On Saturday, September 28, the South Windsor High School Bobcats football team hosted the Stamford Black Knights in near perfect weather, leaving the contest with a huge 22-13 Bobcat victory.
The opening kickoff would go to the Bobcats, but they’d be unable to move much and settle for a three-and-out. On Stamford’s first drive, they looked to move the ball and take an early lead, but would fumble the ball around midfield to give the ‘Cats possession once more.
Very quickly, the Bobcats faced fourth down. Trying not to waste their excellent starting field position, they ran a quarterback run, and senior Jake Pflederer powered himself all the way down to the three yard line. Fellow senior Ethan Burke would punch in the touchdown to give South Windsor an early lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Black Knights would march all the way down into the end zone to even up the game at 7 apiece, but this tie would not stand for long.
South would get the ball back and drive quickly down the field, capped off with a touchdown rush by Pflederer. The halftime horn would sound with the Bobcats ahead 15-7.
Stamford received the second half kickoff and started to mount a nice drive, but then stalled out and got stopped completely on fourth down to hand the ball back to the Bobcats.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, the ‘Cats couldn’t connect on a touchdown pass in the end zone, giving it back to Stamford, who wouldn’t waste their possession.
Black Knights quarterback, Jack Healy, fired a bomb down the sideline that would be caught by his receiver, Damar Taylor, for a 30 yard touchdown.
Needing to tie the game, Stamford lined up for a two point conversion. The Black Knights tried to run it up the middle, but the Bobcats’ defensive line was ready for it, stuffing the run right at the line of scrimmage, keeping the ‘Cats ahead 15-13.
With now just a two point lead, the Bobcats needed some insurance, and would find it quickly. Burke took a jet sweep past the right side of his offensive line and all the way down the sideline for an 85 yard, game-clinching touchdown.
Following Burke’s touchdown, the ‘Cats made one final stop, then kneeled out the clock.
“It was another big team win. We have to have a hard week of practice for our game this Saturday,” Burke commented.
Following the game, The Prowl spoke to South Windsor head coach David Hodge, “I thought we were physical on both sides of the ball. The defense came up big with the two-point conversion stop, and the offense finished off the game late in the fourth,” Hodge said.
When all was said and done, the Bobcats emerged victorious by a score of 22-13, moving the team to 2-1 ahead of their battle with #8 ranked Windsor at home on Saturday, October 5, at 11 A.M.
