Week 5: Bobcats vs Crestwood Cadets

Going into Week five, we had a great week of practice and felt fully prepared for what we were going to see.  The Cadets came out in the double tight wishbone formation and did a great job of establishing their offensive line of scrimmage.  They put together a long opening drive and finished it off with a TD.  Defensive penalties kept their drive alive on two different occasions.  We responded with a long drive of our own, but with a missed extra point, we trailed 7-6.  After a quick score from a QB keeper around the edge, we responded with a quick drive again, only to be intercepted at the three yard line.  The cadets scored again before the half and left us with a chance to put it in the end zone right before half.  After a controversial call that didn't go our way, we headed into the half trailing 20-6.

After the WD Band performed their annual light show, always a crowd pleaser, the lights came back on and we were ready to go.  Getting the ball to start the second half, we sustained a long drive that lead to another Dylan Gansen TD.  Unfortunately our inability to stop the ball in the second half continued, and a costly fumble turned the ball over after a scoring opportunity.  After the fumble things began to unravel.  As frustration set in, we lost our composure and piled up 5 personal fouls on the night.  It was a poor response to adversity, one that we are not proud of as a program.  But the game of football is meant to be a learning experience.  These matters have been analyzed, discussed and addressed.  We are taking extra time this week to discuss the importance of character.  Losing never feels good, but losing without class is not acceptable and not part of what our program represents.  With close to 200 yards of penalties, we could not overcome the hole that we created for our team and finished with a loss.  Our efforts are focused on improving our play and how we handle adversity.  We look forward to Friday night against Oelwein to try to iron out some of our mistakes.  The play-offs are still in our sights.  One game at a time.