Let me start out by saying that the game was great to watch, and I was so caught up in the moment that I might have missed a few details. Both teams played hard. It was a very physical game. If you wern’t there, then you missed out on the most exciting thing that happened this side of the Snake River on Friday night.
Preston kicked off, and in a very non-conventional move, went for a trick onside sick. It looked like they were successful in getting the ball back, but with a pile 10 players high, the crowd just had to sit and watch with anticipation. The referee called out Burley ball, the fans went wild as the bobcats settled down for an offensive drive.
The first half was back and forth with fumbles and interceptions on both sides. Burley and Preston really struggled to move the ball with strong defenses stopping the passing game. But, Preston got close enough to try for a long field goal, and the ball hit the post. From the Burley bleachers, it looked like it bounced wide, but when the referees hands pointed up in the air, you could hear the groans from the Burley student section. The rest of the first half was dominated by Burley around the red zone. Preston intercepted one pass in the end-zone. On another drive, Burley caught a pass in the end-zone that was called out of bounds, followed by a field goal attempt that fell short.
Half time was filled with great entertainment with the Cheerleaders rendition of “Triller” and the Steperettes hip-hop routine. The Burley Bobcat Marching Band performed their entire show which featured music from “Jr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and then the homecoming queen (Payton Condie) was announced.
To start the 2nd half, Burley kicked a low ball very hard at the front line of Preston, and it bounced off one of their players and Burley recovered the ball. At one point in the second half Preston received 3 personal fouls, and Burley was on the 7 yard line with 1st and goal. But, Preston’s defense pulled a number on the bobcats, and they were unable to score. With just over a minute left, Preston was 4th and around 7 to go, and got the first down. They then ran in for a touchdown making the score 10-0. Burley was unable to push down the field with the time left, and lost with the final score 10-0.
Both teams played great. Hats off to the defense for this low scoring game that saw more turnovers than touchdowns. Though Burley lost, they proved that they can keep up with tough teams, and I am looking forward to see if they can kept the defense looking strong and step it up on offense.
Game was over when: Preston got first down on 4th with just over a minute.
Best play of the game: On 4th and forever…Burley went for a fake punt, and Mills hit Alex Greener for a Bobcat first down. Having a quarterback for a punter has its advantages.
Reported by: Mike Ramsey
