Published: September 05, 2009 11:16 am      

Wildcats down All-Saints 35-17

By JUSTIN UMBERSON

Register Correspondent

CALLISBURG — The Callisburg Wildcats used its home opener to outlast Fort Worth Episcopal All-Saints 35-17 Friday at a packed Wildcat Stadium Friday.

The Wildcats’ defense influenced All-Saints out of its game plan by forcing four turnovers that led to 16 Wildcat points. Callisburg’s offense played a turnover-free game.

“We started to put a little more pressure on them,” Callisburg head coach Bomar said. “But we got ahead of them too. They went into panic mode and I think they lost their rhythm.”

All Saints had its way with the Wildcats early on, completing its first 11 passes and forcing a punt on Callisburg’s opening drive, but could not manage more than a 3-0 lead after its 23-yard field goal.

The Wildcat defense was able to make adjustments on the following All-Saint drive, and forced the first turnover of the game when senior Langston Jones recovered a fumble at the Wildcat 20-yard line.

Senior quarterback Bobby Dorman then took matters into his own hands, as he contributed all but 5 yards of the 80-yard go-ahead drive.

The All-Saint offense was rolling again, taking a 10-7 lead on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, giving the ball back to Callisburg with less than two minutes to play in the half. Luckily, the Wildcats would need only two plays to score, when a screen pass to Jones turned into a 70-yard touchdown pass and a 13-10 halftime lead.

Even though the All-Saint passing attack looked unstoppable at times in the first half, the team ran the ball much more in the second half, playing to the strengths of the Wildcat defense.

“Shaun Younger is a great athlete, and I think they were more effective putting him back there,” Bomar said. “Sooner or later though that eats up a lot of clock, and if you can keep them out of the end zone it makes the game shorter, and that helped us.”

Wildcat senior wide receiver Kevin Bartley was visibly frustrated with himself after dropping an easy first down pass in the fourth quarter when the Wildcats were only up by six, but he sealed the victory on the team’s next drive when he turned a 10-yard pass into a 77-yard touchdown.

“There is a reason we went three rounds deep into the playoffs last year,” Bomar said. “Our kids don’t panic. Bartley made one of the biggest plays ever made last year in the first round on a play harder than that one.”

Jones accounted for the team’s only sack, and carried the ball 17 times for 86 yards, while hauling in two passes for 71 yards. Dorman completed 14 of his 20 passing attempts for 277 yards, and picked up 107 more yards on the ground.

Although All Saints won last year’s meeting 40-24, Bomar said it served as no motivation in Friday’s meeting.

“They were just better than we were,” Bomar said. “We want to win every game. It doesn’t matter who we are playing.”