Bobby Dial eyes a defender as he looks for a hole to get through. He had 18 carries for 72 yards.
David Johnson | Sampson Independent
Wildcats blitzed in 34-14 loss
Colby Weeks grabs a kick off but doesn’t get much of a return. He had 49 yards on the night.
David Johnson | Sampson Independent
Josiah McLaurin looks for running room around the left end after grabbing a Bradshaw pass.
David Johnson | Sampson Independent
The Hobbton Wildcats made a long road trip to 3A Northwood High School in Pittsboro on Friday night. The Wildcats found themselves on the wrong end of things on Friday as Northwood took the victory with the final score of 34-13.
“I’m super proud of the defense,” commented Hobbton coach Joe Salas. “That was a gigantic offensive bunch they went up against. We knew it was going to be the most physical bunch we’re going to see this year and we knew it was going to help us be ready for what’s coming in conference. So, we don’t like the results but we know we got a lot better playing these last two teams. They’ve put us in position to play for a conference championship.”
Hobbton had first chance and picked up a first down on a 30-yard pass play from Loden Bradshaw to Colby Weeks. That’s where the drive died, though, as the Wildcats were unable to pick up another first down against a tenacious defensive effort.
Northwood turned the ball around and scored with 7:37 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats’ defensive effort stopped the two-point conversion attempt, leaving the score at 6-0. Early in the second, Northwood upped the margin to 13-0 with another score and another failed XP try.
About two minutes into the second quarter, Bradshaw hooked up with Nate McLamb on a 47-yard pass play after getting the onside kick at the 50-yard line. The PAT kick by Stephen Trivino was wide, leaving the score at 13-6.
Northwood was offensively on-point as they picked up another score with 9:32 left in the half to go up 20-6. That score also stood as the halftime score as the Chargers held on to a 14-point lead.
Northwood quickly scored a couple more times to go up 34-6 in the third quarter. They finally got into offensive trouble late in the third quarter and wound up punting from their 14-yard line, momentarily stopping the bleeding.
In good field position after the punt, Hobbton was about score again. The Wildcats were indeed able to so, cashing in on a Bradshaw to McLamb hook up with 8:09 left in the game. Trivino’s PAT made it a 34-13 game.
The rest of the quarter was a defensive battle and the games finally tally had been reached in a 34-13 final.
Statistically, Bradshaw as 11 of 20 for 160 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Receiving, McLamb had three catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns, Weeks had one for 49 yards, McLaurin had five for 30 yards, Chase Bland had one for 20 yards, and Bobby Dial had one for three yards.
In the rushing attack, Dial lead with 18 carries for 72 yards.
Hobbton, now 2-3 overall, will begin conference action this Friday night, hosting Rosewood at 7 p.m. This game will be “Pink Out Night for Breast Cancer Awareness.”
Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].