Princeton
Pilot Point 39 Princeton 26
Pilot Point's Michael Yarnall and Brandon Page celebrate the Bearcats' 39-26 win over Princeton Friday night.
Pilot Point's Cooper Guthrie fights for yards against Princeton Friday night.
Yardstick
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Pilot Point
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Princeton
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First Downs
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16
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8
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Rushing Yards
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45-236
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21-78
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Passing Yards
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167
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115
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Comp-Att-Int
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10-14-1
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7-21-2
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Fumbles Lost
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0-0
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3-1
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Penalties
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5-40
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9-74
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Punting
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3-28.6
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4-26
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Pilot Point 39, Princeton 26
Princeton 7 6 0 13 - 26
Pilot Point 6 20 6 7 - 39
First Quarter
PP - Cooper Guthrie 3 run (kick failed).
P - Asa Womack 99 punt return (Brien Chancellor kick).
Second Quarter
PP - Adam McBride 7 pass from Arthur Buckingham (pass failed).
P - Stephen Day 48 pass from Glen Adams (run failed).
PP - McBride 11 pass from Buckingham (Buckingham run).
PP - Michael Hobbs 55 interception return (kick failed).
Third Quarter
PP - Ethan Stuckly 23 pass from Buckingham (pass failed).
Fourth Quarter
P - Colton Clay 9 run (Chancellor kick).
PP - Cooper Guthrie 45 run (Ricky Loftis kick).
P - Justin Lake 1 run (kick failed).
Individual statistics
Rushing: P - I saac Marrufo 4-15, Glen Adams 7-21, Colton Clay 2-11, Justin Lake 6-30, Stephen Day 2-1. PP - Cooper Guthrie 20-110, Arthur Buckingham 18-105, Wes Ford 7-21.
Passing: P - Adams 7-21-2-167. PP - Buckingham 10-14-1-115.
Receiving: P - Marrufo 2-28, Day 1-48, Tim Clark 1-35, Clay 1-37, Mitchell Driver 1-18, Brien Chancellor 1-7.
Cats clinch playoff berth
By Richard Greene
Assistant Editor
The Pilot Point Bearcats’ seniors saved their best for their last game at Massey Stadium Friday night.
With senior quarterback Arthur Buckingham leading the way, the Bearcats rolled up a season high in points and yards in a 39-26 victory over the Princeton Panthers.
The victory clinched a playoff spot for the Bearcats for the 27th time in 28 years and for the fifth straight season.
“I’m just glad we came out and played the way we can,” said Buckingham. “It’s such a relief to get back to the playoffs. It’s great to do it at home in our final home game.”
The Bearcats dominated the game on both sides of the ball. Pilot Point rolled up 351 total yards, including 236 yards on the ground. Defensively, the Bearcats limited Princeton to 245 yards and forced three turnovers.
“We’re starting to play pretty good football right when you want to be,” said Pilot Point coach Blake Feldt. “On both sides of the ball we really played good.”
In his final start at Massey Stadium, Buckingham tallied a total of 220 yards. He rushed for 105 yards on 18 carries. He also threw for 115 yards, completing 10 of his 14 attempts with three touchdowns and one interception.
“The last two games Arthur has played great,” Feldt said. “He’s getting confidence and playing like we knew he could.”
Buckingham’s second touchdown pass of the first half to Adam McBride from 11 yards out gave the Bearcats the lead for good at 20-13. He added a 23-yard scoring pass to Ethan Stuckly with 27 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Bearcats a 32-13 lead and put the game away.
Along with the touchdown passes, Buckingham was making plays on the ground. He had four runs of 10 yards or more, including two on the first drive.
“We’ve had that in, but we haven’t been able to execute,” Feldt said about the design runs for Buckingham. “We thought with what they were doing it would be one of the keys to the game. Arthur did a great job of executing.”
Buckingham teamed with sophomore tailback Cooper Guthrie to create an one-two punch for the Bearcats. Guthrie finished with 110 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. Guthrie’s 45-yard touchdown run with 5:22 left in the game.
“Cooper ran as well as he has all year,” Feldt said.
Guthrie also scored on the Bearcats first possession from three yards out. The touchdown was set up by McBride’s interception on Princeton’s first offensive play 16 seconds into the game.
“It surprised me,” McBride said. “It was a good way to start off the game. Luckily we were able to finish it.
“This means everything. We didn’t want to be remembered for missing the playoffs for only the second time in how many years. It’s a relief to know next week is not our last game.”
McBride’s interception was one of two collected by Pilot Point. Michael Hobbs picked off a pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown with 3:26 left in the first half.
Princeton led twice in the game. They took the lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter at 7-6 after Asa Womack returned a punt 99 yards. Pilot Point players had downed the ball inside the one before Womack picked it up and ran the other way for the score.
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If you have any pictures or special memories that you would like to see included please contact David Fuller (940) 686-5526, Stteve Coffey or Jim