A smothering defense in the second-half propelled the Bridge City Cardinals to a 21-14 comeback victory over Orangefield on Friday night in the Bayou Bowl.Orangefield jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after a bad snap on a punt by Bridge City gave the Bobcats the ball at the Cardinals 33-yard line. Two plays later Bobcats quarterback Carson Gonzales threw a 31-yard jump ball touchdown pass to receiver Rylan Agerton with 7:29 left in the first.
Following a Cardinals punt early in the second quarter, Orangefield used another big pass play to extend its lead. Gonzales dropped back, rolled to his left and connected with Agerton for a short pass on the left sideline. Agerton then broke multiple tackles and raced down the left sideline for a 49-yard catch and run for a touchdown and a 14-0 Bobcats lead with 9:40 left in the half.
The first-half was a battle of field position and Bridge City was finally able to capitalize on its best starting field position of the night with the ball at the Bobcats 31-yard line. It only took the Cardinals three plays to find the end zone courtesy of a 19-yard run up the middle by fullback Ashton Sumrall to cut the Orangefield lead to 14-7 at the half.
That touchdown seemed to give the Cardinals the momentum swing for the rest of the night.Both defenses were very physical all night, but it was the Bridge City defense which stepped up in the second-half and held the Bobcats out of the end zone.
Bridge City started the second-half with the ball at the Bobcats 20-yard line following an exciting kickoff return by Abraham Mungia and a face mask penalty on the Bobcats. However, the Orangefield defense forced a turnover on downs to end the threat.
On the Cardinals next possession, the offense started to pick the Bobcats defense apart as quarterback Hudson Hoffman used quick, short passes to move the chains. Hoffman connected with Mungia on passes of 11-yards, 5-yards and an 8-yard touchdown pass to even the score midway through the third quarter.
Bridge City forced another turnover on downs late in the third quarter and took over at the Orangefield 38-yard line. The Cardinals only needed six plays to find the end zone as Sumrall scored on a 10-yard run to give the Cardinals a 21-14 lead. The key play of the drive was a fourth and four conversion as Hoffman connected on a 19-yard pass to Evan Jackson to put the ball at the Bobcats 13-yard line.
Bridge City’s defense held Orangefield to 139 total yards on the night and came away with a fumble recovery to secure the victory on the Bobcats final possession of the night. The Cardinals defense also sacked Gonzales four times and pressured him into quick passes all night.
Bridge City had 288 yards of total offense on the night. Hoffman finished the night with 18 completions on 29 attempts with one touchdown and one interception. Sumrall had 24 rushes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, while Mungia caught nine passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Ford caught five passes for 26 yards.
The Bobcats had 139 yards of total offense with most of it coming in the first half. Gonzales passed for 126 yards and two touchdowns, while completing six of sixteen passes. Running back Mason Manning carried the ball 17 times for 31 yards.
Orangefield (2-1) travels to Louisiana next Thursday for a game against the St. Louis Catholic Saints (0-2). Bridge City (3-0) is on a bye next week and begins district play on Sept. 26 with a home game against the Lumberton Raider (1-2).
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