Orangefield and Buna renewed their old school rivalry Friday. The OF volleyball team traveled to Buna and got a hard fought five set win. Then it was over to the Cougars football field where the two undefeated teams met in the district opener.
Buna started off the game by electing to receive. The Cougars immediately started with a handoff for a nice 5 yard carry. That followed with the first numbers on the board with a drive that resulted in a 40-yard touchdown followed by a completed two-point conversion, giving the Cougars an 8-point lead.
The Bobcat’s fought back immediately pushing the ball up the middle with a couple of handoffs to #6 Blake Bradley. After an incomplete pass that left them with a second and ten, Orangefield handed off again to push the ball to the Cougar’s 9-yard line. With back to back quarterback keepers, #17 Mason Gonzales made his way into end zone for the touchdown. With #11 Derek Glaze’s extra point the Bobcats trailed 8-7.
The Cougar’s answered this drive with a couple of small yard carries before completing a lateral that resulted in a break that lead to a 41-yard touchdown. The Cougar’s then attempted the 2-point conversion but fell short due to the pass being broken up by #3 Quy Tsan leaving the Cougar’s ahead 14-7.
After a couple of of long drives for both OF and Buna that resulted in each team punting, a mishandled snap, and a few flags, the first half ended with the Bobcats down by a score.
In the third quarter the Bobcats took advantage of a fumble recovered by #62 Connor Tait. The Bobcats chipped away with yard gaining runs by #24 Kadeon Evans and #7 Kade Grozier. After a couple smaller runs, a penalty in Orangefield’s favor, and a quarterback keeper the Bobcat’s found themselves with a fourth down at one yard line. A quarterback keeper by Gonzales that took the whole team powering forward into the end zone and #11 Glaze’s extra point the Bobcat’s tied the score 14-14 with just 20 seconds left in the third.
Coming into the 4th quarter Buna had a huge carry followed by a touchdown pass that was called back due to penalties. Trying to pass again, Buna fell short because of an interception #2 Kent Michael. Orangefield worked to take advantage but fell short after a couple of runs and a bad snap that Buna recovered. Buna countered after a couple of runs followed by a quarterback keeper for a touchdown and a two pointer to go up 22-14. OF pressed on their next drive, but the Cougars stole a Gonzales pass and returned it for a pick six to seal the win 30-14.
The loss became worse for the Bobcats when Gonzales went down with a knee injury. Coach Josh Smalley said he will be evaluated over the weekend.
OF will host Kirbyville Friday looking to bounce back in a tough district.
-Kylie Bradley, KOGT-
photo by Darren Hoyland
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