Farmer’s come up short, 12-7, in defensive battle at Wossman

By Markel Braggs

Contributing Writer

The Farmers hit the road to take on the Wossman Wildcats for a key district matchup with huge playoff implications on the line.

 On the first drive of the game, the Farmers’ offense started out strong, but the Wossman defense came up with a huge 4th down stop to give their offense the ball. The Farmers’ defense returned the favor and held Wossman to a three and out.  

Quarterback Jorden Hill and the Farmers’ offense was again moving down the field towards the Wildcats’ red zone, but the Wossman defense came up with a huge stop on a 4th and goal on the Wildcat’s 6-yard line to take over on downs.  The Wildcats a used a mix of runs and passes to march 94 yards down the field and take the lead with the game’s first touchdown.  However, the extra point was block by Tyquereis Wilson.

The Farmers’ offense responded with a quick drive that ended with a Jy’marion Island touchdown and Ryan Reeder kicked the extra point for the Farmers to take the lead 7-6.  Both defenses asserted themselves for the rest of the first half, repeatedly limiting the offenses to quick three and outs.  

The second half started with the defenses continuing their domination until Wossman QB Tristan Wooten threw a 30-yard pass that was tipped and nearly intercepted by senior UP cornerback Omarion Thomas, but Wildcat wide receiver Antron Mason managed to make the catch in the end zone after bobbling the ball.  The two-point try failed, but Wossman still held a 12-7 lead in the third quarter.

 A long drive by the Farmers’ offense ate away the clock for the rest of the 3rd quarter. Heading into the 4th Jorden Hill and the offense had the ball at the Wossman 18-yard line looking for a score when the Wossman defense came up with a huge interception in the back of the end zone.   

The Wossman offense, still up by 5, got the ball back with 8:10 remaining.   The Farmers’ defense held Wossman to another three and out, giving the Farmer offense one last shot at taking the lead.  

With just a couple of minutes left the Wossman defense needed another stop to win the game.  Union’s Hill threw his second interception to seal the game for Wossman, 12-7.

 With this 2nd district loss for the Farmers, their record stands at 5-4 and 3-2 in district. The Farmers are looking to shake back with a win this Friday night to close out the regular season at Carroll. The Bulldogs will come into the game with an overall record of 3-6, 0-5 in the district.