The Bobcats came up a safety short of knocking off the Crossett Eagles, who were the preseason pick to win the 8-4A conference by Hooten's Arkansas Football magazine, as time ran out Friday, October 2, 2020 at Tidwell Field in Dumas.
The Bobcats trailed by one at 21-20 with 31 seconds left in the game. The Eagles had just intercepted a deep pass thrown by Dumas senior quarterback #9 Kennon Jones intended for senior wide receiver #14 Tamarja Parker, who had gotten behind the Crossett defenders and was in the end zone. The pass came up short and the Eagles intercepted the pass inside their own two yard line.
After a time out by Crossett, the Eagle quarterback attempted to down the ball to end the game, however, the Dumas defense knocked the Eagle quarterback backwards on the play, tackling him in the end zone. Immediately, the excited Bobcat defensive players gave the safety sign, as they had tackled the Crossett QB in his own end zone, which would have lifted the Bobcats to a miracle 22-21 victory.
But hold on, the game officials gathered without giving the coaches, players or fans any indication of what they were going to do. After their conference meeting, incredibly, the officials gave the ball back to Crossett at the original line of scrimmage where the clock was allowed to expire, ending the game.
No coach would ever say a single play cost his team the game. And that would be correct, however, the officials in this case stole the Bobcat's miracle because they were caught off guard on the final play, not completely paying attention. As we all know, in Arkansas high school football there is no officials accountability. I've witnessed more than a few games that have been ruined by incompetent football officials.
The result is the Bobcats fall to 3-2, 1-1 in the conference and travel to Warren to take on the Lumberjacks this Friday with the kickoff set for 7 PM.
Game recap -
The Bobcats scored first on a 65 yard punt return for a touchdown by senior running back #3 Kylin James. Dumas went for two, however the two-point conversion pass fell incomplete leaving the score 6-0.
With 4:35 to play in the first quarter, Crossett scored and kicked the extra point to take a 7-6 lead.
Bobcat sophomore running back #24 Brandon Johnson scored a touchdown on an 11 yard run with 3:08 to go in the opening quarter. Johnson also ran in the two-point conversion to lift Dumas to a 14-7 advantage.
In the third quarter, Dumas senior #51 Cole Palsa and senior #26 Dacario Tatum sacked the Eagle quarterback back at the Crossett 11 yard line, bring up a second and 21 yards to go. The Crossett quarterback threw a long pass down the Bobcat sideline that was caught by an Eagle wide receiver who went the distance to score a touchdown on an 89 yard play. With the PAT, the score was tied 14-14 with 2:36 left in the third quarter.
After the Bobcats were forced to punt on their next possession, Crossett went 54 yards in two plays to score on a five yard touchdown run as the third quarter expired. With the PAT, Crossett took a 21-14 lead.
With 7:02 to play in the game, Kylin James crashed into the end zone on a three yard run for a touchdown. The Bobcats lined up for a two-point conversion, however a five yard penalty backed them up. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Bobcats down one at 20-21.
The score remained 21-20, as the events of the final seconds occurred, and the officials blew the most important call in the contest, robbing the Bobcats of the miracle finish they had earned.
