By Morgan Bryce
Editor
Beulah’s hopes of a homecoming victory were dashed Friday night as the Southside-Selma Panthers edged the Bobcats 36-34.
Both teams played an even first half.
Tied 8-8 entering the second quarter, Beulah wide receiver Andruw Coxwell turned a jet sweep into a 12-yard touchdown, giving his team a six-point lead.
Later in the second quarter, Southside-Selma quarterback Chavantis Sanders completed a 41-yard pass to Ernest Hatcher for a score. The Panthers successfully converted a two-point conversion to lead by two with 41 seconds left in the first half.
Bobcat kickoff return specialist Makell Patrick ran the kickoff deep into Panther territory, setting up Beulah’s offense at the Southside-Selma 25-yard line.
A quick pass from Beulah quarterback Kaleb Abney gave his team a first down, but after a couple of failed pass plays to the endzone, settled for a field-goal attempt that would sail wide right.
The second half opened with the same offensive gusto as the first, as both teams posted scoring drives in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
In the mid-fourth quarter, the Bobcats found themselves down 36-20, but mounted a furious rally, scoring 14 points in fewer than three minutes.
However, on a 3rd-and-5 play for Southside-Selma with two minutes remaining, a Beulah defensive lineman jumped offsides to give the Panthers a first down and the ability to run out the rest of the clock.
With the loss, the Bobcats fall to 3-2 overall, and 1-2 in region play.
Offensively, the Bobcats finished with 379 yards of total offense. Abney finished 13-of-23 passing for 203 yards and two TDs. Running back Chris Person led the way rushing with 106 yards on 17 carries and two TDs and Sondrekius Cooper contributed 68 yards on eight carries and another score.
On defense, sophomore linebacker Stanley Washington was the team’s leading tackler with six tackles, two fumble recoveries and a pass break-up. Owen Kelley notched six tackles and JaQuavion Johnson finished with four.
Beulah is entering a bye week. On Oct. 4, the Bobcats host Bullock County in a region game. The Hornets are currently 1-3 on the season and will B.T. Washington this Friday.