Thayer’s running game proved to be too much to handle for the Houston High School football team in a South Central Association conference contest last Saturday afternoon in Tiger Stadium, as the Bobcats downed the Tigers 25-13.
Thayer’s defense also caused problems for the host squad, as the Houston’s only offensive touchdown came on a 5-yard run by senior Layne Seago with 7:44 to go on the fourth quarter.
The Tigers’ other TD was scored on an 85-yard kickoff return by senior Bryson Jordan with 1:54 remaining in the second period.
Sophomore Dillon Shelton booted an extra point after the initial score, but his second try late in the game was blocked.
Meanwhile, the Bobcats gained rushing yardage virtually at will throughout the game. Running back Zeb DuBois led the way, as the bulky junior bashed through traffic time after time to produce numerous small to medium gains.
After a scoreless first quarter, Thayer got on the board early in the second period with a 4-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Dawson Harris.
DuBois scored on a 3-yard run with 2:07 left in the second quarter and added another 6 points on a 5-yard ramble at the 4:34 mark of the third period.
The Bobcats wrapped up the scoring with a 51-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Thomas Poole with 7:05 to go in the game.
Thayer failed on 2-point runs after the first three touchdowns, but senior Cooper Clark kicked an extra point after the fourth.
The Tigers ran only 41 offensive plays in the entire contest and were held to a season-low 123 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, the Bobcats held a huge advantage in time of possession as they stuck to a time-consuming, nothing-fancy ground attack.
“After the game, the kids talked about the whole day was weird and they never got into a flow,” said HHS head coach Eric Sloan. “It was very difficult for us offensively in the first half because we just didn’t have the ball. They just ate the clock up with 3 yards at a time and kept moving the chains for a fresh set of downs.”
The Tigers also hindered their own efforts by turning the ball over 3 times – a perilous approach against a team that is already having little trouble maintaining possession of the ball.
“We also dropped a pass or two that we wouldn’t typically drop,” Sloan said, “and some linemen missed some assignments they typically don’t miss, and we struggled to line up defensively. It was just weird all the way around.”
Thayer’s statistics were not available, but the 6-foot, 260-pound DuBois rushed for more than 150 yards, with most of his runs going to the left side where the Bobcats have an all-state tackle ready to lower the boom.
“He’s just a load,” Sloan said, “and he wears you down over time. He’s never going to break loose, but he keeps pounding you and pounding you and keeps falling forward.”
With Thayer’s offense on the field for so many minutes, Houston defenders had lots of opportunities to make tackles in the game. A trio of linebackers led the way, as senior Bryson Jordan had a whopping 20 (including 16 solo), junior Mason Dodson had 14 (including 7 solo) and senior John Jordan had 13 (including 10 solo). Dodson also recovered a fumble, while John Jordan blocked a punt.
After absorbing their first loss of the season, the Tigers (4-1, 2-1 SCA) travel to Ava this Friday (Oct. 4).
Sloan expects the Bears (4-1, 2-1 SCA) to rely heavily on senior fullback Hunter Adams, who’s 6-2, 220 pounds and a 4-year starter.
“Everything’ s going to go through him,” Sloan said, “so it’s assignment football. They’re going to ground-and-pound and try to make you have a wrong read and exploit you. It will be very important that we play assignment football on defense.”
