FB: 'Rodeo' ends for 'Riders at bi-district
catch a pass in the endzone over Bullard's Holden Bryant (24) during
Saturday night's game in Carthage. (Photo by John Krueger)
CARTHAGE -- Having a Roughrider for a mascot, it is easy to imagine a football team’s season as a battle; the team charging into combat like the Calvary unit they were named after. But the best comparison seems to be that of a rodeo.
The Center Roughriders have been desperately hanging onto their metaphoric bucking bronco all season, and after being knocked from their horse several times this year, it came down to one last ride, a playoff game against Bullard. That playoff game - or the eight seconds on the horse - will be some of the most memorable and shortest lived moments of the players’ lives.
Center won its playoff bid for the third straight year in the last two weeks of the regular season with a dominating victory over Huntington and a narrow win of Kirbyville. Following the late season rally, the team was matched up with an opponent that hadn’t been to the playoffs in 18 years and had never won a playoff game in school history. When Center faced off against the Bullard Panthers here at Bulldog Stadium Saturday night, Bullard was too much for Center, ending the ‘Riders' season with a 24-14 win.
“There are no nerves,” Center head coach Kevin Goodwin said after pregame warm-ups. “It’s 48 minutes of football, 120 yards from the edge of each end zone, and 53 and a third yards wide. There won’t be any surprises. There aren’t any players nervous. We are just going to play like always. As a good coach, and I consider myself to be one, you don’t change what you do. You just take what the other team gives you like always.”
After the first three drives of the game it was easy to tell that both teams were very evenly matched and the game was going to be all that fans from both sides had hoped it would be. Center received the ball first, picked up a couple first downs and then punted the ball away.
Bullard then punted it right back only five plays later, before Center returned the favor and the Panthers received the ball on their own 42-yard line. With a good mix of running and passing, Bullard moved the ball 58 yards on nine plays and scored the first touchdown of the game when junior quarterback Colton Mebane hit fellow junior Haden Bryant on a 3-yard slant for a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing drive, the ‘Riders stormed down the field before being held up at the 47-yard line on fourth down. Electing to go for it on 4th-and-3, Goodwin called a triple option and senior quarterback Cameron Cloudy kept the ball, only to be knocked down only inches shy of the first-down marker.
Bullard was then forced to attempt their own 4th-and-short, which was unsuccessful and Center received the ball at their own 40. The ‘Riders drove 60 yards, following the efforts of running back K.J. Garrett, who gained 21 of the yards, and Cloudy, who rushed into the endzone from three yards out for the touchdown. A Felipe Parra extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 4:56 left in the half.
‘Rider fans were given a brief scare during a following Center drive. After a first-down pass that went in and out of the hands of a Bullard defender, Cloudy was brought down in the backfield on a hard hit. The crowd was silenced when Cloudy remained down for a few minutes, before being able to walk off the field without help. Cloudy returned to the game for the next ‘Rider drive.
With 1:29 left in the half Bullard received the ball at their 11-yard line and Mebane was hit hard by senior defensive tackle Austin Mosby, who also came away with the Panther fumble at the 6-yard line. Garrett added the second ‘Rider touchdown from six yards out on the first play of the drive, barreling over three Panther defenders along his way.
The half ended with the score remaining 14-7 in favor of the ‘Riders.
Neither team produced much early in the second half as neither team put together a lengthy drive until Bullard took possession at their 48. After picking up a first down, the Panthers were called for a 15-yard penalty and confronted with a first-and-25. Mebane connected with Bryant for 15 yards on first down and then a combination of running backs Tanner Schmidt and Houston Alexander led the Panthers the remaining 26 yards. Alexander scored from three yards out with 4:51 remaining in the third to tie the score at 14-14.
The following Center drive looked promising and went 40 yards on 15 plays before the ‘Riders were stopped at the 22-yard line with only six seconds left in the quarter. The next play was a screen to Garrett, who turned up field for four yards. But the ‘Riders were unable to call a time out before the end of the quarter. After switching field direction the ‘Riders were then forced to attempt a field goal into a very strong wind from 35 yards out. The attempt was unsuccessful, keeping the score 14-14.
