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By Richard Bravo
The Ray High Bearcats football team traveled to Hayden last Friday to take on the Lobos in the annual rivalry game and it was a dominating performance by the Bearcats as they route the Lobos 56-0. The game had playoff implications for the Bearcats.
With the win, the Bearcats put themselves into the hunt for the last playoff spot; unfortunately, the impressive win over the Lobos was not enough for the Bearcats to advance to the post season. The Bearcats finished the season on a high note with their win over the Lobos racking up 456 total yards on offense and their defense holding the Lobos to a little over a hundred yards for the game.
The Bearcats started the game receiving the opening kickoff from their own 15-yard line. Quarterback DestryYocum scored the game’s first touchdown capping an 85 yard drive with a 20 yard keeper to give the Bearcats a 6-0 lead with 8:42 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bearcats forced one of the four Lobo turnovers grabbing the Lobo fumble on the Bearcat 37 yard line. The Bearcats capitalized on the turnover scoring their second touchdown of the quarter on a 21 yard run by running back Jacob Wernett, giving the Bearcats a 12-0 lead with 6:00 still left in the quarter.
The Lobos were unable to move the ball against a tough Bearcat defense and they were forced to punt on their second possession of the game. With a personal foul penalty called on the Lobos during the punt, the Bearcats took over on the Lobo 31 yard line.
The Bearcats wasted no time to add another score. Quarterback Yocum hit wide receiver Dominic Bravo on the first play for a 31-yard touchdown pass. Yocum added the two point conversion giving the Bearcats a 20-0 lead at the end of one quarter of play.
The second quarter of play for the Bearcats was just as impressive as the first, holding the Lobos scoreless. The Lobos began the quarter punting the ball away to the Bearcats. The Bearcats drove the ball into Lobo territory again, but failed to score when the Lobo defender came up with an interception in the end zone for the touchback.
The Bearcats got the ball back on a punt as the Lobos failed to move the ball. With the ball on the Lobo 44 yard line the Bearcats took three plays to get to the Lobo one-yard line. On the fourth play of the drive quarterback Yocum ran it in for another Bearcat score. The two-point conversion by Yocum was good, giving the Bearcats a 28-0 lead with 3:48 left in the first half.
After the ensuing kickoff, the Lobos got the ball on their own 35-yard line. Trying to get something going on their first play, the Lobos went to the air, but the pass was picked off by linebacker Wernett who ran the interception back 38 yards for a Bearcat touchdown. The two-point conversion failed giving the Bearcats a commanding 34-0 lead heading into the locker room.
With the Lobos down by 34 points at the start of the third quarter, they took the second half kickoff from their own 21-yard line. The Lobos continued their struggles on offense and were unable to move the ball. They went three and out and were forced to punt. The Bearcats started from their own 48-yard line getting on the board once again on a four-play drive capped by a 20-yard touchdown run by Wernett.
The two-point conversion pass from Yocum to Bravo gave the Bearcats a 42-0 advantage. With the 42-point rule now in affect the clock continued to run. The Lobos were now fighting a tough Bearcat defense and a dwindling clock. With time, winding down late in the quarter the Lobos started their drive for some much-needed points at their own 35-yard line. The Lobos just found no openings in the Bearcat defense going only thirteen yards in five plays. The Lobos needed every down; they tried their luck on a fourth down conversion, but failed to move the chains turning the ball over to the Bearcats.
Working with a short field the Bearcat offense struck quickly when running back Wernett took the hand off on the second play of the drive and outran the Lobo defense 45 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the night. The two-point conversion pass from Yocum to Bravo was good extending the lead to 50-0 at the end of three quarters of play.
The final quarter was a quick one due to the running clock. The Bearcats never let up as the defense got its second score of the game on a fumble return of 50 yards by defensive end Jacob Pace to give the Bearcats a 56-0 lead halfway through the fourth. Trying to avoid the shutout, the Lobos moved the ball into Bearcat territory hoping for a score.
With the ball on the Bearcat 40 yard line, the Lobos chance of scoring came to a screeching halt when the Lobo pass was picked off by linebacker Julio Noriega to secure the 56-0 shutout victory for the Bearcats.
The Bearcats played their best game of the season both defensively and offensively. Wernett led all rushers with 129 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns, Yocum had 32 yards on four carries and two touchdowns. On the receiving end, Bravo led with six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively the Bearcats were led by Noriega who had 6 tackles 1 assist and 1 interception, Wernett had 5 tackles and 1 assist and 1 interception ran back for a touchdown, Yocum with 5 tackles and 1 assist, Pace with 4 tackles and 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown, Ryan Bickley and Robert Medina with 4 tackles each, and Bravo, Joe Rudy Lorona, and Rexx Sosa with 3 tackles each.
I would like to thank the Bearcat football team and coaches for another exciting year of Bearcat football. I would also like to thank all the parents and fans for all the support you have given this season!
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