By Morgan Bryce

Staff Reporter

The Flying Squadron of class 1A Highland Home bombed Beulah 50-18 Friday night, giving the Bobcats their third-straight loss.

Following a solid week of practice and a tightly contested game from the week before, Beulah head football coach Cody Flournoy said he was befuddled by his team’s poor showing against Highland Home.

“…I just didn’t see this coming at all. One of the problems is that we’re dealing with a lot of injuries to key-play guys that were there at the start of the year,” Flournoy said. “If you look back, we were able to do some things then that we can’t do right now. This loss has me back at the drawing board, questioning everything we do.”

A slew of injuries has affected both sides of the football for the Bobcats, with the most notable losses being to their 1-2 running tandem of Caden Dowdell and Phillip Saylor.

Beulah was limited to 22 yards passing and 193 yards of total offense against the Flying Squadron. Quarterback Nolan Earle finished 4-of-14 passing with one touchdown and one interception. Third-string running back Chris Person turned in a solid showing, running 9 times for 75 yards in Dowdell’s and Saylor’s absences.

Defensively, cornerback Tez Turned led the way with six tackles. Strong safety Dylan Coleman and defensive lineman Quinton Hale added five tackles each.

Beulah comes home to Bobcat Stadium Friday night for a crucial region match-up against Pike County. Now 2-5 overall, 1-3 in region, Flournoy said his team’s battle against the 6-2 Bulldogs will dictate their long-shot opportunity at a playoff bid.

“We’re still looking for win number three and I think we can still get there. I was hoping to try and get to five wins this year,” Flournoy said. “But Pike County is tough. They’re the number-two team in our region, so for us, it’s about focusing on us, going back and competing against each other and see who really wants to be out there and play this week.”

Kickoff against Pike County is set for 7 p.m. Beulah is located at 4848 Lee Road 270.