Another huge turning point of the game came when Bullard was forced to try for a 4th-and-two from the ‘Rider 43-yard line. Mebane dropped back, fired a shot that was way off target, but the quarterback was then hit late by a Center pass rusher. 'Roughing the passer' was called on the ‘Riders and Bullard was given the fresh set of downs. Six plays later Alexander rushed in for his second touchdown of the night from two yards out. This gave the Panthers a 21-14 lead.
Center received the ball with 5:58 left in the game, but the offense was unable to move the ball, once again being stopped on 4th-and-short.
The Panthers then rushed on seven straight plays to run down the clock, before adding to their lead when junior kicker Weston Gray punched a field goal through from 32 yards away to push the lead to 10 and the score to 24-14.
Center received the ball with only 19 seconds left, down by 10, and backed up on their 20-yard line. On the first play a frustrated Cloudy rolled out of the pocket, but had to throw the ball out of bounds when the defensive pressure was too strong. Cloudy then dropped back and fired a short pass to junior Tony McCollister, who quickly turned up field, but was unable to move the ball forward as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
The similar playing styles of the two teams were apparent throughout the game, with the size and speed advantage going to the ‘Riders, but in the end Bullard was the better passing team. On the ground the two teams were almost identical, both rushing 45 times, with Center picking up 185 yards and Bullard gaining 195. Center was 9 of 15 through the air for only 37 yards while Bullard piled up 137 and went 11-14.
The Bullard rushing attack was very well balanced, Alexander picking up 67 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns, Schmidt gaining 62 on 12 touches, and Mebane adding 66 on 14 rushes.
After the game Goodwin expressed a close bond with this season’s seniors who were freshmen when Goodwin first came to Center.
“I hate losing with this class because this was the first class we had when we first came to Center,” Goodwin said after the contest. “People can say what they want to; I'm losing something special right there. That's my first cousin.
"It's going to be a while before I get another one like that. That's big. That's really big. Granted you don't want to lose and it hurts. But it hurts a little bit more and you've got really, really good family members that lose too and it's hurting them too.”
The ‘Rider season ended with a Cloudy completion to McCollister, which was a common sight throughout the year. In the end Center finished 4-7, and Cloudy rushed 70 times for 279 yards and 10 touchdowns, while connecting on 51-of-82 passes for 666 yards and 12 touchdowns. Fellow senior Johnny Sudds ended his senior season with 545 yards on 90 touches and five touchdowns, averaging just over six yards a carry.
On the defensive side of the ball, Sudds totaled 52 tackles, five behind the line of scrimmage, with one forced fumble and four interceptions through the first 10 games. Austin Mosby had 29 tackles on the year and Nathan Sears added another 31 with nine behind the line and two forced fumbles.
With the end of the football season Center will do what all teams must; get ready for basketball, which holds promising potential for the ‘Riders.
STATS AT A GLANCE
Center Bullard
First Downs 17 24
Rushes-Net Yards 49-187 49-209
Passing Yards 39 140
Total Yards 226 349
Passes 7-13-0 12-16-0
Punts-Avg. 3-28.0 3-40.3
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 7-59 4-50
3rd Down Conv. 7/16 6/12
4th Down Conv. 1/5 0/1
SCORING BY QUARTERS
Center 00 14 00 00 = 14
Bullard 07 00 07 10 = 21
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
Rushing
Center: Cameron Cloudy 14-64 TD; Johnny Sudds 11-50; K.J. Garrett 14-46 TD; Shaquille Ingram 6-18; Myles Netherly 3-13; Cody Carleton 1-(-4). Bullard: Colton Mebane 16-74; Houston Alexander 17-73 2TD; Tanner Schmidt 14-51; Jess Wood 1-9; Haden Bryant 1-2.
Passing
Center: Cameron Cloudy 7-13-0 39. Bullard: Colton Mebane 12-16-0 140 yards TD.
Receiving
Center: Tony McCollister 6-34; K.J. Garrett 1-5. Bullard: Haden Bryant 6-105 TD; Zack Holladay 3-16; Tanner Schmidt 2-11; Jess Wood 1-8.
Records
Center: 4-7. Bullard: 7-4.