Bobcats secure long awaited win over Lovell

For more years than they care to consider, the Hot Springs County Bobcat football team has experienced defeat at the hands of the Lovell Bulldogs. Lovell has historically been an athletic and physical team, which has been perennially well coached and highly skilled. This year was no exception – that is, if you somehow overlook the Cats fantastic home field 21-12 win. The first time Thermopolis has beaten Lovell in ten years.

The Bobcats played host to the team from Lovell on Friday night, September 26. The Bulldogs came into the weekend ranked number three among Class 2A teams this year, however, they shared that ranking with Thermopolis. On paper, the two teams looked to be very equally matched.

As the game kicked off, the first quarter belonged to the Bulldogs. After Lovell scored a touchdown, but was unable to convert the PAT, Stone Pebbles came up with a fumble recovery which stopped a second Lovell drive in the quarter. The Cats were unable to capitalize on the turnover, however, giving up the ball on their own offensive fumble and putting the Bulldogs in scoring position.

As the second quarter got under way, the Bulldogs would go up another touchdown on a 36 yard pass and run, and it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Bobcats faithful. Once again, the Bulldogs failed to convert the PAT and the score was 12 to nothing, in favor of Lovell.

And then, things began to gel for the Cats. On their third possession of the half, Thermopolis marched the ball down the field with authority, including runs of 35 yards and 16 yards from Bridger Peil and Cannon Boren, respectively. Peil then pushed the ball over the goal line, and Tanner Delay kicked the extra point to put the Cats down by just five points.

A little trickery from Coach Boone Bowker then saw Jordan Garrison recover an on-sides kick. The Cats, however, were not able to capitalize, and turned the ball over on downs. Lovell then suffered their own difficulties, when Boren picked off a pass, and returned the ball 23 yards. Nolan Collins then scampered 23 yards into the end zone and the Cats took the lead by a score of 14-12.

On their next possession, the Bobcats had ground eating runs from Peil for 32 yards and from Boren for 31 yards. An interception in the end zone, however, stalled the Bobcat drive as the teams went into half-time. Another long drive in the third quarter was once again stalled by a fumble, which was recovered by Lovell.

Thermopolis would add another touchdown in the fourth quarter on a run by Peil, and Delay kicked his third extra point. That, however, would be all of the scoring in the game.

Throughout the game the Bobcat defense played exceptionally well, including some timely tackles for a loss of yards, the fumble recovery by Pebbles, and no less than four interceptions by Boren, Peil, Collins; and a remarkable fourth quarter, kneeling, interception by Dyllan Myers, to end Lovell's final scoring threat with 1:19 left on the clock.

After the game, Coach Bowker commented that he was "pretty tickled" by the way the team had faced some adversity, but kept pushing to get the win. "We made some adjustments to the defensive scheme after that first quarter, and that gave us a chance to meet the challenge. The defense did an outstanding job, and the defensive backs made some great plays. It was Bobcat football. We sustained drives while keeping the Lovell offense off the field and we ate up the clock. We are half way through the season, but we still have some stiff competition to face."

All of the Bobcats offensive yards came on the ground. Peil had 24 carries for 139 yards; Boren had 12 carries for 90 yards; and Collins had 10 carries for 65 yards. In total, the Bobcats put up 355 offensive yards on a very good team, which was a very impressive feat.

This week the Cats will be on the road with an early morning bus ride on Friday, to meet the Panthers in Cokeville. With no lights on the field there, the game will played in the afternoon, with a 2 p.m. start. The Panthers are coming off a big win over Pinedale last week and will be hosting the Bobcats for the Cokeville Homecoming game.

Looking ahead, Coach Bowker said, "Cokeville is the most disciplined team in the state. They are well coached and haven't had a losing season in years. We will need to be ready for them."