Hobbton’s Jonah Boone heads for a hole in the line for a good gain.
Wildcats late score lifts them to 46-40 victory over Union
The Hobbton Middle School Wildcats hosted the Union Spartans on Wednesday afternoon and came away with a nail-biting 46-40 victory. Hobbton snatched the victory after scoring the final touchdown with 14.7 seconds left on the clock.
Hobbton got first chance after the Spartans won the toss and elected to kick off first. The Wildcats scored with 4:05 left in the first quarter on a 20-yard run by Jonah Boone. The PAT was scored by quarterback Reggie Thompson on a run making the score 8-0, Hobbton.
Union wasn’t to be outdone. They came right back, marching 68 yards for a score with 46 seconds left in the first quarter. Their 2-point try failed on a fumble, leaving the score at 8-6, still in favor of Hobbton.
On their next possession, the Wildcats lost a fumble, giving the Spartans the ball right back on the Wildcat 32-yard line. The Spartans capitalized and scored with 12 seconds left on a 28-yard touchdown run. Hobbton’s defense stopped the PAT to give the Spartans a 12-8 lead.
Boone brought the ensuing kick off back to the Union 38-yard line on a 42-yard kickoff return. The Wildcats turned that into a score on 12-yard pass play from Thompson to Boone. Thompson ran for the extra two points to put the Wildcats up 16-12 with 7:39 left in the second quarter.
The Spartans took the lead again, this time on a 42-yard run to go up 18-16 with 6:14 left in the second quarter. The point after attempt failed on a run.
On the next possession, the Hobbton started on their own 45-yard line. Later in the drive, Bryan Mendez capped it off when he tallied from one-yard out to put the Wildcats back up 22-18. Thompson, again, bulled his way into the end zone on the extra-points try to give the Wildcats a 24-18 lead with 3:09 left in the half.
The Spartans were down but not out and this game of cat-and-mouse continued. Union scored again on a 22-yard run with 28 seconds left in the half.
After scoring the 2-point attempt, the first half ended with Union leading 26-24.
On their first possession of the second half, Union lost a fumble, which was recovered by Hobbton’s G’Mier Williams on the Spartan 42-yard line. With 3:07 left in the third quarter, Hobbtin returned the favor when they gave up the ball on downs at the Spartans 15-yard line.
With 2:12 left in the third quarter, Union scored again on an 85-yard run, which put the Spartans up 32-24 after the failed PAT.
The Wildcats, though, answered right back and erased the deficit.
With 41 seconds left in the third quarter, Hobbton tied the score at 32-32 on a 5-yard run by Thompson, capping off a 33-yard drive after getting great field position. With Thompson’s 2-point run, the score was tied at 32-32.
Union started the fourth quarter on the Wildcats 22-yard line. Here, the turnover bug hit as they lost another fumble back at the 35-yard line. With 2:24 left in the game, Hobbton scored and reclaimed the lead on a 12-yard run by Thompson. The 2-point conversion failed on a run, leaving the score at 38-32, Hobbton.
Union, however, came storming right back. The Spartans scored with 1:35 left on a 45-yard run. The 2-point run gave them the lead right back at 40-38 with a crucial defensive series coming up.
Hobbton started this final drive at their own 43-yard line. With a couple of good runs and a pass, they Wildcats moved the ball to the Spartans 20-yard line. With 14.7 seconds left in the game, Thompson connected with Lathan Warren deep in the end zone for a touchdown to make it 44-40. Thompson then ran for the PAT to put the Wildcats up 46-40.
Union took the kick off and desperately tried for a winning score but they came up short, ending the game on Hobbton’s 46-40 victory.
Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].