Bobcats Squeak by Hurst Bell in Low Scoring Affair, Clinch Playoff Berth

BEDFORD, TX-- The San Angelo Central Bobcats gritted out a 10-2 win over Hurst Bell 245 miles from home to secure a spot in the playoffs.

"I knew it was gonna be like this," Central head coach Brent Davis said. "I didn't really think 10-2, but I knew it was going to be extremely close because of the travel. When you come this far, it's tough. I mean, it's tough to leave all day and get here, not be tired and all those things that go with that kind of travel. Then, those guys are fighting for their playoff life, you know."

Central knew coming in that Bell would play one of their best games with their playoff hopes on life support. The Bobcats got that and a little more from the Raiders.

"They had a great plan," Davis praised of his opponent. "They basically had, like, nine guys in the box, you know. They weren't going to let us run the ball and it showed. We never had a real opportunity to back 'em up off us. I thought L.D. Bell played exceptional and I thought our defense played exceptional."

A week after rushing for 436 yards, Central was held to just 137 yards rushing.

In what started off like a pitcher’s duel in baseball, Central finished 277 yards of total offense, their third lowest mark of the season.

Sophomore QB Malachi Brown had his third-best game passing, completing 21 of 37 passes for 140 yards and one touchdown. Brown also had 83 yards rushing to bring his season total to 1,016 yards.

Tanner Dabbert was his go-to receiver with 12 catches for 75 yards. Christian Gabaldon had the only touchdown catch.

Since taking over as the starting QB for week 3, Brown has found Dabbert 27 times, five fewer than senior receiver Jackson Timme's 32. Brown favors the junior receiver because of his reliability.

"He's very reliable," Brown said of Dabbert. "Every pass I throw to him, he makes his best effort to go get it."

The Raiders were limited to a dismal 146 yards of total offense by the Bobcats' defense. Leading their offense was quarterback Landry Choate with 77 yards rushing and 51 yards passing.

Choate also threw a pair of interceptions -- one to Tristan Lopez in the first half and the other to Daylon Green in the fourth quarter.

Davis called the second-ever meeting between Central and Bell "a trap game" for the Bobcats, who were playing their ninth-straight game of the season. They get their open week next week.

"We've been playing nine weeks straight, without a break, [with] a lot of injuries, a lot of adversity -- you know, surviving," Davis said. "Now, we've got a little break. We can take a break and get rejuvenated. We can get healthy and everything it's gonna take to beat Haltom and get a piece of that district championship."

The win also marked the ninth straight year that the Central Bobcats have made it to the playoffs. Davis attributed that run to "a lot of good kids."

"It's not a big secret on how to do it," Davis said. "You've just gotta have kids willing to do it. We've got kids willing to do what it takes to have success. And it's a lot of work. It's a lot of stuff that no one knows about like 6:30 in the morning, offseason and spring training and asking them to play a second sport. All of the things we try to get them to do is for the payoff on Friday night. That's what the last 10 years have been about."  

Bell struck first on a bizarre play in the first quarter. Malachi Brown dropped back to pass and fumbled the ball backwards. The ball rolled through the end zone for a safety to give Bell a 2-0 lead.

Central looked primed to find the end zone in the second quarter, but their drive stalled at the Raiders’ 17-yard line. Miles Houser put his left foot through a 24-yard field goal attempt to give Central a 3-2 lead with 6 minutes, 44 seconds left in the half.

Listen: Halftime analysis with Sam Fowler:

The Bobcats and Raiders remained scoreless through the third quarter.

Central then found the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter. Brown found Christian Gabaldon for a 20-yard pass and the first touchdown of the game with 11:54 left in the game.

WATCH: Coach Brent Davis on the win against Hurst L.D. Bell
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Bell had a chance to tie the game up, but on 4th and 10, Choate’s pass fell incomplete and Central ran out the clock thanks to a 15-yard run by Malachi Brown.

Central (7-2, 4-1) now awaits their week 11 clash at home with district front runner Haltom.

Listen: End of game analysis with Sam Fowler: