Wildcats pounce on Gators

Much nicer weather set the stage for Friday Night Lights when Hobbton hosted East Columbus in non-conference football contention last week. Entering the season at 0-2 overall, the Wildcats were looking to break into the win column for the first time this season. After a defensive struggle in the first half, Hobbton’s offense finally woke up in the second half as the Wildcats took home the 23-12 victory.

After the opening toss, Hobbton got the ball first where their offense lined up on their own 34-yard line. The Wildcats offense went right to work, chewing up big chunks of yards on the ground. Their offense made it all the way down inside the 25-yard line before hitting the skids on fourth down and turning the ball over.

With the exchange of possession, the Gators set up on their own 29-yard line. An illegal procedure penalty against East Columbus wiped out what would have been a first down and the Gators were forced to punt it away after just three plays.

With the Hobbton offense back on the field, they lined up on their own 40-yard line with 5:02 left in the first quarter. They quickly moved the ball into Gator territory down to the 33-yard line, but a fumble cut this drive short as neither team’s offense was having any luck thus far.

That was especially true for the Gators, who gambled on fourth down on the next drive and came up short. With that, the Wildcats were back on the field with 1:06 left in the first quarter at the East Columbus 43-yard line. It was a three-and-out, though, and Hobbton was forced to punt after going backwards.

That was the story of the first quarter as it ended 0-0 there.

The first Gators’ drive of the second quarter yielded similar results as all the ones before it. They went three-and-out and punted the ball away, except “away” was not all that far as the ball was downed on East Columbus’s side of the field. Now on offense, the Wildcats were lined up just outside the goal line just two plays later. That’s where Hobbton lost their second fumble of the game to prevent them scoring.

With East Columbus again spinning their tires, the Gators lined up for a punt attempt standing inside their own end zone. Rather than risk a poor or blocked punt, the visitors opted to just fall on the ball, giving Hobbton the 2-0 lead on a safety with 6:19 left in the first half. After the free kick, a holding penalty wiped out a big Wildcats return deep into Gators territory and the Wildcats instead took over at the 50. The result here was a four-and-out as the offenses continued to fail to move the ball.

That theme continued on the next drive as a botched punt attempt put Hobbton’s offense back on the field in positive territory, just about how it had been all night. This time, though, the Gators dialed up some defensive magic, getting an interception and running back a pick-6, good for about 75 yards, to put East Columbus out front. Their two-point try failed but with 3:02 left in the first half, the Gators led 6-2.

With Hobbton unable to answer on the ensuing possession, the halftime score yielded the 6-2 margin with East Columbus set to receive the second half opening kick.

After the kick, the Gators started on their own 40-yard line, looking to add to their lead. Instead, the drive was cut short on a Jaiveon McMillan interception and the Wildcats set up at their own 45-yard line. Their offense went right to work and was down inside the East Columbus 10-yard line just three plays later. After suffering from a couple plays that went backward, Hobbton’s Joe Corbett and Anthony Cowell connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass that put the Wildcats back out front. The PAT was good and with 8:16 left in the third quarter, Hobbton led 9-6.

The second half saw a much different Wildcats team take the field. After shutting the Gators down again, Hobbton got their offense cranked up once more and found the end zone for the second time. This time it was Daniel Aguilar who busted through for a six yard rushing touchdown to jolt the Wildcats lead. The PAT missed this time but as it stood, Hobbton was up 15-6 with 2:44 left in the third.

As play transitioned into the fourth quarter, East Columbus wasn’t going away. They drove the ball down deep into Wildcats territory before Deonta Darden shut things down. He intercepted a pass and returned it 60 yards down to the Gators 21 yard line to put his own team into scoring position as Hobbton looked to put this one on ice.

That’s exactly what they accomplished as Aguilar scampered in from about 10 yards out for another touchdown. The ensuing two point try was converted on a Reggie Thompson reception and with 7:31 left, the Wildcats lead 23-6.

There was nothing going for East Columbus on the ensuing drive as they went four-and-out to put the Hobbton offense back on the field at the EC 31 yard line with 5:14 left in the game.

This Wildcats drive did nothing, though, and the Gators turned it around headed the other way. They did manage to add one more score late, getting back to within 23-12 with 1:34 to go, but that was as close as they’d get.

Hobbton ran out the clock for the 23-12 final score victory and finally put themselves in the win column.

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 1-2 overall. They are scheduled to be on the road on Friday when they travel to take on Spring Creek.