Bobcats outlast Eagles

For the first time in 17 years, the Berryville Bobcats hold football bragging rights over the Huntsville Eagles.

Junior quarterback Decimus Ruiz ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and senior Talon Hill added a 10-yard TD run with less than two minutes remaining as the Bobcats beat Huntsville 20-12 on Friday, Oct. 20, at Bobcat Stadium.

The victory was Berryville’s first over Huntsville since 2006 and snapped a fourgame losing streak for the Bobcats (3-5, 1-4 4A-1). Berryville coach Macklin Chermak said he and his team had a serious discussion after a 56-0 loss at Gravette a week earlier.

“Starting last week after the disappointing performance at Gravette, where we probably played our worst game, we kind of sat down and discussed how it was going to be business the rest of the year,” Chermak said. “Business mentality, business attitude the rest of the year. They were repeating that all week and after the game they repeated it. It sounds like they’re pretty locked in.”

After Hill’s touchdown extended Berryville’s lead to 20-12 with 1:35 remaining, the extra-point attempt missed, leaving the door open for Huntsville (0-8, 0-5) to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion.

On their first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, the Eagles completed a pass and the receiver sprinted all the way to the end zone for what would have been a 70-yard touchdown. The play was wiped out by a penalty, however, and Huntsville then drew a pair of flags for unsportsmanlike conduct. That put the Eagles in a firstand- 35 situation from the Berryville 5. Two plays later, Berryville senior Lucas Pierce intercepted a pass to seal the victory for the Bobcats.

Berryville took the lead on its first possession of the game, driving 70 yards in13 plays after Huntsville failed to convert on fourth down on its first possession. Sophomore Andre Esparza started the drive with an 18yard run on the Bobcats’ first play from scrimmage and Ruiz finished it with a 1-yard touchdown on third and goal. In between, Ruiz reeled off back-to-back runs of 19 and 15 yards and the Bobcats converted on second and 15 from Huntsville’s 22 when Ruiz passed to junior Cooper Summers and a facemask penalty moved the ball to the 6. Another facemask penalty on Huntsville gave the Bobcats first and goal from the 3. Ruiz scored three plays later and sophomore Devin Alvarez kicked the extra point to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead with 4:48 remaining in the first quarter.

Huntsville cut into the lead late in the first quarter when quarterback Dax Wiggins threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brett Henderson. The Eagles failed to convert a twopoint attempt, however, leaving Berryville with a 7-6 lead with 41 seconds left in the first half.

The Bobcats added to their advantage early in the third quarter. Berryville took the second- half kickoff and drove 59 yards in nine plays. Summers broke loose for a 21-yard run to the Huntsville 17 and Ruiz threw to Hill for an 8-yard gain to the 3. Three plays later, Ruiz scored his second 1-yard touchdown. Alvarez added the extra point to make it 14-6 with 8:54 left in the third quarter.

Huntsville answered later in the third quarter when Wiggins found wide receiver Kouper Shepherd for a 67-yard catch-and-run for the Eagles’ second touchdown. Another two-point try failed, however, leaving Berryville up 14-12 with 1:08 remaining in the quarter.

Senior Carlos Barrios’ fumble recovery stopped a promising Huntsville drive early in the fourth quarter and Berryville drove from its own 11 to the Huntsville 5. A sack pushed the Bobcats back to the 17, however, and Berryville was stopped on fourth down to give the ball back to the Eagles with 3:02 left in the game. Huntsville held the ball for less than a minute before a fourthdown pass fell incomplete and the Bobcats got the ball back at the Eagles’ 10.

After a pair of runs didn’t move the football, Hill took a direct snap and ran into the end zone to extend the Bobcats’ lead to 20-12.

Chermak said Berryville has made some adjustments to make Hill more of a focal point on both offense and defense.

“He’s our best player,” Chermak said. “That’s why we’ve moved him to middle linebacker and fullback, so he can be involved in every play. The other offenses can’t run away from him now and their defenses can’t just stack one side of the ball where’s he at, so it gives him a little more versatility.”

Chermak said Hill’s touchdown celebration was brief.

“He was really excited, but he’s also business,” Chermak said. “He scored a touchdown, he celebrated and he got right back to work.”

Berryville will host Senior Night on Friday, Oct. 27, at Bobcat Stadium as Lincoln visits. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Wolves (6-2, 3-2) are tied for fourth place in the conference standings and fighting for a spot in the state playoffs. Lincoln is 4-0 on the road and has scored 116 points in its past two games. The Wolves have scored 45 points or more in six of their eight games this fall.

“Lincoln is very good,” Chermak said. “Coach (Reed) Mendoza does a fantastic job over there. He’s developed a program. They’re athletic. It will be another tough matchup for us. But hopefully this time we can approach that challenge with a little more perseverance. Hopefully, we get better no matter what this week.”

Berryville’s seniors will be playing their final home game. Although the Bobcats’ senior class is relatively small, Chermak said their contributions to the program can’t be overlooked.

“All the success we have in the future is because of them as well,” he said. “They’re helping build the culture here. They had every reason to quit, but they’ve bought into the culture and they’ve done a done good job of building it.”