Cats rout Sweeny 34-17 in first half

By Justin Daily
Bay City Tribune
Published September 29, 2008

BAY CITY – The Cats did everything right in the first quarter and built up a 21-0 edge that Sweeny never recovered from. Bay City won 34-17 and was done scoring midway through the second quarter.

The game soured on the Blackcats late in the second quarter; the offense stumbled, the defense gave up big plays and the team was hit with more than 130 yards in penalties. Bay City had six personal fouls and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag.

Sweeny couldn’t get an inch on the Blackcats in the first quarter. Bay City’s defense swarmed the Bulldogs on the opening drive. They gave up one first down before the Cats forced them to punt after Edan lost 18 yards. Shaun White was in on two sacks, with help from Jonathan Schneider on one of them.

The Blackcats went back to practicing good clock control and burned most of the first quarter on their first and most successful offensive drive. Tomek connected with Robert Taylor on a 33-yard route off the bat and carries from LeTevin Wilcox and Godwin Wyche took it 54 yards for a score. Wilcox punched it in from the one with 4:28 to play in the first. Tomek completed a pass to Rafael Olide on a PAT fake for two points.

BC’s Logan Barton recovered a fumble on kickoff on the Sweeny 22-yard line, where the Blackcats took over. Tomek hit Taylor again on at the one-yard line then connected with Bruce Taylor in the end zone. The TD was called back on an ineligible receiver call and Wyche ran it in from the two-yard line with 3:14 on the clock in the first. Taylor Brown kicked the PAT.

The Cats kicked off again and, after two downs, White and Stoney Davis made a crushing tackle that forced a fumble. White picked it up and carried it back to the eight-yard line. Wilcox scored another one-yarder with 1:30 left in the first.

Davis showed up again on the Cats’ next defensive stand, batting down a Sweeny pass in spectacular fashion. Bay City blocked the Bulldogs’ punt and recovered it on the Sweeny 11-yard line.

Wyche went around the right end twice for four yards and Tomek hit Jarvis Griggs to score with 10:41 to play in the half. Brown missed his second PAT of the night and BC took a 27-0 lead.

Sweeny’s Jarnell Woodard got out for a big run in the second, driving down inside the Blackcats’ 15. The Bulldogs settled for a field goal from Chris Wilson with 9:30 on the clock.

BC answered with a drive sustained by Tomek’s arm. The Cats couldn’t get anywhere on the ground and the drive seemed to stall twice, but big passes on third down, once to Barton for 20 yards and once to Tommy Singletary to score, put the Cats in the end zone. Singletary pulled down a 55-yard pass with 5:10 remaining in the half for BC’s final scored. Brown was good on the kick and Bay City led 34-3.

Bay City recovered and onside kick following the score, but the drive stalled this time and Derek Montgomery booted a 46-yard punt to Sweeny’s five-yard line.

The Bulldogs scored on a 10-yard pass from Ryan Hornback to Woodard, who made the catch after Davis deflected it. The PAT attempt was blocked.

The Bulldogs put it into the end zone again in the fourth and converted for two, trimming the margin to 34-17.