Oo, Bobcats claim Carroll County bragging rights

Berryville coach Bryan Hutson said he’s not sure if senior running back Tun Oo was completely healthy for the Carroll County Super Bowl.

Oo wasn’t showing any signs of being less than full speed, however, rushing 33 times for 222 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bobcats to a 22-0 victory over the Green Forest Tigers in the annual county rivalry game on Thursday, Nov. 3, at Bobcat Stadium.

“I don’t know if he was quite 100 percent, but he was close,” Berryville coach Bryan Hutson said of Oo, who missed the Bobcats’ Oct. 28 loss to Lincoln with a lingering hip issue. “And, you know, he makes a difference. He ran the ball well, and so I was pleased at his effort. But I think it goes back to the offensive line. We had a young offensive line up there and I thought they really performed well. Green Forest has pretty good players on defense. Their defense is always really, really tough and always causes problems with some people. But I thought our offensive line played one of their better ballgames of the season.”

“He played really well,” Green Forest coach Greg Tibbitt said. “And they did a good job. They executed what they were trying to do and we didn’t. That was the story of the game.”

Berryville, which finished the season 2-8 overall and 1-6 in 4A-1 conference play, beat Green Forest (1-9, 0-7) for the second consecutive season and the ninth time in the teams’ past 13 meetings. The Bobcats did it with Oo carrying the load on offense and the Berryville defense shutting down Green Forest’s dangerous offense.

Green Forest, which was coming off a 45-41 loss to Huntsville a week earlier, finished with 96 yards of total offense. The Tigers’ sophomore running back, Ridge Swofford, was coming off a four-touchdown performance against Hunstville. Berryville’s defense limited Swofford to 47 yards rushing on 14 carries. Swofford had three receptions for 34 yards.

“He’s a load, man,” Hutson said. “You try to control him. He’s going to get some yards. That’s just the way it goes. But we tried to keep the huge play out their hands. And we were able to do that. They didn’t get those huge plays. Our defense played really, really well.”

The Berryville defense recorded five sacks and intercepted three passes.

Both teams were hampered by penalties. Berryville was flagged 11 times for 103 yards — including a pair of penalties that nullified long touchdowns for the Bobcats, although they later scored on one of those possessions. Green Forest was penalized seven times for 48 yards, all in the first half.

“We didn’t do anything to help ourselves,” Tibbitt said. “That’s for sure.”

Berryville’s offense didn’t commit a turnover, something that had plagued the Bobcats in recent weeks.

“It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t turn the ball over four times,” Hutson said.

Berryville took the lead for good on its first possession of the game, overcoming two penalties to drive 61 yards in seven plays. Sophomore quarterback Decimus Ruiz completed a pair of passes to junior receiver Zane Gentry, and Oo capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown run with 7:38 left in the first quarter. After Green Forest was called offsides on the extra-point attempt, Berryville tried for a two-point conversion but the Tigers defense held.

On Green Forest’s ensuing possession, a pair of penalties left the Tigers facing third-and-27 from their own 11 before Utt chased down Green Forest senior quarterback Isaiah Fraga in the end zone for a safety that extended the Bobcats’ lead to 8-0.

Berryville put together a 15-play, 85-yard touchdown drive starting late in the first quarter to add to its cushion. Again, the Bobcats overcame a pair of penalties along the way. Oo carried eight times for 54 yards and caught a 6-yard pass during the drive as Berryville converted three times on third down. Ruiz threw to senior Chet Hudgens for a 17-yard gain to the Green Forest 10, and Oo scored from the 7 two plays later. Nay Blut’s kick made it 15-0 with 10:22 left in the second quarter.

Ruiz tossed what would have been a 65-yard touchdown pass to senior Ethan Williams later in the second quarter, but it was called back because of pass interference. The Bobcats were forced to punt two plays later.

After the punt, Green Forest drove from its 33 to a first down at the Berryville 15 after a 10-yard run by Fraga. Two plays later, Fraga broke free for an 11-yard gain to the Berryville 3, but the play was wiped out by a penalty. After an incomplete pass, a delayof- game penalty pushed the Tigers back to the 31, where they faced third-and-26. Berryville sophomore Cooper Summers came up with an interception on the next play to snuff out the drive.

Late in the third quarter, the Tigers put together another promising drive. Green Forest moved from its 29 to the Berryville 25 nine plays. Fraga threw to Swofford twice, for gains of 15 and 10 yards. But back-to-back runs netted no gain and on thirdand- 10, Oo sacked Fraga for an eight-yard loss back to the 33. On fourth-and-18, a Green Forest receiver dropped a pass inside the 5-yard line and Berryville took over on downs.

Williams set up Berryville’s next touchdown with a 27-yard punt return to the Green Forest 36 midway through the fourth quarter. Oo got to the en zone on the next play, but the touchdown was negated by a penalty. Oo ran for 10 yards on firstand- 15, and Ruiz kept for a first down two plays later to keep the drive alive. A 13yard run by Oo moved the ball to the Green Forest 14. After Nick Utt carried twice for a total of eight yards, Oo scored from the 6. Blut’s extra point made it 22-0.

The game originally was scheduled for Friday, Nov. 4, but the two schools agreed to play on Thursday based on storms that were forecast for Friday night. As it turned out, the Green Forest area saw significant damage from a possible tornado.

“I was proud of the way our kids came out, under the circumstances, having to play on Thursday night on short notice like that,” Hutson said. “I thought both both schools and both communities supported their teams really, really well.”