SAN ANGELO, TX — The Bobcats manhandled the competition for four quarters. It was old school football at its finest as Central dominated both sides of the ball. On the ground and on defense, the Bobcats played their most complete game of the season and finished with a big win.
The San Angelo Central Bobcats (1-2) hoped to get their season back on track against the Belton Tigers (2-1) tonight, Sept 16, at 7 p.m. After a heartbreaking loss in overtime last week to Abilene Cooper, Senior quarterback Tyler Hill and the rest of the Bobcats turned their fortunes around this week. Hill had over 150 yards rushing and three touchdowns on the ground, and the defense smothered Belton in all facets of the game. The ‘Cats won 35-12.
The Bobcats won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, so the defense began the night first. The ‘Cats’ defense gave up yards grudgingly as the Tigers slogged down the field. Finally faced with a 4th and six at the San Angelo 33-yard line, the ‘Cats held fast and forced a turnover on downs.
QB Tyler Hill and the rest of the offense wasted little time with the opportunity the defense gave them. Hill connected with WR Keevon Rice and WR Ben Imler several times to push the Bobcats into the Tigers' territory. RB Tyree Brawley ran the ball hard for a punishing 12-yard carry where the big boys up front literally pushed him an additional six yards. At Belton’s 20-yard line, Hill called his own number and sprinted into the end zone for the first points of the night. Following the extra point, the Bobcats led 7-0.
The Bobcats’ defense allowed a single first down on the ensuing drive. Tough fighting in the trenches clogged the Tigers’ ground game, and the Tigers failed to succeed through the air. The Bobcats forced a punt. The ‘Cats failed to recreate the magic of their first drive, however, and punted the ball right back.
LB Coen Warkala kicked off the second quarter with a sack of Belton’s QB Ty Brown. On the next play, CB Luke Gould picked off Brown on a deep pass down the sideline. The ‘Cats took over at midfield and only took another four plays to score. Two runs by RB Aiden Barron and one by Tyler Hill pushed the Bobcats to Belton’s 35-yard line. RB Jayvion Robinson then took a handoff up the middle and, like he shot himself out of a cannon, fired 40 yards to the endzone and another touchdown. The Bobcats extended their lead 14-7.
The ‘Cats' defense came through again, stopping the Belton offense cold at the San Angelo Central 33-yard line. After giving up two chunk plays to the Tigers, the D-line stepped up and put enough pressure on QB Brown to force three straight errant throws. On 4th down, Brown stepped up and fired to a receiver in double coverage, but the throw went over the heads of everyone involved.
San Angelo Central began their next drive at the Bobcats’ 33-yard line. Stopped short of a first down at San Angelo Central’s 41-yard line, Head coach Kevin Crane took a gamble and went for the 1st. Hill faked a handoff to Brawley and then broke his way to the edge before cutting back across the field, breaking several tackles on his way to a 57-yard touchdown. The Bobcats create more breathing room, 21-0.
Belton struck back quickly on the second play of their ensuing drive. Brown connected with WR Mason Ramm, who broke a would-be Bobcats’ tackle and turned on the jets 67-yards to the house. The Tigers got on the board with 5:13 left in the 2nd quarter. However, a botched extra point left the score at 21-6.
The ‘Cats responded instantly on offense. A four-play, 75-yard drive that took 1:10 off the clock increased the lead again. Tyler Hill broke away from the Tigers again and outran the defenders 70 yards to the endzone. With time left in the first half, Tyler Hill already had over 150 yards on the ground. The ‘Cats lead 28-6.
Belton had one final opportunity to score before the half. Brown connected with several receivers as the Tigers steadily pushed down the field. The ‘Cats had several opportunities to stop the Tigers, including a 4th down attempt, but Belton’s offense managed to get into the endzone with 25 seconds left in the half. The ‘Cats stopped the Tigers on a 2-point conversion attempt, and the Bobcats headed to the locker room up by 16, 28-12.
After receiving the second-half kickoff, the Bobcats had initial success moving the ball on the ground. Hard running by Brawley pushed the Bobcats closer and closer to midfield. However, an incomplete pass on 2nd and 3rd down killed the drive and forced the Bobcats to punt.
San Angelo Central’s defense stepped up for the offense again. Although the Tigers pushed into Bobcats’ territory, the ‘Cats stopped them. Four plays inside San Angelo Central’s 40-yard line ended up too much for the Tiger’s offense, and they turned the ball over on downs.
Feeding off of the defense’s momentum, the ‘Cats took to the ground game and fed RB Jayveon Robinson. He carried the ball four straight times to push the Bobcats inside the Tigers’ 40-yard line. A timely penalty set the Bobcats up inside the 15-yard line, but that’s where the drive stalled. A mishandled snap ended the drive with no points, and the Tigers took over at Belton’s 10-yard line.
Jacoby Yates came up with a massive interception on a deep throw on the ensuing drive. After connecting on an explosive screen pass for 30 yards, Belton looked to continue their push to the end zone. QB Brown then launched a ball deep down the field to a receiver in coverage. Yates outran the receiver to intercept the deep pass and give the football back to the offense.
With the ball at San Angelo Central’s 20-yard line, the ‘Cats began the 4th quarter with a long, time-consuming drive. The Bobcats efficiently ran and passed the ball through short but hard-fought gains down the field. Arduous running from RB Aiden Barron and quick passes to Tyler Walker set up a deep pass to WR Ben Imler 28 yards through the air and into the Tigers’ territory. The ‘Cats then resumed nickel and dime Belton the remaining 35 yards to the 10-yard line. Another two plays and eight yards on the ground set up a 3rd and goal from the 2-yard line. Hill connected with Keevon Rice in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The Bobcats extended their lead, 35-12.
The Bobcats held the Tigers on 4th down once more on defense, and the ‘Cats' offense ran out the clock. Tyree Brawlee and WR Jaedyn Gipson moved the football on the ground deep into Belton’s territory to the 18-yard line. QB Ben Imler came into the game for the final two minutes, and the Bobcats won in their most complete game of the season, 35-12.
The San Angelo Central Bobcats (2-2) host the Abilene Wylie Bulldogs (2-2) for homecoming week next Friday, Sept. 23, at San Angelo Stadium, at 7 p.m. The Wylie Bulldogs fell to the Stephenville Yellowjackets tonight, 56-49.
These are the Belton Tiger Dads. The group is comprised of fathers of team members of the Belton Tigers football squad. Their tradition is to blow up the tunnel for their team to enter the field before the game and before the second half. The group is comprised of approximately 50 percent dads of seniors and 50 percent dads of underclassmen.
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