Bobcats hang on for win over Parklane

Southern Sports & Travel

The fourth ranked Presbyterian Bobcats inched a bit closer to clinching a playoff spot with a 28-21 win over fifth ranked Parklane last night in Hattiesburg and after securing the win the overwhelming majority of Presbyterian players and coaches exuded a sense of relief after enduring a turnover laden second half that left the door open for a late Parklane rally.

Presbyterian looked primed to make senior night one to remember as the Bobcats struck early. Quarterback Daniel Patterson hit wide-out Chris Addison on a post route that resulted in a 47 yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and Troy Waites nailed the PAT to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead just 16 seconds into the contest.

“We talked about opening the game with that play yesterday at practice,” said senior Bobcat quarterback Daniel Patterson. “When we lined up I read the defense and saw the opportunity and Chris Addison ran a perfect route.”

Parklane answered with a promising drive that began on their own 20 yard line and progressed to the Bobcat 25 but fizzled when a fourth and 5 pass from Brady Lea to Joseph Clark came up short at the Presbyterian 27 yard line with 9:01 remaining on the opening quarter.

(Above) Presbyterian tailback Fate Eiland (#22) finds running room around the edge

Presbyterian struck again in the first quarter as the Bobcats produced a 6 play, 64 yard drive that was capped on a 33 yard fake reverse scamper from senior tailback Stephen Jones at the 1:12 mark of the quarter. Waites added the PAT to increase the margin to 14-0.

Presbyterian threatened again late in the second quarter but failed to convert on a 24 yard field goal attempt and the half would close out with the Bobcats holding a 14-0 advantage.

Parklane seemed to have garnered some much needed momentum early in the third quarter when a Zack McDaniel punt made contact with the helmet of a Presbyterian player and the Pioneers recovered at their own 40 yard line.

That momentum quickly vanished as a Parklane fumble on a second and 8 was recovered by defensive back Chris Addison at the Pioneer 48 yard line.

Presbyterian would capitalize on the Parklane miscue as tailbacks Fate Eiland and Lee Sigrest began finding holes in the Pioneer defense. Eiland, a sophomore, would go down with a knee injury on a 7 yard gain to the Parklane 27 yard line with just over eight minutes left in the quarter but fellow tailback Sigrest picked up the slack as the junior carried three consecutive times, the last a 3 yard burst into the end-zone with 7:13 left in the quarter.

(Above) Parklane tailback Taylor Burt (#34) gets corralled by a stingy Bobcat defense

Troy Waites added the PAT to push the lead to 21-0 and it looked like Presbyterian was well on their way to cruising to their seventh win of the season but the tide and flow of the contest was about to take a drastic change.

With 3:10 left in the third quarter Presbyterian would turn the football over when a mishandled snap was recovered by Parklane linebacker Dylan Barnes at the Bobcat 20 yard line.

Parklane wasted little time in cashing in on the Bobcat turnover as junior quarterback Brady Lea connected with tight-end Dan Gill for a 20 yard touchdown six seconds after the turnover occurred. Zack McDaniel added the PAT and the Pioneers had trimmed the deficit to 21-7.

Presbyterian appeared little fazed as the Bobcats promptly put up a 45 yard scoring drive that took just five plays and was culminated when Daniel Patterson scrambled and while avoiding a near sack got off a 5 yard touchdown pass to tailback Micah Griffin in the end-zone with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Waites’ PAT increased the Bobcat lead back to three touchdowns at 28-7.

On Presbyterian’s first offensive possession of the fourth quarter Parklane recovered a Bobcat fumble at the Presbyterian 22 yard line and as the Pioneers did previously, they wasted little time in cashing in.

Parklane tailback Joseph Clark rumbled 22 yards around the left side and Zack McDaniel added the PAT to cut the deficit in half at 28-14 with 9:11 left in regulation.

(Above) Parklane quarterback Brady Lea (#7) spots an open receiver

Parklane was the recipient of another Bobcat fumble less than one minute later as defensive lineman James Michael Schmidt recovered a loose football at the Pioneer 47 yard line with 8:20 remaining.

Following a Brady Lea pass completion to the Bobcat 40 yard line the Parklane offense found itself retreating as a 15 yard personal foul spot infraction put the Pioneers in a second and 36 from their own 34 yard line but Lea hooked up with Dan Gill for a 42 yard pass and catch down to the Bobcat 24 yard line.

Lea then connected with Cody Harvey for a short gain to the 22 yard line and Brady Lea capped the drive with three consecutive keepers, the last from one yard out. McDaniel’s PAT pulled Parklane to within a touchdown at 28-21 with 4:35 remaining.

If Presbyterian thought it couldn’t have gotten any worse it did, rapidly.

On the Bobcat’s first play after the Parklane score Presbyterian laid the football down on the turf again. Parklane linebacker Seth Travis recovered this fumble at the Bobcat 32 yard line with 4:24 still remaining in regulation.

The Pioneers moved to the Presbyterian 5 yard line in six plays but a critical block in the back call pushed Parklane back to the Bobcat 19 yard line and that was followed by a huge sack on Lea by Presbyterian linebacker Micah Griffin for a loss of 11 yards back at the Bobcat 30 yard line with 1:15 remaining.

With Parklane facing a third and 30 Brady Lea’s pass was intercepted by defensive back Stephen Jones at the Presbyterian 3 yard line to lock down a 28-21 win for the Bobcats.

“This was such a huge win for us,” said Presbyterian senior quarterback Daniel Patterson (Photo left). “We want to go back to the playoffs for the third straight year and we knew coming in how important this game was. We got a little sloppy in the second half tonight but I think it will serve as a wake up call for us. As a senior the past three seasons have been incredible and it’s a great feeling to know that this senior class was a big part of helping to build a successful football program here at Presbyterian.”

Patterson finished the night going 4/6 passing for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

Sophomore tailback Fate Eiland led the Presbyterian ground attack with 80 yards on 12 carries before going down with a second half knee injury. Junior tailback Lee Sigrest added 76 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown and Stephen Jones rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown on 7 carries.

Joseph Clark picked up 102 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown for Parklane while Brady Lea totaled 162 passing yards and a touchdown and 53 yards on the ground and a score.

Parklane tight end Dan Gill had 4 receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Presbyterian improves to 7-2 overall but more importantly 4-1 in division play while Parklane slips to 7-2 and 3-1.

Presbyterian will travel to Oak Forest and Starkville to close out and Parklane will host Copiah and Jackson Prep to finish out the regular season.

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Post Game with Presbyterian Head Coach Joey Hawkins