BEARCATS DOMINANT IN SCRIMMAGE

It would be hard to believe if someone were to say a Booneville Bearcat team was ever more dominant in a preseason scrimmage.

The Bearcats amassed 360 yards Tuesday night on the turf of Alumni Field in Charleston, while limiting the Tigers to just 34 yards in an 18-0 win in a game that featured four quarters of continuous running clock with a dead kicking game.

That total is despite having two touchdowns negated by penalties – a 65-yard Trace Hall run was shortened to 22 yards and a 49-yard Rocky Ross run was trimmed to one of 29.

Still that duo would be the leading ball carriers on the night with Ross gaining 71 yards on just 5 carries and Hall 65 on just 4. Hall would run 28 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to make it 18-0.

Dax Goff added 7 carries for 50 yards; Randon Ray had 45 yards on just 3 carries, two of which went for touchdowns; and Cody Elliott got the most carries with 8 that totaled 31 yards.

Ray’s two touchdowns came within a span of 6:27 in the second quarter. The first was an 18-yard effort after reserves had played the entire first quarter, leaving with the ball in the red zone, and the second covered 22 yards.

In all, nine different Bearcats carried the football at least once.

Rayce Blansett was also targeted by both Bearcat quarterbacks, hauling in a pass from Peyton Tatum for 25 yards.

Defensively it was Mason Goers leading the way with 3 solo tackles and an assist. He made two stops for a loss, including one on a screen pass. Dunn Daniel was the only other Bearcat with multipole solo stops.

Casey Mattson and Chase Plymale also had a solo tackle and 2 assists, with Plymale (pictured) dragging another receiver down for a loss.

Elliott recorded a sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss.

If there was a glaring shortcoming for head coach Doc Crowley and the Bearcats it was in special teams as they look to replace a school record holding kicker.

Charleston’s starting field position was typically advantageous due to short kickoffs and a missed point after kick preceded two failures on two-point conversion tries.

The Bearcats are scheduled to open the 2021 season at Dardanelle on Friday, Aug. 27.