Bombers soar over Eagles
Who said Friday the 13th was
unlucky?
Even with a full moon shining over Bomber Bowl, Big
Red tossed superstition aside as the Bombers remained unbeaten in district play,
and clinched a playoff spot in the process, with a 35-6 win over the Sayre
Eagles.
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If offense wins games and defense wins
championships, let’s hope Friday’s performance is a sign of things to come
as the Bombers dominated Sayre on both sides of the ball from the opening
kickoff rolling up 461 yards of offense while holding the Eagles to a mere 63
yards.
It didn’t take the Bombers long to take control as they
opened the game at their own 29-yard line following the opening kickoff.
After two short gains, running back Josh Hughes got the Bombers out of a
third-and-six situation as he went over right tackle breaking several tackles on
his way to a seven-yard gain and a Bomber first down.
Two plays later quarterback Willie Lane connected with Justin Garza for a
22 yard gain to the Sayre 23. A
scrappy Eagle defense stiffened up pushing the Bombers back to the 27-yard line
on three running plays. The Bombers
were faced with fourth-and-15 when Lane dropped to pass, but instead of finding
an open receiver he found a huge hole up the middle.
Needless to say, it didn’t take the fleet-footed Lane long to race the
27 yards to the endzone for the Bombers’ first score.
Garza added the PAT giving the Bombers the 7-0 lead.
The two teams traded punts on their next two possessions with
Sayre getting excellent field position at the Bomber 37 after Big Red’s second
punt.
The Eagle offense couldn’t dent the mighty Bomber “D”
as Big Red’s defensive front terrorized the Eagle backfield all night.
Defensive end Chris Messner batted down a pass and was in Eagle
quarterback Travis Reeves’ face every time he tried to throw the ball while
linebackers Matt Gray, Will Cassidy, and Charlie Sheffield put one big hit after
another on the Eagle running backs. But
perhaps the most dominant performance came from defensive tackles Gary Perry and
Billy Bob Walker, who spent as much time in Sayre’s backfield as the Eagle
running backs did. Poor Reeves is
sure to have nightmares of numbers 40 (Perry) and 55 (Walker) for weeks as the
two big defensive lineman combined for six sacks.
“Our defensive line played one heck of a football game.”
Bomber coach Todd Hudson said, “Our defensive tackles (Billy Bob)
Walker, Gary Perry, (Chris) Arumugam, Lyle Clayton, and Justin Hicks, they all
played well. They got after it and controlled the line of scrimmage and
that was the difference in the game.”
Sayre’s defense was tough in the first half as well forcing
a turnover and three punts from the Bombers.
“I’ll tell you what,” Hudson said of the Eagles,
“Sayre’s got a tough hard-nosed football team and they stuck us pretty good
early.”
But the Bombers began to drive again late in the second
quarter as Lane scrambled for runs of 16- and eight yards before Garza raced 31
yards on a reverse to set up the Lane to Garza six-yard scoring strike
that
capped a 75-yard drive. The PAT
just missed, but the Bombers still led, 13-0, heading into the intermission.
The Bomber “D” once again forced a Sayre punt to open the
third and the offense went right back to work.
Hughes carried for nine yards before Justin Billy burst through the line
for 16 yards and a Bomber first down. Two
plays later Charlie Love bolted 50 yards down the sideline to paydirt.
Hughes bowled his way over the left side for the two-point conversion
putting the Bombers up 21-0.
Sayre answered on the following kickoff as Josh Manning went
untouched 98 yards for the score. A
personal foul penalty against the Eagles pushed the PAT try back 15 yards, and
the kick was no good as Lane blocked the extra point attempt keeping the Bomber
lead at 15 points, 21-6.
The Bombers sealed the game on their next possession as
Hughes took the counter around the right side for 10 yards and a Bomber first
down to open the series. After a
four-yard gain by Rashad Stanford, Lane sprinted 48 yards for the score.
Garza booted the PAT and the Bombers were up 28-6.
Just for good measure, the Bombers tacked on another score
mid-way through the fourth quarter on a six play 66-yard drive.
Billy started the drive as he broke several tackles on his way to a
13-yard gain. Love followed by
taking the pitch from Lane on the option and racing 41 yards to the Sayre 17.
After short gains by Perry, Blake Childers, and Lane, Billy finished the
drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. Garza
again toed the PAT for the final margin, Bombers 35, Eagles 6.
It was another big night offensively for the ever-improving
Bomber “O”. Lane led all
rushers with 132 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, the senior also
completed three of five passes for 41 yards and another touchdown. Love added a career high 120 yards and a touchdown on just
seven carries and Hughes remained a steady force in the Bomber backfield with 70
yards while Billy chipped in 52 yards and a TD. Garza also had another great game for the Bombers catching
three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown and carrying one time for 31 yards,
the senior also added four PATs.
“I think we were ready to play.” Hudson said of the
Bombers, “Now we’re 4-0 (in district play) and at plus 60 (tie-breaker
points). We can’t be in a better
position, but it gets a lot tougher from here on out.”
With the win, the Bombers have clinched a playoff berth for
the 13th consecutive year, and now must battle Lexington, Lindsay,
and Millwood for district positioning. Those
three also clinched playoff berths with wins on Friday.
The battle for the district championship starts on Friday as the Bombers
host the Lexington Bulldogs.