JUNIOR HIGH BEARCATS STILL UNBEATEN, DANIEL RUNS FOR 249

The Junior High Bearcats were unaccustomed to being in a tight game during conference play, but that was where they found themselves Thursday night at Bearcat Stadium.

The final margin of 40-14 might lead you to believe otherwise, but there were tense moments just before the half and Mansfield also got the ball to start the second half.

Mansfield had momentum after cutting a Bearcat lead to 20-14, then Tigers forced the Bearcats (9-0, 6-0) into a punting situation after two stops at the line of scrimmage and another behind it.

Rather than punt HD Daniel had to first track down an errant snap and the result was a 17-yard loss with Mansfield taking over at the Bearcat 23-yard line with 1:41 left in the half.

A 3-yard completion was followed by a 2-yard gain and a 2-yard loss before a fourth down incomplete pass kept it a six-point game.

The Bearcats got a 36-yard chunk of yardage from Daniel to move to the Tiger 36 but time ran out during an incomplete pass.

That gave Daniel (shown) video game like numbers of 6 carries for 198 yards at the half. He was not done.

Daniel first returned a punt 29 yards that ended a three-and-out by the Tigers to start the second half.

Callen Montalvo would score from the 35 on the next play only to have the play blown dead when his helmet was pulled from his head.

Two plays after the penalty Sadler Miller scored on a 5-yard run. Miller also ran for a 2-point conversion and a 28-14 lead with 5:23 to go in the third quarter.

Montalvo and Kass DuPree combined on a negative yardage fourth down play to give the Bearcats the ball back and it took one play to score.

Daniel, on what would be his only second half carry, rumbled 51 yards and it was 34-14, completing his 7-249 stat sheet.

Drake Brackney started the final quarter with an interception he returned 41 yards to the Tiger 29 and Montalvo scored again from there to make it 40-14.

Montalvo’s night offensively was finished at that point with 70 yards on six carries.

Mansfield had won the toss and chose to defer its option until the second half and the Bearcats needed just one play to score as Daniel went 70 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead.

That started a flurry of 20 points over the first 1:34 of the game.

Mansfield matched the first score with a scoring run of 46 yards with 7:25 to go in the first quarter and Daniel went 61 yards the next time he touched the ball to make it 14-6 with Montalvo’s conversion run.

After forcing a Tiger punt the Bearcats extended the lead to 20-6 on Montalvo’s 26-yard scoring run with 1:43 to play in the quarter.

Mansfield then put together an 11-play drive that included a pair of fourth down conversions, the second one a 9-yard touchdown pass, to cut it to 20-14 before being handed a short field and 1:41 to play in the half.

That was where the Bearcat defense made it statement. On the night both Braxton Hubble and Laythen Shaffer had nine tackles, Ayden Rhinehart had eight and Montalvo seven.

The Bearcats will close out the season next Thursday, Halloween night, at Charleston. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.