Orangefield/Silsbee article from Orange Leader

[Bobcatfan4life]

Tigers outlast pesky Bobcats, 35-27

Jason Rollinson

The Orange Leader

ORANGEFIELD — A loss is tough for a team anytime, but sometimes positive things can come out of a game when a team falls on the short-end of the scoreboard.

For the Orangefield Bobcats, which were picked by many to be District 21-3A’s doormat, the ‘orange-and-white’ displayed a brilliant effort against a talented and speedy Silsbee team during its homecoming game at F.L. McClain Stadium; however, Orangefield failed to convert on a pair of potential game-tying drives inside the final three minutes of the game and the Tigers came away with a 35-27 victory in the district opener for both teams.

“I couldn’t be any prouder of our boys, all the way from the top to the bottom,†said OF head coach Blake Morrison. “No one gave us a chance and were only about eight yards away from getting our chance. Everyone played unbelievable.â€

Orangefield (2-2) finished with 279 yards of total offense while its defense gave up 355 to the Tigers (3-1), 278 of which came on the ground.

Silsbee was led by quarterback William Harper, who rushed for a game-high 154 yards on 23 carries and scored a pair of first-half touchdowns. Fullback Rocky Calhoun took 18 totes for 74 yards.

Brett Ramsey topped the 100-yard plateau for the second time this season by finishing with 106 yards on 18 carries while completing 5-of-12 passes for 72 yards with a touchdown and interception. Fullback Cliff Mansfield saw significant time in the backfield for the first time and finished with 72 yards on nine handoffs and a touchdown.

With Silsbee driving inside the Bobcat red zone, Orangefield turned the tables on the Tigers and drew first blood before even running an offensive play when Jared Helton stripped Silsbee’s Terrance McCarter of the ball at the Bobcat 12 and ran the ball back 88 yards to give OF a 6-0 edge.

The Bobcat defense responded on the next Silsbee drive by holding the Tigers on a 4th-and-4 play from the Orangefield 28 after Harper was wrapped up four yards behind the line of scrimmage by Ryan Granger to give the ‘Cats the ball for the first time. Orangefield ran its first offensive play from scrimmage finally with 4:45 left in the opening quarter but was unable to move the ball and gave the ball back to Silsbee after a punt. The Tigers then attacked for a five-play, 70-yard drive keyed by a 35-yard pass completion from Harper to McCarter on first down and a 28-yard veer keeper to the left by Harper to tie the game at 6-6. Craig Martin’s extra point put Silsbee on top 7-6 with 1:12 to play in the first.

After the first period, Silsbee owned a 19-6 advantage in offensive plays and a 112 to (-4) edge in total yards, keeping the ball for just under 10 of the 12 minutes.

The Tigers upped their lead to 15-6 on a nine-yard trap play by Rocky Calhoun off left tackle, and the swinging gate play on the conversion was successful when Calhoun noticed the Bobcat special teams unprepared.

Orangefield pulled to within two at 15-13 with 6:05 left in the first half when Cliff Mansfield took a pitch from Ramsey down the right sideline for 35 yards and six points. Ramsey’s kick was good, and the senior signal caller managed to catch Silsbee off guard on the ensuing kickoff with an onsides kick recovery in the middle of the field. However,

Silsbee spoiled a flea flicker play and picked off a Jared Helton pass and then scored two plays later on a veer play to the right by Harper from 66 yards out to take a 21-13 lead with 4:51 to play in the second period. After recovering a fumbled pass completion at the Bobcat 47, the Tigers drove down 47 yards and capped off the six-play drive on a 17-yard pass from Harper to Donavan Harris with 20 ticks left on the clock, and after the Martin kick, took a 28-13 edge into intermission.

The Tigers racked up 268 yards of first-half offense while Orangefield managed to get 114 yards on just four first downs.

“We played better defensively, but we’re still missing key tackles,†said Morrison. “They had a long touchdown run and converted on 3rd-and-long. If we would’ve made the tackles tonight, no telling what the score would’ve been.â€

Orangefield posted the only score of the third qaurter, an 11-yard completion from Ramsey to Ben Ludwig with 3:49 left. A successful two-point conversion run by Chad Chambless pulled the ‘Cats to within seven at 28-21, but Silsbee immediately responded with a scoring drive capped off by a three-yard run by Calhoun to put the Tigers up 35-21.

The Bobcats didn’t let up though as Ramsey took the first play of the drive 48 yards down to Silsbee’s 26-yard line, and six plays later, took the ball in from one yard to cut the Tiger lead to eight points at 35-27 after the two-point run attempt failed.

Silsbee took back over with inside six minutes left in the game, but Harper was stripped off the ball by Chambless, and the Bobcats set up shop at the Silsbee 43 with 5:06 to play.

Ramsey connected with Helton on a 3rd-and-9 play from the 42 for nine yards and a first down, and an 11-yard handoff by Mansfield gave the ‘Cats the ball at the 22. Ramsey scrambled for eight yards to the 14-yard line, but on 2nd-and-2 from the 14, Ramsey fumbled the ball away and Silsbee secured possession with 2:56 left in the fourth and attempted to chew up the clock.

On 3rd-and-5 from their own 17, Harper was sacked by Mansfield for a loss of eight yards to give Silsbee a 4th-and-13 from the 9. Silsbee’s first punt of the game netted just 20 yards and Orangefield was given a second chance to tie the game after taking over at the Tiger 29 with 1:54 left.

After Ramsey threw an incomplete pass on first down, Orangefield’s upset bid was broken when Brandon Watts picked off Ramsey’s pass at the 20, and Silsbee ran out the clock for the tight win.

Orangefield continues 21-3A play next week with a road game at Jasper.

“We’re not behind the eight ball yet,†Morrison spoke of the Bobcats’ playoff chances. “But we can fall off the cliff easily if we lose too many games. We’re going to get ready for Jasper and see what happens.â€

Jasper fell to 0-4 on the season with a 28-21 loss to Kirbyville Friday.

“It’s going to be a close race in every game,†said Morrison. “Every team in this district is good. A lot of people thought that we were going to be the one that was the doormat of this district, but we proved ourselves tonight.â€