The Smyer Bobcats had their hands full last Friday with the UIL Class 2A-1 Floydada Whirlwinds in a 42-20 homecoming loss for the Bobcats.
Smyer trailed by only one touchdown or, at times, only one point for most of the first half. A late Whirlwind touchdown with only 21 seconds left in the half, put the Bobcats down 21-6, a deficit from which they could not recover.
“I thought we played extremely hard after being shorthanded from injuries that occurred last week,” said head football coach Scott Funke.
In the Sept. 1 game in Ralls, the Bobcats suffered injuries to quarterback Peyton Casillas, who was removed by ambulance, as well as wide receivers Cody Armes and Aiden Martinez. Casillas and Armes were released to play late in the week with little time to practice, while Martinez is expected to be released later this week.
That left a lot of younger players in much bigger roles than they expected, according to Funke. “Just a few costly mistakes ended up being the difference in the game.”
Floydada opened with the ball, grinding down to the Smyer 11-yard line before being forced to turn over on downs.
Smyer only managed to make it to their own 35-yard line on their first drive before being forced to punt.
The Whirlwinds looked to have a good opportunity to score from good field position, which they did, but the Floydada running game took a lot of time off the clock. The drive ended with a 20-yard touchdown run by Whirlwind quarterback Tyrean Henderson for a 7-0 Floydada lead with 1:24 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bobcats were again forced to punt early in the second quarter. Floydada took over with 11 minutes left in the half and marched down to the Smyer 21 before being forced back to the 29- yard line on a holding call.
Two big plays were negated by holding again, putting Floydada on the Smyer 17-yard line looking at fourth down and six yards.
The Whirlwinds attempted a field goal which was blocked by Kaden Price. Both teams were forced to punt on their next possessions. Smyer took over after the Whirlwind punt on their own 28-yard line. A big run from Christian Hernandez followed by a big reception from Rylan Smith put the Bobcats at first and goal. Casillas took the ball himself, scrambling into the end zone with 5:33 left in the half. The Bobcats went for a 2-point conversion and failed to trail 7-6.
The Whirlwinds were again forced to punt. Smyer took over with four minutes left in the half. The Floydada defense stiffened, but a pass interference call gave the Bobcats a first down on their own 39-yard line.
That’s when Aiden Trevino intercepted a Casillas pass and ran in for a touchdown. There were flags on the play and the fans on both sides were disappointed when the call was opposing penalties, letting the touchdown stand.
Smyer shut down the 2-point conversion, but trailed 13-6 with 3:17 left in the half.
Another Bobcat punt on their next drive gave Floydada the ball with 1:14 left in the left, A pass interference call against Smyer followed by an offsides gave the Whirlwinds good field position for three big runs and a final touchdown of the half, coming with just 23 seconds left on the clock.
A successful two-point conversion made the score 21-6 for Floydada as both teams headed into the locker room.
Both teams punted on each of their first possessions of the second half. Smyer worked their way down to the Floydada 36yard line on their second possession, but turned over on downs.
That set up a 49-yard Floydada touchdown pass on the second play of their next drive for a 28- 6 lead with 6:50 left in the third quarter.
Smyer answered with their second touchdown of the night. A 2-yard run by Preston Moore was the culmination of an eight play, 61-yard, 4-minute drive. Moore did the honors for the 2point conversion also and the Bobcats trailed 28-14 with 2:36 left in the third quarter.
A flubbed kick gave Floydada the ball on their own 49 yard line. Two plays and 18 seconds later, Henderson crossed the goal line for a 35-14 Floydada lead.
Smyer’s final score of the night came with 4:42 left in the game on a 19-yard pass from Casillas to Armes. A 2-point conversion failed, but the lead was cut to 35-20 The final score of the game was another Henderson run with 2:40 left in the game. The kick was good for a 42-20 Floydada lead.
Smyer got the ball with 2:22 left in the game, but was forced to turn over on downs a few seconds later, allowing Floydada to use their running game to run out the clock.
The Bobcats will travel to Clarendon next Friday for a 7 p.m. game. Clarendon is currently ranked 18 th in class 2A-2 by MaxPreps. Last season the Broncos defeated the Bobcats 558 in Smyer.