MIDLAND, TX — Down 35-16 at the half on Friday night, everyone at Astound Broadband Stadium rightfully assumed that the district opener between the Central Bobcats and the Midland Legacy Rebels was over. Legacy capitalized off of some early mistakes from Central in the first two quarters to build a serious lead. The final result ended with a 42-36 Midland Legacy win. However, Central exploded in the 2nd half to make it a ball game. More than that, the Bobcats actually outscored Legacy 35-7 in the final two quarters. How, then, did they lose?
Penalties. Central had three touchdowns taken off the board on Friday night that would have actually given Central a dominant victory. Central opened with a touchdown in the 3rd quarter before Gabriel Rodriguez picked off Legacy and returned the football more than 75 yards to the house. However, a block in the back called back at the 20-yard line when Rodriguez was already 25 yards down the field took the score off the board. From the look of it, the "guilty" Bobcat hit the defender from the side in a situation that wouldn't even have resulted in a tackle. Nevertheless, that penalty would be the theme of the second half.
Later in the contest, after another Bobcats' defensive stand, Squeaky English took a well-designed quarterback run play to the left side where only one defender remained between him and the end zone. The block was made, English scored on a 75-yard sprint, and the Bobcats found themselves down 35-29 with time left in the 3rd quarter. However, once again, the celebration was cut short. Yellow laundry was on the turf back at the 30-yard line. A hold was called, and another touchdown came off the board. The resulting penalty culminated in a missed field goal that kept the score 35-23.
Later in the contest, with time winding down in the 4th quarter, the Bobcats scored another touchdown while surrendering one more on defense. Central trailed 42-29 with just over three minutes to play. English rolled out to the left and found Casner Stribling in the end zone for Stribling's second touchdown of the evening. Central narrowed Legacy's advantage to six points with timeouts still in their pockets. However, and who could have guessed, an illegal block below the waist was called, wiping out the touchdown. Central lineman looked around in confusion before throwing their hands up in exasperation. What could they do? Another touchdown came off the board.
Central Bobcats after the controversial loss to Midland Legacy
(San Angelo LIVE! Photo/Ryan Chadwick)
English would later sprint 30 yards inside Legacy's 10-yard line to set up a short touchdown to pull within six points still, but at that point, another minute and change came off the clock. Central failed to recover the onside kick, and all Legacy had to do was kneel out the remainder of the clock as they hung on for dear life for a district victory, 42-36.
Bobcats' Head Coach, Mark Smith, gathered his team in front of the visiting crowd after the game to show them what their fight meant. Cheers, applause, and a standing ovation greeted the Bobcats because of their performance in the 2nd half.
A fiery Coach Mark Smith gave his thoughts on the outcome after the game. Watch that interview below:
"Never in my life have I been a part of a game like this," Smith said. "It was unbelievable, our guys never quit, kept fighting, and had everything working against us. But I have a bunch of guys that fight and never give up."
Everyone on the visitor's side of the stadium would agree with Smith's sentiment. In the end, Smith had nothing but praise for his football team entering the rest of district play.
"I'm really excited. That gave me a lot of optimism and hope, but I've seen this all training camp long. I've seen this since last February. I knew this team had this in them, and I'm ready to go coach again next week," Smith concluded.
Say what you will about referees and the outcome of football games. The refs did not do Midland Legacy any favors, either. More than one explosive play came back against the Rebels in the second half. However, none took points off the scoreboard and none were as trivial as the first two penalties mentioned against the Bobcats. While it was bad on both sides, more than 20 penalties were called in the contest, no one likes to see officiating potentially change the outcome of a ball game.
Whether it was the touchdowns taken off in the 2nd half or the incredibly subjective "targeting call" that saw one of the Bobcats removed from the contest, it was not a good look for this crew on Friday night. Legacy had at least five or six false starts, three roughing the passers, and two pass interference calls made against them. Football is a subjective game, and it takes a lot of courage to put on the zebra stripes and call these games. However, no one wanted to see that out there tonight.
One could argue that if Central hadn't snapped the football over the punter's head in the 1st half or played better against the deep ball early, it would not have mattered. But to say that Central had to score five touchdowns to be credited with three is insane. One result from this football game was that these Bobcats are not the same team that finished 1-9 a season ago. There is fight, grit, determination, and the will to never give up. While this team still makes mistakes, they are more disciplined and can fight anyone they line up against. The future looks hopeful for these Bobcats, and San Angelo should be proud of this group.
The Central Bobcats (3-3, 0-1) return to action on Friday, October 18, when they host the undefeated Odessa Permian Panthers (6-0, 1-0). If there was ever a time for a breakout party, it's next week against Mojo. Kickoff in that matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. at San Angelo Stadium in San Angelo.
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