EUPORA 22,SEBASTOPOL 14
So far this season, Sebastopol has taken care of the football.
But on Friday night, the Bobcats had four turnovers as Eupora held on late to take a 22-14 win over Sebastopol in a key 4-2A game on Friday night.
Sebastopol falls to 5-3 on the season and will travel to Union on Friday night in another 4-2A contest with major playoff implications for both squads.
It was another tough contest for coach Keith Brown and the Bobcats, who lost their second straight game to start division play.
“Obviously, we are disappointed that we couldn’t get it done,” Brown said. “I thought our defense responded and bounced back and played really strong. The defense played well enough for us to win. We just didn’t find enough offense. It kind of started with that first drive. We went 17 plays and didn’t scored and ate a lot of clock and didn’t get any points. I thought that was big. We only had three possession in the first half and were up 7-6 at the half. One thing we have done a good job of is taking care of the football and winning the turnover battle. But we turned it over four times and you can’t do that and win close games.”
Sebastopol got the ball to start the game, starting at their own 11. The Bobcats went 17 plays before Adarius McDougle threw an interception in the end zone.
Eupora then responded with a nine-play, 80-yard drive and scored on a 2-yard run on a quarterback keeper. The try for two failed and Eupora led 6-0 early in the second quarter.
After swapping punts, Sebastopol finally found the end zone as the Bobcats went 79 yards in eight plays as McDougle scored on a 5-yard run. Noah Atkinson hit the PAT and the Bobcats led 7-6 at the half.
“Despite the turnovers and everything, it was a one-score game in the fourth quarter,” Brown said. “We turned it over twice and the defense came up with two stops to give us a chance. I was proud that we were able to dive it 90 yards and had a chance to win the game at the end. We lost it going in to potentially tie it. You can talk about that one play but it was a fumble and they got it right. It should never have come down to that one play. We had several opportunities to win that game. We have done it to ourselves and dug ourselves a hole. Now we are fighting for our lives for a playoff spot.”
Eupora got the ball to start the second half and went 72 yards in four plays, scoring on a 35-yard pass play. The try for two was good and the Eagles led 14-7.
Sebastopol answered with a long drive, going 72 yards in 11 plays as Dannon Jenkins scored on a 13-yard run. Atkinson hit the PAT to tie the game at 14-14.
The Eagles then went 65 yards in seven plays and scored on a 32-yard pass late in the third quarter. The try for two was good and the Eagles led 22-14.
Sebastopol then lost a fumble, threw an interception and fumbled on their last three possessions as the Eagles held on to take the win.
Sebastopol had 252 yards rushing and 62 passing for 314 yards of total offense. McDougle had 162 yards on 26 carries with one TD and two fumbles. Jenkins had 32 yards on 10 carries with a TD. Jamarius Lay had 58 yards on five carries.
McDougle was 4-of-12 passing for 62 yards with two interceptions. Luke McGarrity had three catches for 50 yards.
