Week five of the high school football season once again saw the Blue Devils snakebitten after halftime, seeing a 14-7 lead at home evaporate into a 28-20 defeat in which visiting Bowling Green mounted 28 unanswered points on their way to victory.
It was without a doubt the most frustrating of the Blue Devils five losses for Head Coach Jerry Bell, especially given how the game began.
The Bobcats received the opening kick and, 21 yards into the return, were stripped of the football with the Blue Devils pouncing on it at the Bowling Green 27.
Five plays later, junior quarterback Will Scott fired an 11-yard touchdown strike to classmate De’Mario Harris-Lloyd for an early 7-0 lead.
It was a particularly impressive throw by Scott given the tight window, the third-andgoal situation and the hit he took from behind just as he released the ball. On the ensuing drive, the Blue Devils again stripped the Bobcats, this time on their first play from scrimmage, though BG managed the recovery this time. Their drive stalled quickly after that.
Springfield’s defense was not done, however.
On BG’s second drive, senior Robert Franklin Jr. came up with a five-yard sack on first down, knocking the run-heavy Bobcats off schedule to force a three-and-out.
After that, Bobcats punter Brock Hastings tried a little trickeration on the punt attempt, thinking he had enough room to run for the first down.
The Blue Devils pursuit forced the sophomore out of bounds a yard shy of the line to gain, once again setting up the offense with a short field.
Like their opening drive, the Devils would take advantage, marching 37 yards on eight plays capped by a twoyard plunge off right tackle by senior tailback Taylen Miller to notch a 14-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
“We talked all week about being physical and playing fast and having fun with it,” Bell said. “I thought in the first half we did that. I thought we did a great job but I just don’t have any answers [for the second half].”
Though the Bobcats did follow the Springfield touchdown with one of their own, the remainder of the first half proved largely fruitless. The Blue Devils again forced a turnover near midfield on what was already going to be a five-yard loss for the Bobcats with 4:34 remaining in the second quarter.
BG had one final shot at points in the half following a Springfield turnover on downs. They quickly moved the ball just outside the red zone, but with little time left and only one timeout, they were forced to throw into a Blue Devil secondary that took away any tight window that existed.
In hindsight, there may have been some troubling signs of what awaited after intermission.
The turnovers of course were a great equalizer, with both Springfield touchdowns coming off of those. But the Blue Devils were also not particularly efficient on the ground, netting just 41 yards on 15 carries before the break.
Miller, despite his touchdown run, did not look as explosive as he has this season while nursing a foot injury that will likely nag him for the remainder of the year. An exasperated Bell was not too optimistic about that prospect postgame.
“We’ve got to get [senior running back] KaRon [Logan] going,” he said. “We lost another tailback so injuries are continuing to mount on us.”
The bigger issue going into halftime were the big runs the Bobcats had begun generating.
BG was averaging nearly 5.5 yards per carry in the opening 24 minutes, and their bell cow, junior running back Peyton Harris, was becoming harder and harder to slow down.
“They did a good job of adjusting on our keys and giving us some false keys and then we were overplaying it,” Bell noted. “He’s a hard runner, and it’s exactly what I told you [before gametime] that they’re a dangerous football team.”
Things went awry early when Scott telegraphed an out route to senior Zavion Penrice who did not come back to the ball in time to prevent an interception that nearly went for six points.
The Bobcats made quick work of the short field, scoring on an 11-yard run from Harris four plays later to tie the game.
Though the Blue Devils did well to pin the Bobcats back at their own 10 on the next drive, Harris continued to gauge the defense. He added runs of 35 and 10 to start the drive, and punched through the middle for five yards on fourth and one in the red zone to set up BG’s go-ahead touchdown with 8:32 remaining in the game.
“I thought defensively scheme-wise we did a great job with our guys,” said Bell, taking particular note of the Bobcats’ 3-14, 55-yard passing performance.
“I thought there were some really good pieces there with what we were doing. It’s just in those critical moments in the game we just didn’t get it done.”
Trailing for the first time, the Blue Devils had another of those key moments in front of them with a fourth-and-six play at their own 43.
Scott was dropped for a 10yard sack on that play, however, setting up another short field for the Bobcats.
Bleak as the outlook appeared, there were still opportunities as BG fumbled on their first and second down plays but recovered each time. On third and five, the Bobcats took to the air but could not complete the pass.
However, Springfield was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the receiver, a questionable call that breathed life back into the BG offense.
They scored three plays later on a five-yard run by Harris to make it 28-14 with just over three minutes remaining.
With their backs against the wall, the offense did muster one final scoring drive led largely by Miller who capped it off with a six-yard touchdown run with just under a minute showing on the clock.
That 10-play drive, which included a conversion on fourth and 14, was another display of the resilience that Bell has seen all year long in this team.
“Our kids will never quit,” he said. “It’s just at key moments in the game we seem to make mistakes.”
Senior Hunter Kievens’ onside kick was unsuccessful after the late touchdown, sealing the game for the Bobcats.
“We’ve got to keep trying to get over the hump here and try to find a way to win,” Bell said. “We’ve got to keep getting back to grindstone and finding a way.”
