By Jonathan Grimes for the FCT

Friday night the Phil Campbell Bobcats traveled to Hatton to play the Hornets in a crucial region game for the Bobcats. It was a great game to the end, but it was Hatton that came out with a 26-20 win.

The Bobcats started the night with the ball, but after a three-and-out, Hatton returned the punt to the PC 37 yard line and, in a few plays, scored first on a one-yard run. The Bobcats and Hornets swapped possessions for the remainder of the first quarter, ending with a score of 7-0 and the Bobcats driving down the field.

At the start of the second quarter, the Bobcats scored early with a 20-yard Peyton Thomas TD pass to Nick Swinney. The point after by Daniel Smith was good, bringing the score to 7-7 with 9:06 left in the second quarter. This started a series of TD scores in a short time. Hatton scored and missed the extra point, bringing the score to 13-7. On the kick-off, Hatton tried some trickery by attempting an onside kick, but it failed and set the Bobcats up first and ten on their own 45. In a few plays, the Bobcats found the end zone via a 50-yard catch and run by Austin Riner. A missed extra point brought the score to 13-13 with 7:23 left in the second quarter.

Hatton’s final drive of the first half ended in a touchdown to bring the score to 20-13. The kick-off set the Bobcats up on their own 27-yard with a little over one minute to play in the first half. The Bobcats started driving down the field, and Thomas found Riner open for a 61-yard catch and run for a touchdown, but it was called back for an illegal formation call. Video evidence will show there was no illegal formation, and Riner was actually an eligible receiver. The call took nearly five minutes to clear up and bring the rest of the officials back down field to spot the ball and continue play. The Bobcats would not recover, and so the final score at the end of the second quarter was 20-13 Hatton.

Hatton started the second half with the ball but failed to score on their first possession and turned the ball over to the Bobcats for PC’s first drive of the third quarter. The Bobcats took their first drive 81 yards for a score, ending with a Peyton Thomas 31-yard touchdown run. After a Daniel Smith extra point, the ballgame was tied at 20-20.

The Bobcats and Hornets swapped possessions until Hatton took the next score at the beginning of the fourth quarter, for 26-20 with 10:32 left in the game. The Bobcats’ last drive came up short, ending at the Hornets’ 42-yard line.

The Bobcats move to (2-6) and (0-5). The Bobcats will play county rival Red Bay Tigers this Friday in Phil Campbell at 7 p.m.