By JIM OTTS
Register Correspondent
CALLISBURG - Offensive miscues cost the Callisburg Wildcats a chance to upset the state-ranked Pilot Point Bearcats Friday in a game the defense kept them in until the final minute.
Running back Jarman Johnson carried the ball six times to move the Bearcats 53 yards for the touchdown that iced the 30-20 win for Pilot Point with 50 seconds remaining.
Johnson, who finished the night with 150 rushing yards on 22 carries and 82 receiving yards on two catches, actually carried seven times in the final drive but one was nullified by a holding penalty against the Bearcats.
The Callisburg defense surrendered a couple of big plays that set up scores in the early going, but held the Bearcats through the fourth quarter and gave the Wildcats three chances to win the game when the hosts trailed by only four at 24-20.
The offense responded with the last of three lost fumbles, a three-and-out after quarterback Bobby Dorman lost his footing on the sloppy turf and lost 10 yards on a second-down play and an overthrown pass that resulted in the team's third interception.
The game started explosively with scoring drives that mirrored each other.
Pilot Point (9-0 overall, 4-0 district) started near midfield at the Callisburg 49 thanks to a 47-yard kickoff return by Johnson.
Runs by Johnson and quarterback Seth Tilley took the Bearcats to the Wildcat 17 and Tilley scored from there on a scramble to the right.
Callisburg (7-2 overall, 2-2 district) got the ball near midfield at the Bearcat 46 when an onside attempt from the guests went out of bounds.
Running back Langston Jones and Dorman took turns running the ball to the Pilot Point six and Dorman, the quarterback, scrambled around the right end for the touchdown.
The Wildcats had Pilot Point pinned on the next Bearcat possession but Tilley threw up a long hope on second and nine and Johnson made a fingertip catch in stride and went 65 yards to the Callisburg 12 before Jones made a saving tackle.
A penalty moved the ball back to the 17 before Tilley found wide receiver J.P. Price inside the left corner of the endzone.
A holding penalty killed the ensuing Wildcat drive, which resulted in a punt, and a procedure penalty halted Pilot Point on the next Bearcat possession.
Punter Mason Guthrie sent a line drive punt that Dorman gathered in at his own 19 and he flew along the right sideline and into the end zone. Dorman's PAT kick tied the bout 14-14 with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Bearcats made it 21-14 early in the second stanza with an eight-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Johnson weaving the final 28 yards.
The next Callisburg possession showed promise after a Dorman completion to Kevin Bartley picked up 11. Wildcat coach Jerry Bomar called time out to set up the next play and action resumed with Dorman and Jones dropping the handoff.
Pilot Point's Carter Street recovered at the Wildcat 38 then the Bearcats returned possession to Callisburg on the very next play with Brandon Rochell jarring the ball away from Johnson.
Kicker Ruben Martinez hit a 32-yard field goal with 2:27 remaining to give the Pilot Point squad a 24-14 halftime edge.
Exchanges of punts and fumbles left the third quarter scoreless but the Bearcats were threatening at the Callisburg 20 as the final frame got under way. Tilley threw a long pass toward the left sideline where wide receiver Tyler McNairy was covered by Bartley. Bartley tipped the ball away and both fell to the ground. McNairy landed on his back and the ball landed on McNairy.
Pilot Point tried to sweep around the left but Jones stepped up at the corner, jerked the ball from the hands of running back Jeremy Jackson and went 79 yards for the Callisburg TD. Dorman’s PAT kicking attempt was blocked but the Bearcat lead was cut to four, 24-20.
The Wildcats, with district losses to Aubrey and Pilot Point, can still make the playoffs with a win at S&S; Consolidated Friday, while Pilot Point and Aubrey meet next week to determine first and second place in District 10-2A.
