Central Bobcats 'Looking Forward' Towards Neutral Site Matchup With El Paso Montwood

SAN ANGELO, TX — Currently on a two-game losing streak, the Central Bobcats look to right the ship this week when they play El Paso Montwood in Andrews for a neutral-site contest on Friday.

The Bobcats fell in a heartbreaker, 28-21 in the final seconds, to Abilene Cooper a week ago. Despite controlling the game for much of the contest, mistakes in the fourth quarter set the Bobcats back and allowed the Cougars to take a seven-point lead late. Central drove down the field with time running out and had a chance to tie it late, but missed the mark on a fourth-down throw in the end zone.

"I felt like we had game control for most of the game," Bobcats' head coach Mark Smith said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. "There were penalties, turnovers, and the inability to get a stop there kind of caused things to unravel at the end of the game."

"You have to wipe it all out and start over [after the game]," Smith said of the team's attitude after the loss. "We don't forget about the things that were done, because we have to correct them and be mindful of them, but we use the rearview mirror versus the windshield theory. Who's on the windshield? It's the team right out there in front of you, and you have the teams you've already played in the rearview mirror. You have to be mindful of those teams and the lessons that you've learned, but if you keep your focus too much on what happened back there, then it's not where it needs to be. Your attention isn't on the task at hand. ... Come Sunday, the 24-hour rule applies whether we win or we lose."

As Smith said, the loss to Cooper has to be in the rearview mirror. The Bobcats have an excellent opportunity to correct the skid against the Montwood Rams, a team that has so far struggled this season. Montwood currently sports an 0-3 record in games all within the El Paso city limits. The Rams fell to Hanks 63-27 in Week 1, Del Valle 56-14 in Week 2, and finally, 35-21 to Americas last weekend.

"They're trying to find some consistency in their team right now," Smith said of Montwood. "They look good on offense at this period of time, then they look good on defense in another, but they just haven't been able to put it all together."

"I expect them to come out and play really well," Smith said.

The Bobcats will look to establish a run game once again this week. Last Friday, running back Zey Johnson had an excellent evening, rushing for 173 yards on 20 carries. He added two touchdowns on an 8.7 yards-per-carry average in a night where Central's offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. Darius Huitt added another 29 yards on the ground, with quarterback Micah Smith capping the night for the Bobcats with 21 yards. Anytime a team has over 200 yards rushing (Central had 223), odds are that team wins the ball game. However, late turnovers and a missed field goal gave Abilene Cooper the momentum they needed to take control late.

Against Montwood, expect the ground domination to continue. The Bobcats have the formula and the ability to win this ballgame, but they just need to put the Rams away in the fourth quarter.

If and when Central is successful on the ground, the passing game will open up. Smith did not have to use his arm as much last week, finishing with 175 yards, one touchdown and an interception. However, he needs to push the ball downfield when the opportunity presents itself. Gavin Johnson led the Bobcats in receiving yards last week with eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. 

The weapons are there for the Bobcats to control this game; Central just needs to put it together.

On defense, the Bobcats looked great at certain stretches against Cooper, but the big play bit Central when it mattered. Conversions on third and long really killed the Bobcats at several points throughout the game and should have been a point of emphasis throughout practice this week. 

Kickoff in Friday's matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Mustang Bowl in Andrews.