Orangefield clinched a spot in the post season with its thrilling win last week. The Bobcats needed overtime to defeat the Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns to capture the come from behind victory 20-13 on the road.
Coach Josh Smalley credited the Bobcats and their coaches for the triumph in overtime. It was not the prettiest of wins, but Orangefield fought hard to get the game into overtime and then prevailed in the extra period.
Offensive Coordinator Chris Pachuca and his staff went in at halftime after being shutout by the Longhorns and made adjustments that led to 20 points. Coach John Davis and the defense did a solid job holding the explosive Hamshire-Fannett offense to just two scores in the contest.
Other good news was there were no major injuries in the game for Orangefield heading to the final game of the district. Smalley replied, “It was a good win I’m glad we secured a playoff spot out of it now we just get to move on to this week and try to improve our seeding.”
Another game with important seeding ramifications will be this Friday against Hardin-Jefferson. Smalley reminds the Bobcats run the same offense as the Hawks with the Slot-T, but a little differently. The Hawks do emphasize the run over the pass, however, they will throw the ball more frequently than Orangefield does.
The Hawks’ quarterback Jaiden Porter is a dual threat. Porter ranks fourth in the district in passing with 725 yards and four touchdown against just one interception. He is the second leading rusher in the district with 617 yards and a district leading 10 touchdowns. Porter makes the Hardin-Jefferson offense go.
The Slot-T features several other Hawks getting the football. Brayden Martel has the best average per carry with 6.6 yards good for 345 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Fountain and Dakota McNair have combined for over 500 yards and five touchdowns.
When Porter throws the ball, he has a big target in tight end Austin Samaha with 11 receptions good for 201 yards. Sam Dickerson has 10 catches and two touchdowns for the Hawks.
Hardin-Jefferson is second in the district in total yards with 1,852 yards on the ground and 747 yards through the air. “It’ll be a challenge defensively to stop these guys,” Smalley admitted.
Defensively the Hawks show multiple looks. They base out of a four-man front with a 4-2-5 look, but Smalley has seen the Hawks in a 6-2 goal line formation and with a noseguard and five-man front as well. Coach Smalley analyzed the Hardin-Jefferson defense as well coached by Head Coach Dwayne DuBois and Defensive Coordinator Richard Robinson.
A leader on the Hawk defense is Keith Andrus at an outside linebacker. Andrus has made a lot of plays for the Hawks. Playing two ways is Samaha who will start in the defensive line. Cody Caldwell is another key starter in the line.
Two sophomores start at the inside linebackers. Luke McCullough and Westin Vazquez are young Hawks, but have seasoned with eight games under their belts now.
The secondary includes seniors Sam Dickerson and Izaak Ogle who are good at pass coverage. Smalley predicted, “It’ll be difficult to move the ball on the Hawks.”
The winner of Friday’s game between the Bobcats and the Hawks gets third place in the district. The loser will drop into the fourth seed.
Smalley evaluated the importance of this game for the Bobcats leading to the playoffs next week. It is also Senior Night in Orangefield at F. L. McClain Stadium which will be the last opportunity for seniors to play there and Orangefield would love to send them out with a victory.
It will be a big challenge for both teams coached by Smalley and DuBois who have their coaching roots going back to Bridge City. “It should be a really good ball game Friday night,” Smalley concluded.
The possible first round opponent for Orangefield will not be known until the result of Friday’s game with Hardin-Jefferson. A win by the Bobcats will have them play the second seed Bellville Brahmas from District 12. A loss by Orangefield means the Bobcats will play the district champion Sealy Tigers in the first round.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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