Smoking Bobcats face formidable Pirates

Published 6:50 am Wednesday, September 12, 2018

 

ORANGEFIELD — After cruising through their first two non-district by the tune of 102-0, the Orangefield Bobcats will turn their attention to a much tougher foe when they hit the field Friday night when they head to Shepherd to take on the unbeaten Pirates.

The Bobcats (2-0) are fresh off a 41-0 demolition of the Livingston Lions this past Friday after they buried Houston KIPP Generations Collegiate 61-0 in their opener.

Orangefield is in the middle of a three-game road trek. The Bobcats will have a bye next week before starting off play in their new-look Class 3A Division I on the road against the rival Buna Cougars.

Orangefield is piling up 378.5 yards a game with their vaunted Wing-T and Slot-T formations as the Bobcats already have over 700 yards rushing in two games.

The Lions, who have been outscored 109-7 in their first two games, simply had no answer for the Bobcats last week as Orangefield cruised out to a commanding 26-0 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Leading the balanced Bobcat running attack are backs Heston Puckett and Quy Tsan.

Puckett has zipped for 176 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries while Tsan has ripped off 121 yards and two TDs on just seven totes.

Bobcat senior quarterback Mason Gonzales got into the rushing parade against Livingston, rushing for 81 yards and two scores on 15 carries.

Fullback Blake Bradley, when he isn’t leading the Bobcat defense from his linebacker spot, has also had his moments rushing the ball along with the likes of Kade Grozier and Kadeon Evans.

Defensively, the Bobcats have allowed just 47.5 yards a game, giving up 58 passing yards and just 37 rushing but they will face a much more fierce offense in the form of the Pirates this week.

Shepherd has also throttled Livingston, 68-7 in their opener on the road. Last week, the Pirates also went on the road to flatten Coldspring 35-6.

The Pirates, who will compete in District 9-4A Division II, returned just nine starters from last year’s 6-4 bidistrict playoff unit but do have plenty of weapons, as they have shown early on.

They definitely have a dual threat in dynamic quarterback Dylan Arie. They do return all-district running back Devin Withers, who rushed for nearly 700 yards and nine scores last season.

The Pirates also have another pair of go-to backs in David Yates and Kenan Turner and solid receiver Ryan Harrell.

After playing Orangefield, the Pirates will hit the road again to visit Splendora.