The new look Bobcats made their 2024 debut Friday night against a familiar foe, the Woodville Eagles, but it was the Eagles that came away with a 27-7 victory.
Orangefield and Woodville spent the first quarter testing each other and trying to get a handle on the ball, literally, as each team fumbled early in the first quarter and five times total in the first half.
The first quarter ended with neither team scoring, but that would change as the Orangefield defense stiffened and forced Woodville to punt from inside its own 20-yard line. Bobcats defender Ryan McAlpin blasted through the right side of the Woodville line, blocked the punt and scooped up the ball for an Orangefield touchdown and the 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Woodville quickly yanked the momentum away from Orangefield on its next possession as quarterback Luke Babin took the ball 64 yards up the middle for a touchdown on the third play from scrimmage and knotted the contest, 7-7.
With time running out in the first-half, the Orangefield offense was on the march and ready to punch ball in and take the lead, but another turnover put a stop to that drive as Eagles defender Tayvion Hunter knocked the ball from the grip of Bobcats running back Mason Manning, picked it up off the turf and took it 95-yards for a Woodville touchdown. Woodville led 13-7 at halftime.
The Bobcats received the kickoff to start the third quarter but disaster struck when a Gonzalez pass was tipped and deflected right into the hands of a waiting Eagles defender, which gave Woodville possession at the Orangefield 22-yard line.
Babin only needed four plays to extend the Woodville lead as he found running back Zayon Williams for a 16-yard touchdown toss to give the Eagles a 19-7 lead with 11:34 remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles defense held Orangefield to a three-and-out on the next possession and returned the punt to the Bobcats 36-yard line. Babin connected with K.D. McDaniel for a 26-yard scoring strike three plays later and a 27-7 lead following the two-point conversion.
Bobcats quarterback Carson Gonzalez completed 8 of 21 passes for 57 yards and one interception. Meanwhile, running back Mason Manning gained 93 yards on 13 carries before an injury sidelined him in the second-half. Running back Jose Lecea added 74 yards rushing on 13 totes.
The Orangefield defense, led by Kaleb Menard, gave up 338 yards to the high-powered Eagles offense. Woodville quarterback Luke Babin threw for 135 yards while completing 12 passes in 17 attempts with two touchdowns, while rushing for 72 yards and another score. Running back Dustin Barlow carried the ball 11 times for 57 yards.
Coach Jeff Breaux, in his first season as the head football coach at Orangefield, was previously the offensive coordinator for the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears and has brought the spread offense with him to Orangefield. The team showed glimpses of big things to come as the season progresses.
Breaux and the Bobcats (0-1) travel to New Waverly (0-1) next Friday in a non-district matchup. The Bulldogs were defeated by the Teague Lions, 28-7, in Week 1 action.
-T.Mann, KOGT-
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