BEARCATS OWN FOURTH DOWN I SEMIFINAL WIN

Six times Friday night there was a fourth down without a punt formation. The Bearcats won every one of those plays, going 4-for-4 on offense and stuffing two Glen Rose attempts.

The fourth down dominance was key in the Bearcats (12-2) handing the Beavers (11-3) a 34-25 loss in the Class 3A semifinal game at Bearcat Stadium.

The first fourth down play came with Glen Rose, leading 7-6, needing to get from the 38 to the 35 on the Bearcat side of the field.

Glen Rose’s running back was able to slide off one tackle at the line of scrimmage but as he went down the line the encountered he Jace Washburn and Conner Lentz who stopped him for no gain.

Four downs later it was the Bearcats who faced a fourth-and- inches from their 49 – Washburn had connected with Dakota Mattson for 9 yards on third down – and Rylen Ray picked up two to move the chains.

Mattson would catch three passes for 71 yards as the Bearcats threw for 101 yards. Ray had a big night as well with 119 yards on 21 carries, still operating as a one-way player.

The Bearcats would eventually have to punt but the added field position allowed Mattson to pin the Beavers at their 13.

Glen Rose would, after converting a third-and-10 with a 27-yard pass that drew the ire of the Bearcat side of the field because the quarterback appeared to have crossed the line of scrimmage before releasing the football, drive 87 yards for a touchdown.

The Beavers scored two plays after the completion but the PAT kick was wide keeping it 13-6.

The ensuing Bearcat possession would not see a fourth down, but there were a pair of thirds, both converted, including a touchdown run of 15 yards by Dax Goff on a third-and-5.

The touchdown for Goff came on one of only nine first half carries. He would have 16 in the second half for 102 yards to finish with 25 carries for 154 yards.

Juan Moreno, who suffered a blocked PAT after the first touchdown, converted the PAT to tie it at 13-13 with 2:02 left in the half.

Goff started the second half with a 21-yard carry but four downs later it was fourth-and-4 from the Beaver 27. Goff took a pitch, pulled up and hit a wide open Mattson for a touchdown and the first Bearcat lead of the night at 20-13.

The touchdown pass was Goff’s second of the season and his third of his career.

The next three fourth downs resulted in a punt exchange, with Mattson’s effort being downed at the Glen Rose 16.

The third of the punt series came after an unsportsmanlike penalty – Glen Rose drew six major infractions – forced a Beaver punt that pinned the Bearcats at their 9.

A 91-yard drive made it 27-13.

But first, a holding penalty intensified the matter but Washburn hit Mattson for 35 on a third-and-11.

The Bearcats would later find themselves in a fourth-and-2 at the Glen Rose 46 and they turned to Goff for three and a fresh set of downs.

The 10th play of the drive saw Ray pick up four on a third-and-1 and four plays later Washburn lofted a pass to Demari Poole (shown) who was double covered but pulled the ball away from a defender for a first down at the 1.

A stoppage for a false start/unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the ball back to the 3 and Ray scored from there to make it 27-13 with 5:58 to play.

Four snaps later the Bearcats had it back, forcing an incomplete pass for a turnover on downs.

Second down was deep as the Bearcats would get on the ensuing possession with Goff scoring his second touchdown on a run of 17 yards and it was 34-13 with 3:35 to go.

Glen Rose went exclusively to the air on its next possession, scoring on a throw of 10 yards to make it 34-19, snapping a streak of 28 unanswered Bearcat points.

Poole and Dylan Todd made a stop of the two-point try to keep it a 15-point lead.

A false start and three expended time outs by the Beavers helped force the Bearcats to give Glen Rose the ball back and they took advantage, scoring on a 2-yard run in the final minute to make it 34-25.

Again a two-point try was blown up, this time by Hunter Warren.

There was a delay for a sideline incident before the kickoff, which Lance Sims recovered, and Washburn took a knee to start the clock winding down to all zeroes.

Glen Rose took the lead early, scoring just 31 seconds after the kickoff to lead 7-0.

After the a touchback on the kickoff, the Bearcats marched 80 yards to get it to 7-6, scoring on a 27-yard run by Washburn.

The Bearcats advance to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock for the Class 3A state championship game against Prescott next Saturday. Kickoff is at noon.