Cowboys spoil Wildcat homecoming

When Bryson traveled to Crowell on Oct. 4, the Cowboys knew it would not be an easy game. The Cowboys entered the game as 45-point underdogs, predicted by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, and the Wildcats were celebrating homecoming. However, the visiting Cowboys overcame their own mistakes to upset the Wildcats 54-48.

The Cowboys started strong on their opening drive. After driving downfield, Landon Stephens ran it in from three yards out. A successful two-point conversion gave the Cowboys the lead at 8-0.

It initially did not look like the Wildcats would respond to the game-opening score. Faced with fourth and long, Seth Bearden got the Wildcats on the board. However, the extra point kick was missed, and the Cowboys still led 8-6.

On the Cowboys ensuing drive, Stephens scrambled on a third-and-5 from the Crowell 30-yard-line and ran for a 50-yard touchdown. The extra-point kick was good, and the Cowboys increased the lead to 15-6.

“That’s the cool thing about six-man football,” Cowboys coach Jason Briles said. “Teams can score at any time and you see that a lot on broken plays.”

Any hope at a quick response by the Wildcats was quickly dashed. After an on-side kick, the Wildcats struggled to move the ball and decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their 32-yard-line. The Wildcats failed to break through the Cowboys’ defensive line, and the Cowboys took over in prime field position. Less than two minutes later, TJ Imotichey found Justin Justus in the end zone for a touchdown and a 24-6 lead after the two-point conversion.

The Wildcats recovered and scored on their own broken play. Running in the backfield to avoid a sack by the Cowboys’ defense, Bearden found Trent Baize downfield and threw a 34-yard touchdown pass. The quarter ended with a 24-12 Cowboys lead.

For more on this story, see the Wednesday, October 9 edition of the Jacksboro Herald-Gazette.