By Alex Benzegala
Panhandle Post
The Hemingford Bobcats knew they were in for a battle with fellow 2-0 foe in Hyannis on Friday, and while Hemingford started out fast, but it were the Longhorns who held on for the 34-28 win.
Hemingford started the game with a long rushing touchdown from star running back Cody Galles from 65-yards out. Jacob Bryner added a 23-yard rushing touchdown to give the Bobcats a 12-0 lead after the 1st quarter.
Hyannis answered in the 2nd quarter with a 9-yard rushing touchdown and a 54-yard TD pass, and the Longhorns took a 14-12 lead at halftime.
Hemingford started the 2nd half strong as Bryner added his 2nd touchdown of the game on a one-yard plunge, and by adding a two-point conversion Hemingford led Hyannis 20-14 in the 3rd quarter.
Hyannis scored two straight touchdowns in the 3rd and 4th quarters to reclaim the lead, but Hemingford answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Bryner to Theron Miller to give the Bobcats a 28-26 lead in the 4th quarter. The ensuing kickoff was returned for a touchdown for the Longhorns, they added the two-point conversion which ended up being the game-winner for Hyannis.
"The kick return we gave up at the end was obviously not what we wanted, but from film, we believe our guys will watch, learn, and be ready to fix it this upcoming week," Head Coach Josh Dean said. "Our message to the team moving forward is that the sun will rise the next day. We must move on, but not without learning from our experiences thus far."
Hyannis was averaging over 50 points per game offensively coming into Friday night's game and Dean saw a lot of positives against a great team.
"Defensively we were proud of how our kids adapted to everything Hyannis threw at us. Hyannis used their skill positions to attack all areas of the field, running and passing, Dean said. "We had to play sound defense across the field to keep them out of the endzone. This week, we did a better job of limiting long scoring plays defensively."