Ponder

Pilot Point 20 Ponder 12

Pilot Point's Creed Bright flies over Ponder defender during the Bearcats' victory last week.

Yardstick

	Pilot Point	Ponder
First Downs	20	11
Rushing Yards	46-262	38-155
Passing Yards	93	52
Comp-Att-Int	8-12-0	7-14-0
Fumbles Lost	4-2	0-0
Penalties	5-51	11-90
Punting	0-0	4-37.25

Pilot Point quarterback Travis Garrett rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns on Friday and the Bearcats defense held off a late Ponder rally for a 20-12 District 5-2A Division I win.

The Bearcats (5-2, 3-0 in district) had to rely on its defense in the waning seconds when Ponder (2-5, 0-3) pushed the ball to the Pilot Point 40-yard line. But facing a fourth down and 22, sophomore quarterback Brady Anderson's last-ditch Hail Mary pass was batted down with 15 seconds remaining.

"We didn't show them enough respect and it almost came back to bite us," Garrett said. "They could have pulled it out; thank God our defense pulled it out for us. We shouldn't have put them (defense) in that position as an offense."

Despite Garrett's performance, Pilot Point managed just a 7-0 lead at halftime. With 29 seconds left in the third, Anderson -- who carried the ball 22 times for 104 yards and passed for 52 ? bulled his way in from one-yard out to give the Lions their first score. The two-point conversion failed, so Pilot Point maintained a slim 7-6 lead.

That's when things got interesting as both teams combined for three touchdowns in a 2:08 span in the fourth quarter. Garrett started the scoring spree with a four-yard run to give Pilot Point a 13-6 lead. But on the ensuing kickoff, Ponder's Christian Worthington broke loose for a 90-yard touchdown return with 10:36 left in regulation.

The score still left the Lions trailing by one because of another failed two-point attempt. Garrett then ripped off a 61-yard touchdown run to give Pilot Point a 20-12 lead with 8:49 left in regulation.

"I thought we played well; Pilot Point is one of the better teams in the district and we had a chance to take the lead several times but we didn't," Ponder coach Glen Schuelke said. "We're getting better from week to week; it's not going to be like it used to be ? you'd better come ready to play against us."

The Lions had chances to flip the script in the first half. With 8:07 left in the second, Anderson broke loose for a 47-yard sneak up the middle of the field. The Lions were facing a third down and 34 heading into his big run but suddenly had the ball deep in Bearcats territory. But the drive stalled with four minutes remaining in the quarter, leading to Pilot Point's first score one drive later.

Pilot Point 0 7 0 13 – 20

Ponder 0 6 0 6 – 12

Second Quarter

Pilot Point – Travis Garrett 3 run, Jesus Orta kick

Ponder – Brady Anderson 1 run, pass failed

Fourth Quarter

Pilot Point – Garrett 4 run, kick failed

Ponder – Christian Worthington 90 kick return, run failed

Pilot Point – Garrett 61 run, Orta kick

PP Ponder

First Downs 18 11

Rushes-Yards 42-239 37-163

Passing yards 97 51

Total yards 336 214

Comp-Att-Int 7-11-0 7-14-0

Punts-Average 0-0 4-35

Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-0

Penalties Yards 6-50 12-95

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Pilot Point, Tristan Jurecka 20-68, DaCoven Bailey 4-34, Travis Garrett 17-132, Creed Bright 1-5. Ponder, Brady Anderson 37-163, Trey Dunlap 14-55, Christian Worthington 1-4.

Passing: Pilot Point, Garrett 7-11-0-97. Ponder, Anderson 7-13-0-51, Dunlap 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: Pilot Point, Bailey 4-68, Jamaal Anderson 1-24, Jurecka 1-3, Matt Greenwood 1-2. Ponder, Worthington 4-39, Spencer Waldo 1-14.

For the rest of the story see the Friday, October 18, 2013 Pilot Point Post-Signal

If you have any pictures or special memories that you would like to see included please contact David Fuller (940) 686-5526, Steve Coffey or Jim