean. Callisburg threw a pass for another touchdown making it 14-0 just 39 seconds into the 2nd quarter. The going got worse after Hendry suffered his 3rd sack of the game and the Cats had to punt yet again. Would anything go right for Coach Sanders and his boys this season? That question was answered on the following play. Kyle West rounded the corner and absolutely pounded the Callisburg QB, resulting in a fumble recovered by Tom Bean. Now, could we do anything with it? A nice run by Jake Jones put the Cats into a nice position, and all that was left to do was make this drive count. It did. A picture perfect pass from Hendry landed safely in the arms of senior wide receiver Justin Ragsdale in the back of the end zone for a touch down. The fans went nuts! Finally, we had put points up on the board. I had to know how it felt to accomplish such a feat.
“It felt great. In fact, it’s hard to find words to fully describe the moment. It was just a great experience,” said Ragsdale when asked about the amazing catch. “I knew as soon as I caught the ball that I was in the end zone. I was already kind of falling since I was being pushed from behind, but I just saw that I was inside the lines and made sure I stayed there.” So, can we expect more from our hero this season? “Oh, yeah. Me and some other people. We’re going to have a lot more people involved on offense.”
Finally, it seems that our offensive troubles are being laid to rest. After the touch down, the Tomcats seemed more energized. This extra boost helped the defense sack the Wildcats quarter-back and recover Callisburg’s second fumble. The score was 14-7, and everything was looking up for Sanders and his squad. But, that only lasted so long. Later, Hendry’s pass was intercepted and that eventually resulted in another touchdown for the Wild Cats. An un-converted 2 point conversion made the score 20-7 with 2:48 left in the half. Just over a minute later, another interception made it 27-7 Callisburg, and the team that was so pumped up earlier seemed to have “left the building”. Tom Bean were forced to punt before the half was up, leading to a Field Goal from the Wildcats which made the score 30-7 with just 4 seconds remaining. A turbulent end to the first half for Tom Bean, but there was hope now that they new they could put points on the board.
The second half began with some stylish running by Hendry and junior running back Colton Miller, but another interception ended the drive. That mistake lead to another touch down and made the score 37-7 with 4:47 left in the quarter. That was just enough time for senior running back Louie LaBonne to string together a couple of first down runs, and even Hunter Hendry got in on the running to put the Cats just outside the 20 yard line. A series of unfortunate plays forced Sanders into a 4th down situation, on which a pass to LaBonne was just out of his reach. A turnover on downs for the Cats resulted as the 3rd quarter came to an end.
The defense then showed up to hold the Wildcats to a turnover on downs at the beginning of the 4th. But, that was all Tom Bean could do. Other than a few first downs, and an amazing show of confidence by junior wide receiver Jake Garner to come up with a catch, it was a quiet final go for the Cats. After a forced punt, Callisburg scored again to make it 44-7. A late drive resulted in a turnover on downs, and the fat lady sang as the Wildcats ran down the clock to end the game in a bittersweet 44-7 loss for Tom Bean.
There was obvious improvement in the offense, despite so many turnovers. It seemed as if our running backs had more room to run, and that our quarter back had more time to pass. Thinking back on Coach Sanders’ comments about ‘blocking schemes’, this makes sense as the Cats had two weeks to improve on that aspect of the game. But, what of the overall performance of the offense? Had Sanders felt there was improvement?
“Oh, definitely. We had some flows, some rhythm, and had several, I think 14 or 15, first downs. We should have scored a few more times, but there was a significant improvement in the offense.”
Next week, the Cats travel to Pottsboro to take on a tough Cardinals team. Is there anything that our boys will be focusing on during this week to get ready for their first district road trip?
“Nothing specific, just improve on what we’ve improved on during the past week. We have the potential, if everybody does the same thing, same time, all eleven guys, then we will win a football game. No ifs, ands, or buts,” said Sanders.
So, it was a great night for fans as far as the ‘scoreless’ title disappearing goes, but yet another crushing loss for the Cats. Hunter Hendry had his home debut as quarter back, and although there were notable mistakes, his overall performance shows that he has potential. There is no doubt that he has the skill to lead this football team, and I would certainly look to see him improve as the season goes on and as he gets games under his belt. Plus, we must extend our congratulations to Justin Ragsdale for his extraordinary touch down reception. We will be certainly looking for more of the same from him in the near future.