The Ethel Tigers (3-4,2-2) traveled to Sebastopol (5-3, 4-1) last Friday night and came away with a 34-6 setback to the Bobcats. The first half was scoreless until 5:56 was left in the second quarter. The Bobcats scored on a 15-yard run after a three-play, 27-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. Neither team would score the rest of the second quarter and the Bobcats took the 7-0 lead into the half.
The third quarter started badly for the Tigers on the opening kick when the Sebastopol runner took the kick all the way to the Ethel 30-yard line. Three plays later the Bobcats would increase their lead to 13-0 after a 13-yard touchdown run with 10:35 left in the third quarter. Less than two minutes later a Bobcat defender intercepted Tiger quarterback Hayes Wood’s pass and returned it 35 yards, run failed, to push their lead to 19-0 with 8:55 left in the third quarter.
Wood found redemption on the ensuing drive when he hit Corey Felton with a 47-yard touchdown strike, run failed, to cut into the Bobcat lead 19-6 with 5:29 remaining in the third. The Tigers would not score again.
With 11:44 left in the fourth quarter, Sebastopol capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to push its lead to 27-6 after a successful two-point run. The Bobcats scored once again with 4:31 left in the contest to push the final margin to 34-6.
“It had the potential to be a very big game for us,” said Ethel head coach Hogan Briscoe. “My biggest takeaway from this was that we have yet to play a full game. We have got to put 48 minutes of football together. We have had flashes of brilliance at times and I feel we have changed as a program, but we have yet to put together a full 48 minutes. I do believe that’s coming, but we have yet to do it. We were in a dogfight in the first half but it just kind of got away from us there at the end. Take nothing away from Sebastopol; they are a good football team and they are big and athletic and can play some ball.”
The Tigers will host Montgomery County (0-7, 0-5) Thursday night at 7 p.m.
