BY NICK MINERVA
FOR THE OBSERVER
BEULAH — With 2:01 left and a chance to tie the game, Woodland High School took over at its own 20 yard line. A Beulah High School defender stepped in front of a Nate Herren pass and returned it for a touchdown, giving the Bobcats (5-5) the points they needed to hold off Woodland 41-34 on Thursday, Oct. 29.
The win sent Beulah’s 12 seniors out with a .500 record. Six days after winning 27-14 at Daleville High School, Beulah scored the first 15 points of its home finale. Woodland (3-7) stayed within reach until the Bobcats recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.
“They kept fighting. They made us keep fighting,” Beulah head coach Michael Courson said of Woodland. “That’s a really good team. Really good coaches.”
Kason Kalla finished 6-for-12 for 67 yards, three TDs and two interceptions and rushed 19 times for 84 yards. Qua Frazier added 90 yards on 14 carries, and Tristen Robinson tallied 105 total yards and four TDs on nine touches.
Harry Grant led the defense with 11 total tackles, and Connor Snedigar recovered a fumble.
Herren finished 13 of 26 for 229 yards, two TDs and an interception. Brayden Johnson had 91 yards on two catches, and Garrett Hendrix carried 19 times for 144 yards.
Tristen Robinson set up Beulah’s first TD and scored it himself. His return on the opening kickoff put the Bobcats deep in Woodland territory, and a personal foul against Woodland shortened the field. Robinson finished the drive with a TD run, and the extra point gave Beulah a 7-0 lead.
Woodland went backward on its first possession, and the Bobcats’ defense followed with a safety to make it 9-0. After the teams traded punts, Robinson caught a screen pass and took it into the end zone with about 1:22 left in the first quarter. The extra point missed, but Robinson had scored twice before Woodland got on the board.
Herren needed less than a minute to answer, scoring on a 21-yard run with 31 seconds left in the quarter to cut Beulah’s lead to 15-7. Woodland then stopped the Bobcats on fourth down before Beulah’s Brody Peacock broke loose for a TD with 8:17 left in the second quarter. Beulah added the two-point conversion for a 23-7 lead.
Woodland’s Keiwon Moultry answered with a 62-yard TD run. The Bobcats had to work considerably harder for the last yard of their next scoring drive. Woodland stopped three straight runs from the 1 yard line, and a false start backed Beulah up on fourth down.
This time, the Bobcats threw, scoring on a fourth-down TD pass with 1:43 left in the half and adding another two-point conversion through the air.
Courson said illegal shifts and illegal motion had disrupted his offense as players hurried to line up.
“It was more about just telling them to slow down,” Courson said. “Let’s play our game and try to put this thing away.”
Woodland still had time to score before the break, as Herren found Johnson for a 67-yard TD.
Courson had seen some of Woodland’s speed in a preseason jamboree game on Aug. 14, when he gave his starters one series against Woodland before turning to his reserves. The film gave his staff a look at Herren and Hendrix, though 10 games separated that meeting from last Thursday’s season finale.
Hendrix brought Woodland within a TD and a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. His 1-yard run with 6:54 left cut Beulah’s lead to 34-26.
Woodland’s defense gave Herren a chance when Beulah’s field goal attempt sailed wide right. For the fourth time in its six-game losing streak, Woodland had the ball late with an opportunity to tie or take the lead. The Bobcats’ interception return pushed the margin to 41-26.
Herren then took Woodland 60 yards in 42 seconds. His final high school pass went to Tripp Morin for a 14-yard TD, but Beulah secured the ensuing onside kick.
While the Bobcats missed the playoffs, Courson said the last two weeks gave him something to take into the offseason. A year ago, his team won three of its final four games. This time, the seniors followed a road win with one at home, and Courson said he hopes those results will help him recruit players from the school hallways for next season.
For the dozen who played their final game last Thursday, the reward came when Beulah took possession one final time. They had entered the Daleville game needing two wins to finish .500 and earned the second on their own field.
“Seeing them go out with a five and five record, doing it the right way, it makes me proud,” Courson said.
