Sports

DUMAS BOBCATS BASH OWLS, 38-6

By Terry Hawkins/SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL
Saturday, October 31, 2009 1:48 AM CDT

DUMAS — Head coach Mark Courtney said after last week’s blowout victory at Fordyce that his Dumas Bobcats were “having fun” again.

They had a lot of fun this Friday, too, whipping Desha County rival McGehee at Tidwell Field, 38-6, to improve to 4-2 in 8-4A Conference play and 7-2 overall with their fourth lopsided win in a row in the ancient series.

The Owls, who dropped their second straight to fall to 3-3 in the league and 4-5 overall, will host Fordyce on Thursday in what likely will be a battle for the Nos. 4 and 5 playoff seeds out of the 8-4A. Dumas will entertain Hamburg seeking to finish no worse than third behind Warren and Star City, who have clinched the top two spots.

Neither Dumas nor McGehee managed any points in the first quarter of their annual grudge match, with the Bobcats giving up the ball on downs at their 45 and the Owl 29, and McGehee missing a 38-yard field goal try and punting from its 39.

The Owls kicked the ball away again to open the second period and Dumas used four plays to cover 78 yards — most of it on a 68-yard run by Sherodrick Smith, who led all rushers with 237 yards on 17 carries — with quarterback Darion Griswold scoring on a keeper from the 4 with 8:14 left in the half. Smith was stopped on the two-point try to leave it 6-0.

The Bobcat defense forced McGehee to punt from its 47, used a 47-yard pass from Griswold to Pierce Lacy to reach the 21 and Smith then capped the six-play march with a 7-yard scoring run at the 3:00 mark of the half for a 12-0 Bobcat lead.

The Owls could have taken the penalty on the ensuing kickoff and, considering what happened next, that might have been a wise choice. Dumas kicker Trey Winchester recovered a fumble on the kick to set up a 56-yard touchdown pass from Griswold to Rashad Hampton on the next play to make it 18-0 and Jamarean Buchannan, who rushed for 105 yards on 12 tries, added the PAT for a 20-0 Bobcat lead.

The Bobcats nearly added to that lead when Matthew Miller recovered a lateral pass at the McGehee 44 with 39 seconds remaining in the half. The drive reached the 12 before the half ended as Griswold was dropped for a loss as time expired, but the Owls were flagged for a personal foul on the play that was marked off before the kick to open the third period.

Johnathan Spinks returned the kick to the Owl 36 and, four plays later, Smith popped one up the middle for 28 yards and a touchdown to put Dumas up by 26-0 with 10:25 left. The two-point pass try was incomplete.

The Owls then moved 65 yards in nine plays to pull within 26-6 with 6:17 on the clock when T’Cambry Green just made it in from the 2 on fourth down.

Things got messy on the next few possessions, but in the end, the Bobcats again added to their lead.

McGehee recovered an onside kick, but Mantrell Ward recovered a fumble at his 45 two plays later. The Bobcats fumbled it right back on the next play, then the Owls managed to keep it long enough to give it back when quarterback Grant Gill was dropped for a loss of 5 yards on fourth-and-nine.

Smith streaked 49 yards on first down, then scored from inside the one to make it 32-6 with 2:04 left in the third.

Dumas’ final touchdown on a 1-yard run by Buchannan with 5:01 left in the game. The PAT failed, putting the final score at 38-6 after the Bobcats again held on downs, punted for the only time all night with less than a minute left and McGehee ran one play before time expired.

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