The Orangefield Bobcats had three tests last week. The first was the opponent the Beaumont Kelly Bulldogs, the second was it was their first road game of the year, and third it was a game coming off the Bobcats’ first loss of the season. Orangefield passed all three tests with a 21-0 victory. The Bobcats may have lost the services temporarily of starting defensive end and backup quarterback Mason Gonzales at least for this week’s game with the Lumberton Raiders.
Coach Josh Smalley recognizes the Raiders are also answering some questions this year as Lumberton comes in undefeated. Smalley says they are a seasoned veteran team on offense led by quarterback Stephen Yarbro and an offensive line that is mostly seniors. Starting running back senior Tim Rhodes played well against Hamshire-Fannett, but did not play in the Bridge City game with an injury and may miss the game with the Bobcats. Smalley points out Rhodes’ replacement Keaton Upshaw had a strong game against the Cardinals.
Defensively Lumberton is a little younger, but they are very aggressive according to Smalley. They do little things that make it hard to block them and figure out where they are coming from. The coach observes Lumberton is doing a good job right now over there.
Smalley breaks down the Raiders’ offense and defense. Coach Smalley states offensively Lumberton is a power run team although Yarbro is experienced and can throw the football. He says the Raiders use two tight ends and two backs mostly out of the Shotgun, but they will try to run the football and hammer it down your throat. Defensively the Raiders run a 3-3 Stack similar to a Vidor defense where they send a lot of linebackers to try to confuse the opponent’s offensive line.
Smalley says the Bobcats have worked on both stopping the Lumberton running game and its defensive blitzes this week; it is not the first time Orangefield has seen either. The Bobcats’ offensive line must keep their eyes up like they did in the Kirbyville game and see when the blitzes are coming. The Orangefield defensive line cannot let the Raiders’ offensive line push them around. Smalley is confident of the Bobcats playing well versus those guys.
What are the keys to a Bobcat victory? Coach Smalley thinks first is cutting down on the 14 penalties in last week’s win over Kelly. The Bobcats also had their first turnover of the season last week and they need to avoid those this week. Stopping the run is the other priority for Smalley and preventing penetration into the Bobcat backfield that would disrupt their running game is the top priority for the Orangefield offense. The coach believes the Bobcats will play hard and hopeful things will come out all right.
The game will be carried live Friday night on KOGT between the Orangefield Bobcats and the Lumberton Raiders. The kickoff will be at 7:30 PM. The game will be re-broadcast Saturday morning at 7:00 AM.
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